Droyslden 1 King's Lynn 0
30th March 2009
LYNN'S mini unbeaten run came to an abrupt end at the Butcher's Arms on Monday night.
A goal ten minutes before half-time separated the two sides and gave play-off hopefuls Droyslden victory.
The Linnets had the better of the first half, but ran out of steam after the break.
Linnets boss Keith Webb said: "We hung in there and even towards the end we could have perhaps nicked something.
"Our final ball let us down at times and had we been a bit cleverer in front of goal, then we might have got something from the match.
"I think one or two players were a little bit jaded. That was our second game in the space of three days and travelling up to Manchester after work on a Monday is a lot to ask of the players."
Adam Smith made his 100th appearance in Lynn colours, while Ross Kelly replaced Andrew Fisk on the bench.
Charlie Defty came in for the unavailable Greg Crane, while Julian Joachim was named on the bench.
On Joachim's omission, Webb said: "Julian picked up a knock on his toe against Stalybridge.
"He couldn't run well enough or hit a ball properly, that's why he didn't play.
"Had he been fit then the likelihood is that he would have started after coming off the bench and scoring a goal of the quality he did on Saturday."Midfielder Andy Johnson tested Craig Mawson with his right foot early on as the Linnets made a lively start.
Johnson then combined with Adam Smith, whose cross-cum-shot was tipped over the bar by Mawson.
Smith was denied by the keeper again from a free-kick in the 32nd minute after Scott Mitchell had been tripped by Lee Roche, who was subsequently booked.
The all-important goal came on 35 minutes when Scott Howie was wrong-footed by a wicked deflection, which saw Alex Brown's fierce shot find the back of the net.
Droyslden were the better side after the interval and Scott Howie was in fine form to stop the Bloods from extending their advantage.
Early in the second period Jake Speight blasted over the woodwork after being presented the ball by Mark Camm.
Speight was then denied by the acrobatics of Howie before Mark Peters' 75th-minute header just cleared the Droyslden bar in Lynn's best chance of the second half.
Howie was then called upon to foil Jody Banim before Lynn rallied in the closing stages.
Both Johnson and Mitchell tried their luck from long-range and Lynn's Luke Graham was booked in the dying seconds, but Droyslden held on to boost their play-off push.
Droylsden: C. Mawson, L. Roche, L. Brownhill, M. Byron, C. Ruffer, S. Beck, A. Brown, J. McGuire (S. Pickford 80), C. Lamb (I. Fitzpatrick 82), J. Speight, J. Bamim (M. Tipton 85). Subs (not used). N. Sorvel and S. Halford.
Goal: Brown 35.
Lynn: Howie, Graham, Smith, Peters, Thomas, Camm, Kelly (Fisk 63), Johnson, J. Defty, Renton (Dwyer 75), Mitchell. Unused Subs: Joachim, C. Defty, Murray. Booked: Graham.
Att: 278; MoM: Mark Peters. Referee: Mr A.R.Holmes.
Stats, Lynn first: shots on target 6, 6; off target 2, 4; corners 4, 6; offside 2, 7; free-kicks conceded 13, 15.