King's Lynn 3 Grantham Town 1
27th December 2005
Midfield favourite Jack Defty bagged a Christmas brace as Lynn came from behind to leave local rivals Grantham feeling like turkeys at The Walks.
Defty – playing in more of a midfield role – was back to his brilliant best as Lynn maintained their promotion push with a deserved three points.
Linnets manager Tommy Taylor saluted his side, saying: "I thought we played very well, considering we gave them a goal start.
"We passed the ball brilliantly considering the conditions and had it not been for Grantham's keeper we could have scored five or six.
"I knew Grantham would be a big side and would be dangerous at set-pieces, but I couldn't see them scoring from open play."
Taylor resisted the temptation to start with recent signings Matt Nolan and Shaun Carey, keeping faith with the players which had taken Lynn into the game on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run.
Lynn's biggest crowd of the campaign so far braved the wintry weather, only to see Grant Cooper gift the Gingerbreads a shock ninth minute lead – their first goal for 464 minutes on the road.
Cooper handed Grantham's Jason Turner a belated present when he was easily dispossessed just outside his box before Turner slotted home.
But Lynn refused to be frozen out, as so often the case in front of big-match crowds at home, showing a collective belief to extend their recent good form with another victory.
Three minutes after seeing his side taking the lead, Grantham's Mario Ziccardi denied Danny Bloomfield with his legs, before both Defty and Adam Smith gave him some catching practice with half-chances in front of the target.
Lynn finally redressed the balance when, despite a suspicion of offside, Bloomfield pounced in the six-yard box twelve minutes before the interval.
Former Linnet Martin Matthews was booked for dissent after the equaliser and minutes later it was all-square in the bookings department when Cooper's name was taken after a wild two-footed lunge.
Lynn continued to dominate in terms of possession and chances after the break, Adrian Speed thwarting Bloomfield with a crucial tackle after the restart.
The woodwork then denied Bloomfield's powerful header as a heavy snow storm began to sweep across the ground.
Taylor introduced Nolan into the game, but the weather and the heroics of Ziccardi looked likely to foil Lynn.
A blizzard of shots saw Ziccardi make three breathtaking saves in as many minutes from Bloomfield, Smith and Cooper to keep his side level at 1-1.
But the shotstopper's luck finally ran out in the 75th minute when Defty climbed the highest to direct O'Halloran's centre against the bar and over the line.
Nolan continued to impress during his brief spell on the pitch, before the Linnets handed Carey his debut 11 minutes from time.
Defty capped a fine individual display with Lynn's third in the dying seconds, when he unleashed a rasping 25-yard drive past the despairing dive of Ziccardi.
Lynn: Higgs, West, Smith, McMahon, Cooper, Camm, Defty, Anselin, Hammond (Nolan), Bloomfield, O'Halloran (Carey). Unused subs: C Defty, McNeil, Heath-Preston.
Grantham: Ziccardi, Smith, Weale (Carruthers), Speed, Julian, Brown, Popple, Carson (Challinor), Sneddon (Glover), Turner, Matthews.