| Magpies reign on King's parade (02.05.07) |
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KINGS LYNN 0 |
MAIDENHEAD UNITED 1 (0) |
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A terrific strike from Mark Nisbet took
Maidenhead United through to a play off final at Bath on Saturday,
in a tense match at Kings Lynn last night, full of passion and
excitement. A big crowd of 1154 gathered at the impressive Walks Stadium, with all but a small band of the Magpie faithful who had made the long trip to Norfolk waiting with bated breath to cheer their team onto the final. The crowd was whipped up to a frenzy in the run up to kick off and this atmosphere cascaded down the terraces onto the pitch as the home team tore into the Magpies from the first whistle. The first 20 minutes saw the Linnets maintain sustained pressure on the Magpies but goalkeeper Chico Ramos was not called into serious action, the best chance falling to Matt Nolan in the third minute from a corner but he headed over. As the game progressed United slowly began to get a foothold in the game but it was Lynn who threatened most and Ramos had to be at his best to make successive saves from Matt O’Halloran with nine minutes of the half left. After the break the Magpies gradually took control of the game, Lynn running out of steam, ideas and inspiration as the possibility of a third successive play off failure began to arise. It was former Scotland Under 21 goalkeeper Scott Howie who was now the busier custodian, pushing wide a Dwane Lee long shot in the 52nd minute and making a good reaction save from Neville Roach on the hour mark. Maidenhead manager Johnson Hippolyte then refreshed the team by replacing both strikers and this move gave his team the extra impetus they needed to grab a winning goal. It arrived with sixteen minutes remaining when following a corner the ball found its way to Mark Nisbet on the edge of the area. The young defender took on the Lynn defence and as he entered the penalty area the yellow shirts parted to give him the sight of goal he required. Picking his spot Nisbet then gave Howie no chance with his effort, the ball flying into the back of the net. With their season falling apart before their eyes Lynn mounted one final effort to salvage the game winning a succession of corners but could not hit the target. They were given a further lifeline when the fourth official signaled four minutes of stoppage time but it was Maidenhead who came closest to adding to the score, a surging run from Ashley Smith down the left wing finishing with him cutting the ball back to Yashwa Romeo whose effort was pushed round the post by Howie. The referee blew for time seconds later sparking ecstatic scenes amongst all those associated with Maidenhead, the players and coaching staff racing over to the small knot of Magpie fans gathered in the far corner to celebrate a remarkable win. |
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Magpies: Ramos, Nisbet, Behzadi, Lee,
Sterling, Cooper, Telemaque, Brown Da, Newman (56 Romeo), Roach
(65 Hughes), Smith. Unused subs: Parsons, Fenton, Carpenter.
Goal: Nisbet 74. Caution: Brown 64. Gate: 1,154. Linnets: Howie, West (81 Bloomfield), Blois, Warren, Crane, Fisk, O’Halloran, Camm, Defty J (71 Gould), Nolan, Frew. Unused subs: Defty C, Hammond, Marshall. Caution: Nolan 48. Linnet of the match: Mark Warren |