King's Lynn 3 Weymouth 3

16th January 1960

MISSED chances and some loose marking in defence robbed Lynn of victory after twice being in the lead in their home match against Weymouth on Saturday. In the end, however, a draw was perhaps the fairest result of a keenly-contested tussle under the most difficult conditions of the season.
A two-inch covering of snow made the more slippery after a slow thaw ruled out any hope of good football, but each side adapted themselves to the conditions In such admirable fashion that the game provided plenty of incident and excitement.
Right from the start the ball played unexpected tricks on the snowy surface which quickly became uneven as the players ran and slid upon it. Sometimes the ball would stop suddenly, while at other times it would either slither quickly over the snow or bounce awkwardly.
These conditions accounted for some of the goals and for some of the missed chances. Much of the play, in fact, was a chancy business, and the only successful way of making quick progress was to swing the ball about.
The game opened with a surprise goal by Lynn after only three minutes. Lynn had moved straight to the attack, and when a long pass fell to the right of goal, the ball stopped suddenly in the snow. BAXTER saw his chance and ran on to it before Weymouth left back, McManus, or goalkeeper Smith could reach it and the Lynn winger forced it past them, into the net from a narrow angle.
This goal immediately put Lynn in good mood and with Baxter showing up well on the right. and Adams quickly settling down on the left, the Weymouth defence was given an anxious time. Adams was applauded for a well-placed centre which almost beat Smith and was scrambled away from the line.
Lynn were in command, however, and it looked even worse for Weymouth when goalkeeper Smith was rushed off the field with cut forehead. He had parried a hard drive from Baxter and was hurt making a second attempt to gather the ball just as Sewell was about to shoot. However. he was off for only a few minutes, returning with his head heavily bandaged, apparently unshaken by the accident for he went on to make a number of fearless saves in the slippery penalty area.
His return. and his play gave his colleagues renewed confidence and in the 18th minute Weymouth equalised. They gained a free-kick on their left flank and the ball slithered between defenders and attackers alike to MCINTOSH who accepted an easy chance.
Within two minutes, however. Lynn were back in front, ADAMS having moved into the middle, smartly turning the ball in from a loss cross pass by Baxter.
Lynn's inside trio seemed unable to make much headway in the midfield slush and snow, but wingers Baxter and Adams showed up well. Both went close. Adams having one good shot headed away from the goalmouth by McManus.
Towards the interval Weymouth came more into the picture with Roper, the ex-Arsenal star and their schemer-in-chief. He found Neilson a great stumbling block, but nevertheless managed to get his forwards going on several occasions. Cleary and Brown, in particular, defended well and Thomas was fearless in rushing out to smother the ball as forwards raced in.
A fierce drive by Johnson had the crowd cheering, but by now it was Weymouth who were beginning to call the tune. Ormond saw a hard drive bounce off the bar and Dalley and Hobson each went close with good drives.
This pressure brought Weymouth reward in the 43rd minute when Ormond found himself unmarked to the left of goal after the ball had been swung over from the right. He chipped the ball back into the middle for STOCKER to head in from close range and put Weymouth on level terms for the second time.
Lynn went all out to recapture their lead on the resumption - and with the chances that came their way certainly should have done. Luke blazed the ball wide as it came loose to him with the goalkeeper lying helpless on the ground. He had another shot deflected for a corner and a few minutes later wasted a good opportunity when he sliced the ball behind after working his way close to goal, Weymouth eventually relieved the pressure and after a quick raid took a surprise lend. Ormond swung the ball over to the right of Lynn's goal and Stocker lobbed it quickly back for DAILEY to head a good goal.
This was a sad blow to Lynn after having twice held the lead and staging such a strong second half onslaught on the Weymouth goal, but they fought back to regain lost ground. Sewell, though not looking very happy under such bad playing conditions, went close with one or two snap drives, and Luke also tried hard to make amends for early misses.
Having had little luck himself. Dixon played deeper towards the end, with Luke providing the spearhead. Finally LUKE made ground quickly in a solo bid only to brought down between two defenders. Referee A. V. Blades of Cambridge had no hesitation in awarding a penalty, and the Lynn inside right levelled the scores with a hard low drive to save Lynn a point only eight minutes from time,
Lynn: Thomas: Mackey. Brown: Neilson, Cleary. Johnson: Baxter. Luke. Dixon. Sewell. Adams.
Weymouth: Smith: Steven. son, McManus- Hobson Langman. Anderson; MoIntosh. Stocker. Daily, Roper. Ormond.
Attendance: 1,818.