King's Lynn 0 Burton Albion 4
30th August 1980
HISTORY repeated itself on Saturday when Lynn were on the receiving end of the Burton Albion goal machine. The last three visits by Albion to The Walks have ended in heavy defeats for the Linnets.
There was a 5-0 hiding in the FA Trophy in 1976. a 4-1 Southern League defeat in 1978 and a 2-0 result the followingseason.
Ian Storey-Moore, the former England international, was in the Burton side which won so easily in the Trophy match and he returned to Lynn on Saturday as manager of a side packed with experience.
Collectively and individually- Burton were so skilful and positive in their play, giving Lynn a harsh lesson in what to expect from the top sides in the Northern Premier League.
And Storey-Moore says that he has three players out through suspension and a fourth injured that he is not playing his strongest team.
Lynn, of course, were without the injured Richard Johnston and Clive Adams, two players who add so much strength lo the team How they were missed on Saturday.
The tragedy of it all was that Lynn should give Burton a gilt start with the chance of a fifth minute goal which was gratefully accepted, Mick Wright ran the ball from defence straight into a block tackle from Nixon whose instant pass sent David Kirk darting through with only Phil Ringwood to beat and he made no mistake.
Just before this an error in the Burton defence went unpunished after John Bailey's pass inside went to Keith Rudd who did not get enough power in this shot to beat the covering defender Peter Hindle who cleared off the line while his goalkeeper was stranded and watching helplessly.
This is the way football goes. You get a chance and miss it and the opposition make you pay.
Burton played some delightful football on all parts of the field and out-classed the Linnets without, turning their superiority into goals. But once it was only the thickness of the post that saved Lynn when a shot from Peter Davison went wide off Ringwood and rebounded off the upright.
Lynn's mid-field was not getting into the game although Chris Watts battled away and continued to impress
Any hopes Lynn had of coming hack in the second half were quickly swept sway as Burton snapped up two goals in just over half-an-hour
A defence-splitting move engineered by Chapman and Arthur ended with Davison stabbing home from close range in the 47th minute.
Then it was Arthur who got the third in the 63rd minute. cleverly beating Wilson right on the touchline and chipping the hall over Ringwood and into the net off the far post. Nixon was there to make sure, but it looked all the way Arthur's goal.
Just to show it was not Lynn's afternoon, their attack two minutes later involving Rudd and Bailey down the right ended with the centre falling to the feet of Wilson who beat goalkeeper Alcock with a shot which hit the inside of the post and spun out across the goalmouth. Chapman moved in for the kill, but not quickly enough for his shot was blocked for a corner.
Nixon and Davison caused more problems for Lynn in the 76th minute and set Kirk free on the left. The former Leicester player, making his debut, cut in without hesitation and accurately guided his shot past Ringwood.
It was an emphatic performance by Burton Albion and shows what Lynn must be aiming for.
Lynn: Ringwood. Moyes, Wright. M Wiles, Wilson; Pinkowski (sub Rider 61). Bailey. Watts, D. Wiles, Rudd, Chapman.
Burton Albion: Alcock, Hindley, Kent, Collier, (sub Kemm 80). Swan. Dolby. Arthur. Chapman, Nixon, Kirk. Davison.