Wealdstone 1 -1 Kings Lynn
Wealdstone1 - 1
Kings LynnStones made six changes to the side that played on Tuesday as Manager Gordon Bartlett rotated the squad to keep as many players as possible available for the two fixtures over the Easter Weekend and the run in, while still trying to gain the points that will see Wealdstone survive the drop for another season of Premier Division football.
Mitch Swain had recovered from a recent hand injury and started in goal, while Fernandes has been called back to Hampton to cover an absence on Good Friday, Scott Cousins has had a reaction to his recent injury so he too was missing, while Scott Donnelly, Simon Martin and Josias Carbon all took places on the bench.
Stones started with a 4-5-1 formation looking to hold the centre of the park and in the early stages this seemed to be working well as the visitors were limited to sporadic attacks and they created chances of their own, a through ball finding Papali early on, but he was unable to control the final shot. Though the visitors looked stronger and passed the ball sweetly, stones defence looked more than capable of blocking and disrupting them as the half went on.
On 26 minutes though, Kings Lynn were awarded a penalty after Graham Hall tripped Frew, and Nolan stepped up to take the spot kick, saved by Mitch Swain, who could only watch as the forward reached the rebound first to slot home for Lynn.
Immediately, Gordon Bartlett changed the shape going to a more standard 4-4-2 and though Stones struggled for a short time to regain their defensive control, going forward they became a more potent threat almost immediately.
Hall with a free kick, Papali and Robinson all saw efforts saved as stones grew in confidence as the half wore on, Martin and Moore in particular at the back dominating the Lynn forwards and breaking down every opportunity the visitors had, though Swain was called to make one excellent save, tipping the ball over from under the bar at the end of the half.
The second half saw Stones start far brighter and they continually forced the visitors back into their own half with wave upon wave of attack. Howie in the Lynn goal made an excellent stop 1 on 1 with Robinson, and palmed away efforts from Papali, Montgomery and Clark in the early stages as Stones fought for an equaliser – at this stage the back 4 and goalkeeper almost becoming spectators as the visitors struggled to get the ball out of their own half.
On 64 minutes Stones equalised when a Lee Chappell throw was headed on by O’Leary and Papali was on hand to blast the ball in for the equaliser, that was nothing more than Stones deserved.
They continued to force the visitors back and again Howie made crucial saves from Robinson, Montgomery, O’Leary and Papali as stones looked for the next goal but it wasn’t to be. In the dying stages Lynn to had their opportunities as Stones faded a little, Swain again called into action on a couple of occasions, making excellent saves to keep the score at 1-1.
A great game for a neutral I’m sure and on paper a bonus point perhaps for Wealdstone, but on the night, they were so close to claiming all three which would have put a different perspective on the weekends fixtures.
Wealdstone: Mitch Swain, Lee Chappell, Fergus Moore 39, Ben Martin, Graham Hall, Dean Clarke, John-Joe O’Toole, Chris O’Leary, Theo Robinson, Dean Papali64 s82 Andre Dellissier, Graeme Montgomery Subs not used: Scott Donnelly, Simon Martin, Rodrick Maveso-Mputu, Josias Carbon
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