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Barnet 2
Lincoln 3
15th February 2006
It might have been Valentines' Day, but it was heartbreak
for Barnet as they threw away a two-goal lead in their
match against Lincoln.
Imps' boss Keith Alexander made two alterations to the
side that beat Torquay 2-0 on Saturday. Lee Frecklington
and Ollie Ryan, who had both been recalled to the side,
found their places taken by the very players they had
replaced on Saturday. This meant that Steve Robinson, who
missed Saturday's match through illness, was recalled
with Franny Green.
Barnet, who kicked off the game, won the first corner of
the evening after just two minutes. The corner was
cleared but play was stop-start during the opening
minutes because of throw-ins and infringements.
City could have taken the lead in the 7th minute when a
long ball forward was flicked on to Simon Yeo by Martin
Gritton. Unfortunately, Barnet goalkeeper Ross Flitney
read the danger and blocked Yeo's shot.
A minute later, Nick Bailey sent a long-range effort wide
for Barnet. Lincoln responded soon afterwards, as Yeo
released Gritton. The Imps' striker rounded Flitney but
he was unable to regain control of ball and it ran out of
play.
Barnet were missing five players for this game, so
recalled Ben Strevens to the side. He repaid his
manager's faith by scoring the opening goal of the game.
Much of the credit went to Giuliano Grazioli, as he broke
free of the offside trap before forcing Imps' goalkeeper
Alan Marriott into an excellent save. Unfortunately, Strevens
was the
quickest to react and he knocked the ball into the empty
net for 1-0 to Barnet.
Lincoln were clearly rocked by this goal, and things were
heading for disaster when Yeo required lengthy treatment
before being able to continue. It could have been worse
had Tresor Kandol not sent a 23rd minute shot wide for
Barnet.
The Imps partially rallied in the 31st minute when
Gritton and Green combined to free Yeo,. Alas, Yeo missed
from just 6-yards out. Fortunately for Lincoln, their
goalkeeper was on alert as The Imps had to be very
grateful to Marriott when, in the 32nd minute, he made a
brilliant one-handed save to deny Dean Sinclair.
Lincoln would have gone into half-time level but for some
superb goalkeeping from Flitney in the 42nd minute. The
move started when Nat Brown powered a 30-yard shot at
goal, which Flitney parried. Green followed up, but his
shot was blocked by Flitney. The ball remained loose,
which enabled Gritton to head it towards goal, only for
Flitney to push the ball away for a corner!
Both goalkeepers were having an inspired game, as two
minutes later, it was Marriott's turn to save his team,
as he pushed Bailey's long-range shot over the crossbar.
Strevens' corner was then headed over the crossbar by
Kandol.
There were no team changes at the start of the second
half, which saw Strevens shot wide after a few second of
the restart. A 48th minute foul by Barry Fuller on Scott
Kerr presented Robinson with an opportunity, but his
free-kick sailed wide.
Barnet extended their lead in the 52nd minute when recent
signing Kandol latched on to a loose ball
before lobbing Marriott from distance.
Earlier this season, a Lincoln side who found themselves
2-0 down would have collapsed. However, this side have
recently discovered new belief and to their credit, their
survival skills kicked in.
After restarting the game, The Imps won a 53rd minute
corner. Kerr's corner was returned to him, so at the
second attempt, his cross was looped into the penalty
area where it bypassed Flitney to reach Jamie
McCombe,
who tapped the ball into the net for 1-2 to Barnet.
In the 63rd minute, following long-range shots by Dwane
Lee and Grazioli, Lincoln decided to make their first
substitution when Alexander elected to replace Gritton
with Gary Birch. It proved an excellent choice because
within two minutes, Birch had equalised for Lincoln.
The game arose via a poor clearance from Flitney, which
was a shame because, up to this point, Flitney was having
a very good game. The poor pass went straight to Birch, who evaded the defender
before shooting past Flitney for 2-2.
The first yellow card of the match was shown to Fuller
for his 71st minute foul on Green. A minute later, a shot
by Yeo was palmed away by Flitney, at the expense of
corner. Flitney claimed the corner to settle Barnet's
nerves. Seven minutes later, Flitney was called into
action again, as he stopped Green's goal bound shot.
Kandol received a 79th minute caution for a foul on Jeff
Hughes, as the game entered its final ten minutes. Both
sides then opted to make 83rd minute substitutions with
Barnet replacing Sinclair with Louis Soares, while
Frecklington replaced Robinson for Lincoln.
One player who has been victim of unfair criticism from
some of Lincoln's supporters is Brown. Although he
sometimes struggles in an unfamiliar midfield role, Brown
works tirelessly for the side and has contributed several
vital goals.
However, perhaps the most vital of Brown's goals this
season will prove to be the one he scored tonight. It was
the 87th minute and the game was heading for a draw, that
was until Brown latched on to a loose ball
before blasting a shot from 30-yards into the net for 3-2
to Lincoln.
Barnet had one last attack in them, except Lee got his
timing wrong and missed the ball when in a well-placed
scoring position. At the other end, Yeo was once again
denied by Flitney.
A seemingly never ending four minutes of stoppage time
was played, with Lincoln professionally seeing out those
four minutes.
Overall, an excellent fighting victory from a side who,
just a few months ago, would have given up at 2-0 down!
Barnet
FC: R Flitney,
B Fuller, I Yakubu, A Charles, A Gross, D Sinclair(83 L
Soares), N Bailey, D Lee, B Strevens, T Kandol, G
Grazioli
Unused subs: M Reed, I Hendon, B Bowditch, J Norville
Lincoln
City FC: A Marriott, C Cryan, G
McAuley, J McCombe, J Hughes, S Robinson (83 L
Frecklington), S Kerr, N Brown, F Green, M Gritton (63 G
Birch), S Yeo
Unused subs: M Robinson, J Stirling, L Beevers
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