King's Lynn 2 Havant & Waterlooville 2

20th March 2001

LINNETS manager Tony Spearing refused to be despondent alter seeing his side throw away a two-goal cushion and allow the visitors to claim a share of the points
Lynn cruised into the interval with a 2-0 lead, but then contrived to go to sleep as Havant fought their way back to salvage a deserved point.
Spearing had mixed emotions after helping his side extend their uneaten run to eight matches, when he said: "We started off very brightly, but Havant are a very good side and have a lot of senior pros.
"As soon as we conceded a goal we looked vulnerable and didn't have the experience to deal with the situation.
"'We were missing two good headers of the ball in Robbo and Dakes and when we were under pressure that proved to be costly," continued Spearing, who was forced to reshuffle his side before the match, after Steve Lenagh withdrew with flu and Simon Dakin failed a fitness test.
"If you had offered me a point before the game then, in the circumstances, I'd have happily taken it.
"It was a difficult game but at the same time it was another learning curve for the younger lads. We've now gone eight matches unbeaten and at this level of football that isn't bad."
Lynn were in total control during the first period, as they produced a performance reminiscent to the one they destroyed Tamworth back in November.
Veteran Tommy Wright, making his first start since early February, was a constant thorn in the visitors' side and he played an instrumental role in both of Lynn's goals.
After 12 minutes, Wright teased the visiting full-back down the left before delivering a cross which Wayne Anderson steered well off target with his head, under pressure from a Havant defender.
Luckily for Lynn, the ball stayed in play and when Wright turned in a second centre, Lyndon Rowland climbed above the Havant rearguard to head the ball home.
Nine minutes later, Wright tormented the Havant defence again and this time his cross was turned into his own net by Aaron Cook while under pressure from Rowland.
The expected goal avalanche did not materialise after the break as Lynn paid the price for going into their shell. Only the tenacious Anderson showed any real enthusiasm as The Walks outfit struggled to reproduce their rhythm of the first half.
Clearly sensing this, Havant pushed forward and pulled a goal back when Paul Wood shot from all of 25 yards and watched the ball fly into the top right of Chuck Martini's net.
Lynn then paid the price for their inability to deal with set-pieces when Wood scrambled the ball home following a Tim Hambley corner on the right.
In the 81st minute, Lynn's first corner of the match saw Glenn Fuff's effort blocked on the line, but other than that, Lynn were rarely seen as an attacking force in the second half. Lynn: Martini, Gibson, Clark, Palmer, Fuff, Spearing, Anderson, Hayes, Bush (McNeil), Rowland, Wright (Jones 87). Sub not used: Suuiter.
Havant: R Nichools. C. Anstey (D. Blake 74), D. Wakefield, A. Cook, S. Gale, L Daish, P Wood, T Hambley, J. O'Rourke, J. Taylor (D. Leworthy 84), N. Champion. Sub not used: B. Price.
Att: 482.

MATCH STATISTICS	Shots on Target	Shots off Target	Corners	Caught Offside	Free kicks Conceded	Bookings
Lynn	3	4	1	8	15
Havant	3	3	4	5	10	Gale (foul, 51)
Lynn News Man of the Match - Craig Clark Report by permission of the Lynn News