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Lincoln 2
Notts County 1
25th February 2006
Lincoln City defeated a Notts County side at Sincil Bank
today, to record their first home victory over County for
nearly 28 years.
Imps' boss Keith Alexander was forced to make two
alterations to the side that drew 1-1 at Macclesfield
last Saturday. Both occurred in midfield as Luke Foster
and Lee Frecklington replaced the suspended Nat Brown and
the illness strickened Steve Robinson.
However, Alexander also made one other change, as he
opted to recall Gary Birch to starting line-up for the
first time in over a month, at the expense of Martin
Gritton.
Notts County kicked-off and they were almost ahead after
just seconds of play but Imps' goalkeeper Alan Marriott
was sufficiently alert to save Nathan Doyle's shot.
Lincoln responded a minute later when Foster's excellent
ball found Simon Yeo. The Imps' striker raced towards
goal but as he shaped to shoot, County's Kevin Wilson
made a last-ditch tackle to end the danger.
It was certainly an entertaining start to the match, as
next, Jeff Hughes released Yeo. Alas, County goalkeeper
Kevin Pilkington read the danger and raced from his goal
to snatch the ball before Yeo could reach it.
County tried their luck in the 9th minute when Charlie
Palmer's shot flashed across the face of the Imps' goal.
They quickly regained possession and won two consecutive
corners a minute later but the second was headed clear by
Jamie McCombe.
Superb midfield play from Scott Kerr saw him win the ball
via a fine tackle. He then beat two players before
passing the ball to Green, who then shot wide. Midfield
play such as this contribution from Kerr, has been absent
from Lincoln's side of previous seasons.
Both sides tighten-up defensively as the first half wore
on, although both had corners that were cleared. In the
37th minute, Gareth McAuley was cautioned for a foul on
Daniel Chillingworth.
It should have been 1-0 to Lincoln in the 39th minute
when another fine pass by Kerr released Yeo. He fooled
Wilson to create extra space but Yeo's shot was palmed
away by Pilkington.
Lincoln's entire midfield was superb throughout this
match, as demonstrated by another fine pass, this time by
Foster, in the 44th minute. Green was the beneficiary of
the pass but his shot was blocked by Brian O'Callaghan
for a corner.
The corner failed to trouble County and it seemed that
the half would end, as it started, at 0-0. However, in
stoppage time, Colin Cryan's long throw-in was headed on
by McCombe to Green, who controlled the ball
before looping it over Pilkington for 1-0.
The second half began with a mix-up between McAuley and
Marriott. As the ball hung in the wind, neither seemed
keen to take control but somehow, McAuley tapped the ball
past Marriott before conceding a corner that County
subsequently sent out for a goal kick.
From the goal kick, Marriott launched the ball forward to
Green, who controlled it on his chest. He then flicked
the ball past Robert Ullathorne before seeing his shot
blocked by a defender. The ball rebounded to Green, who
saw his second shot well saved by Pilkington.
Two minutes later, Marriott refused to allow Pilkington
to take all the goalkeeping glory. Steve Scoffham managed
to beat The Imps' defence but his shot was superbly saved
by Marriott.
Ullathorne collected a 52nd minute booking for handball,
while a minute later, Scoffham was replaced by Eugene
Dadi in the game's first substitution.
Goal chances then became at a premium, although Lincoln
did win two corners within five minutes. In-between,
Palmer's speculative shot was gathered by Marriott.
County's idea to change the pattern of play saw Lewis
McMahon replaced by Noe Sissoko in the 69th minute. The
substitution had the desired effect because within ninety
seconds, County had equalised.
Birch's 71st minute foul on Doyle presented Palmer with
opportunity to deliver a free-kick into Lincoln's penalty
area. Mike Edwards jumped the highest to
head the ball past Marriott for 1-1.
County were buoyed by the goal and Sissoko tried a 73rd
minute shot that flew over the crossbar. McCombe's 75th
minute foul on Chillingworth led to Palmer sending a
free-kick wide of the post.
Lincoln were now under attack, so Alexander chose to
replace Kerr with defender Lee Beevers, although Kerr was
struggling with an injury.
Thankfully that substitution broke up County's
enthusiasm, which indirectly led to Lincoln regaining the
lead. Hughes was the architect, as he beat two defenders
before sending in a precise cross towards McCombe, who headed the ball into the
net for 2-1 to Lincoln.
County came close to levelling just a minute later when
they won a corner, but the delivery was poor. Lincoln
promptly went on the attack with Green crossing to Yeo,
but his diving header went wide.
Both sides made substitutions in the 82nd minute, as
Lincoln replaced Birch with Gritton while County's Daniel
Martin replaced Ullathorne.
Green fired wide in the 84th minute but there was a real
scare for Lincoln in the 89th minute. As Marriott
attempted a goal kick, Dadi kicked the ball in mid-air
and then sent it into the empty goal. It was a
controversial talking point but the referee refused to
allow the goal, so by full time, the score had stayed at
2-1 to Lincoln.
Lincoln
City: A
Marriott, C Cryan, G McAuley, J McCombe, J Hughes, S Kerr
(77 L Beevers), L Frecklington, L Foster, S Yeo, G Birch
(83 M Gritton), F Green
Unused subs: S Robinson, O Ryan, M Robinson
Notts County: K Pilkington, N Doyle, B
O'Callaghan, K Wilson, R Ullathorne (84 D Martin), L
McMahon (70 N Sissoko), M Edwards, D Pipe, C Palmer, S
Scoffham (54 E Dadi), D Chillingworth
Unused subs: E Friars, S Marshall
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