King's Lynn 1 Newport IoW 1
16th February 2002
THE Linnets were hit by a last-minute equaliser as they again struggled to break down lower-table opposition.Third from bottom Newport Isle of Wight's late leveller followed their first shot on target, which was how poor they were.
Lynn had started brightly in the first ten minutes, but when on-loan striker Matty Clements suffered a hat-trick of near-misses, they could not get a grip on a turgid game. At times the passing was crisp and on the floor, but again Lynn lacked the killer touch.
"I don't know what it is with us at home," said manager Tony Spearing. "I don't know if we're too uptight.
"It was a great goal by Jamie March.
"If we weren't creating chances, I wouldn't be happy."
After just 40 seconds of the game Clements was presented with his first chance, latching on to a clever Glen Fuff ball over the top.
But keeper Colin Matthews saved low as Clements tried to flick it past him.
Lynn continued to have the majority of chances, but neither Zeke Rowe nor Martin McNeil had their correct shooting boots on.
Just before half-time, Clements had a golden opportunity but wasted a one-on-one provided by Adie Hayes when he scuffed wide under pressure from a chasing defender.
The Port's only hope of the opening half was when Joey Alcott made a mess of a volley.
Minutes into the second half, Clements had an effort deflected for a corner.
At the other end, Steve Wilson in a carbon-copy of an incident last week raced out of the right of his box to upend an attacker. Luckily for Wilson - who was booked that the forward was not heading for goal, otherwise he would have been sent off.
Another throwback to the previous Saturday was supersub Tommy Wright coming on and setting up Lynn's goal, his right-wing cross being superbly met by Jamie March for a 15-yard looping header into the top corner of the net.
March likes Newport: This was his first goal since the 4-2 home win over Newport County on the opening day of the season.
But Alcott made up for his earlier miss by firing home the rebound after Wilson had smartly saved from Danny Gibbons.
Lynn: Wilson, Dakin, March, Robinson, Fuff, McNeil, White (Watts 60), Hayes, Rowe, Clements, Clarke (Wright 69). Sub not used: Anderson.
Newport: C. Matthews, C. Collins, A. Lang, A. Holbrook (A. Barsdell 80), S. Moss (L. Cole 63), L. Bradford, S. Leigh (D. Role 80), G. Green, D. Gibbons, J. Alcott, D. Wakefield.
Att: 650.
| MATCH STATISTICS | Shots on Target | Shots off Target | Corners | Caught Offside | Free kicks Conceded |
Bookings |
| Lynn | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 14 | Wilson (52, foul) |
| Newport | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 14 | Holbrook (30, foul) Green (83, elbow) |