AFC Wimbledon 1 King's Lynn 0
15th October 2005
Not for the first time in a football
match this season the officials took centre stage as the Linnets made a quick
and humble exit from the FA Trophy.And that scenario could have been so different if an own goal from AFC Wimbledon's Steve Butler had stood after Jack Defty had mistakenly been given offside in the first half ' much to the surprise of everyone in the magnificent surroundings of the Kingsmeadow Stadium.
That decision ultimately cost The Walks outfit a money-spinning replay, not that Tommy Taylor's side deserved one after an inept second half performance littered with high balls into the sun-drenched skies of London.
Taylor was unhappy with the overall performance of the match officials, saying: "The referee initially gave the goal and was running back to the centre circle.
"Then he looked across at the assistant, who has got his flag up. He said that Jack never came back from an offside position, but he was goalside of the last defender and the ball came off their players head, so how could he be offside?
"I thought the officials were poor, I lost count of the number of handballs they missed."
Taylor was also angry with his side's display against a team who had only won once in nine matches before Antony Howard's 77th minute winner on Saturday.
"We didn't play well all game. There wasn't enough support into the front players and our passing let us down.
"On the day Wimbledon were better. It's a great set-up here, but I didn't think that they were anything special.
"It's been ages since we let a goal in from a set play. Two of our lads were standing next to the goalscorer, one leaves it to the other, and he nips in."
Lynn matched their Ryman Premier hosts in the first period and just about shaded the first half honours.
Despite their neat football and the contentious disallowed goal for offside, the Linnets only had a Sam McMahon volley in the 41st minute to show for their first half efforts.
thorn
But Taylor's troops restricted the home side to mainly long-range chances in the first 45 minutes, although Dons striker Richard Butler was a thorn in Lynn's side with his never-say-die attitude.
After the break it was a different story as Lynn sat deep and were content to hoof the ball into the air at every given opportunity.
The Dons, who were dragged down to Lynn's level, became more of a threat as the second half wore on.
A goal was always on the cards, but a handful of impressive saves from John Higgs, aided by a solid display from Martin McNeil, kept Lynn in with a shout.
Eighteen minutes into the second half Michael Woolner cut inside the Lynn defence and unleashed a shot which cannoned off Higgs' bar before Matt Fowler put the follow-up wide.
AFC were clearly growing in confidence, while Lynn's hopes of a Trophy replay were hanging by a thread.
The decisive goal came 13 minutes from time when Howard powered home a header from a corner on the left.
Lynn threw on the extra height of Danny Hammond into attack, but The Dons' keeper Andy Little was merely a spectator for most of the second half.
AFC Wimbledon: A. Little, M. Woolner (S. Sobihy 83), D. Sargent, A. Howard, S. Butler, W. Finnie, D. Plummer, M. York, R. Butler, M. Fowler (S. Smeltz 90), W. Daly. Subs not used: M. Harvey, J. Lennie, S. Farr. Booked: D. Plummer, R. Butler
Lynn: Higgs, West, Smith, McMahon, Cooper, McNeil, Defty (Jones 64), Kelly (Bunn 59), Camm, Bloomfield, O'Halloran (Hammond 81). Not used: Benstead.
Booked: McMahon, O'Halloran
Referee: S. Chittenden (St Albans). Attendance: 1,720.
| FACT file | Shots on Target | Shots off Target | Corners | Caught Offside | Free kicks Conceded |
| Lynn | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| AFC Wimbledon | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 |