Ilkeston Town 1 King's Lynn 2

17th October 1998

It was no wonder that the army of visiting fans were delighted with this result.
Not only did they see Lynn progress to the final qualifying round of the FA Cup but it was the first time they had witnessed a win on their travels for almost eight months.
The last time the Linnets were victorious away from home was when they beat Ashford on February 28.
Linnets boss Gary Mills was unaware, but surprised, at the statistic and said: "It's always that little bit special to come away and win.
"We had made it difficult for them. With a little more luck, we could have been two or three up at half time.
"There's nothing like winning but the most important thing was to come here and not lose.
"If there was one draw I didn't want before today it was Ilkeston away. They always mike it difficult for you but I said to the lads I wanted to make it difficult for them.
"And the lads did the club proud. They showed what they can do, proved they've got big hearts and did a superb job for, me.
"We got a little but of luck but worked hard for it."
The little bit of luck that Mills spoke of was a freak own goal that booked Lynn's passage into the next round. In the 73rd minute, Mills lofted a free-kick into the box and the ball sailed over Micky Nuttell's head. But, as Charlie Bishop ran back, the ball struck his leg and sent keeper Chris Marples the wrong way.
It was all Lynn deserved. They battled hard in dreadful conditions against a side happy to launch the ball into the box at every opportunity. The strong wind, which was accompanied by driving rain, almost worked to Lynn's advantage after just three minutes. Dave Puttnam sent in a free-kick that was met by new centre half Dave Robinson, his looping header went in the air, bounced back towards him and Robinson's second attempt came back off the bar.
Robinson and fellow new capture Steve McGinty added more bite into the Lynn side while skipper Colin Hoyle did a good job in central midfield.
Mills had his best game for the Linnets and was denied what looked a clear penalty when going down after Garry Middleton's challenge.
On 24 minutes, Nuttell crossed and Wayne Fairclough's poor clearance fell to Puttnam who hit his shot into the bottom corner for his first Lynn goal.
At the other end, Bishop's ball into the box was held up by the wind, making Steve Lewis' punch difficult and the clearance fell to John Knapper but his shot was hacked away by Mills.
After the break, Fairclough went down in the box under Robinson’s challenge but only a corner was given before Ilkeston levelled after 62 minutes. Dale Wright crossed and Darren Ball's half volley went in off the post.
Lynn gritted their teeth and Bishop's unfortunate own goal earned victory.
Mills punched his fists in the air in front of the excellent Lynn fans who had at last seen that elusive away victory. Lynn: Lewis, Mills, McGinty, Fuff, Robinson, Spearing, Hoyle, Ramsey, Nuttell, Delicata (Sterling 68), Puttnam. Subs (not used) Cotterell, Oakes, Wright, G Roberts
Ilkeston: Marples, Ball, Fairclough (Simpson 58), Middleton (Alsop 81), Weaver, Knapper (Codner 61), Clifford, Robinson, Helliwell, Bishop, Wright, Subs (not used) Matthewson, Randall.

MATCH STATISTICS	Shots on Target	Shots off Target	Corners	Caught Offside	Free kicks Conceded	Bookings
Lynn	1	9	4	1	14	Mills (25, foul) Spearing (90, retaliation)
Ilkeston	5	2	6	2	21	Fairclough (22 foul)