Wealdstone 2 King's Lynn 1
25th March 1972
LYNN LEFT Wealdstone on Saturday robbed of a Southern League point by a penalty just 35 seconds from the end.It was a harsh decision by Farnborough referee Mr. D. G. Norman which shattered he brave Linnets.
He judged that John Kerr had pushed Micky Brown as they went for the ball - but how that could have happened when Kerr was in front of the Wealdstone forward is anyone's guess.
Mr. Norman appeared undecided for a moment before making his decision but he then stuck to it waving aside Lynn's appeals. It was Brown who stepped forward to sidefoot home the winner.
Lynn had withstood some fierce pressure in the second half and would have had no grumbles if Wealdstone had converted any one of the clear chances they created.
But to lose the points in such a way left an unsavoury taste in the mouth.
Team manager Mick Wright said: "I don't know why the referee gave a penalty. He told one of the lads it was for pushing. but even the Wealdstone players knew there had not been a foul."
And to cap it all only a minute earlier - ,just as the game went into injury time Mickie Bloxham hit the Wealdstone bar with a well-judged shot from 20 yards which deserved a better fate.
Lynn's defence took all the honours with Trevor Painter and Nigel Smith the heroes. Painter played it tremendous role despite getting a bad knock in the face in the second half.
Wealdstone's tactics were virtually unchanged throughout the match: a long hall out from defence and then the boot into the middle aiming at the heads of Micky Brown and Bill Byrne. It was effective because of its simplicity.
But so well did Lynn's defence play that 22-year-old stand-in `keeper; Derek Harnwell had few direct shots to deal with.
Alick Brown and Watson could have tested him early on but both shot wide from good positions
In the 16th minute Wealdstone were caught out by playing too square. A through hall by Bloxham saw. Lindsay in a one-against-one situation with Dave Cockell which LINDSAY won to leave himself' only John Barr to beat to open the scoring.
A minute later Wealdstone were level. Ex-Spurs winger Terry Dyson swung over a corner which BYRNE met cleanly with a firm header just inside the post.
Just before the break another Dyson-Byrne move ended with the header flashing over the bar.
Second half belonged entirely to Wealdstone, but the more they ran and chased, created and missed chances, the more likely it seemed that Lynn would survive the battering.
Eleven corners were swung across into the Lynn goalmouth in those 45 minutes and countless centres were floated over.
Lynn soaked it up although it needed a couple of goalline clearances and plenty of luck when Pearce hit the bar and Micky Brown the post.
Just when it seemed that Wealdstone had used all their keys in a bid to unlock Lynn's defence they were presented one on a plate in the form of the penalty.
Wealdstone: Barr, Beyer. Presland: Cockell, Pearce. Watson, A. Brown, M. Brown. Byrne. Furie. Dyson. (Sub. Hale).
Lynn: Harnwell: Radcliffe: Kerr. Painter. Smith: Wright, Brooks: Bloxham: Lindsay. Rudd, Clarke. (Sub . Ricketts).