| City brought the curtain down on their home campaign with a surprisingly easy win over previously unpenetrable East Anglians Kings Lynn. The Linnets had denied us progress in the FA Trophy as well as beating us in the league at the Walks and had prevented us from scoring until Neil Griffiths' goals today. |
| The win was well received too as it finally put any mathematical uncertainty over relegation to bed. Unfortunately Hemel and Dunstable 'secured' the final two spots and will be playing their football at a lower level next year. Unlike our Conference friends Forest Green Rovers who continue to pray that Northwich will be demoted so that they can jump in their grave. |
| Chris Burns made one or two changes with Andy Varnham and Jamie Reid dropping to the bench to make way for a patched up Jimmy Cox and a very welcome Dan Avery. It's been a frustrating campaign for the young defender with just one appearance since September. |
| Cox's return mean't that the newly crowned Supporters player of the season Lee Smith would attack from right wing back whilst Chris Thompson, who came a close second was again forced to slot into the heart of defence to replace the suspended Lyndon Tompkins. |
Our opponents weren't at full strength and the fact that hotshot striker Danny Bloomfield wasn't going to start didn't come from Mr Tannoy but from a fat Linnet fan who burst through a small gathering of City supporters bellowing "Why the f**k is Bloomfield on the bench"?
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| Dave Staff's long trip from the Fens was made pointless just two minutes into the game when he limped off after a tangle with Dave Wilkinson. Lynn's larger than life supporter was appeased when Bloomfield came on for him. |
| Having previously failed to find the net in one hundred and eighty minutes of football against the Linnets it came as quite a shock that City hit the target almost right at the start. |
| Chris Thompson was uncomfortably knocked off the ball, enough so for the ref to award a free kick and quick thinking from Chris Burns set Dan Avery free down the left wing. A hesitant cross from the goalline followed and Neil Griffiths bravely challenged at the far post where the ball rebounded kindly for the City skipper to tap into an unguarded net. |
| The response could've been instant though as Avery found himself exposed at left back and was a spectator as his opponent cut inside and forced Matt Bath to acrobatically turn his shot over the bar. This was followed by an attack from the other side that again saw action from the City keeper from a shot by former Cambridhe United and Stevenage player Sam McMahon. |
But City made their guests pay when the second goal came following another giveaway free kick out on the wing when Lee Smith was too quick for the lumbering Setchell. Burns' set piece looked wasted but Jimmy Cox's late run caused enough doubt in the keepers mind for him to spill the ball right to the spot where Griff was and the defender poked it home to complete his brace.
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| The East Anglians needed to score before the break to have an impact on the game and City were dropping off and giving them far too much room to attack. McMahon was in the heart of the action again when despite having the time to shoot he barely troubled Bath with his backpass type effort. |
| Another close call came when a poor clearing header from Chris Burns went straight to an opponent who shot beyond Matt Bath but too wide of the target as it glanced the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick. Isn't it funny how things change because a similar Burns header a week earlier had set up Hednesford's Chris Brindley for an easy goal. |
| More defending from City followed as Chris Thompson was called into action to clear a Darren Hay header off the line after he'd nodded a deep cross back from the far post. Even though Burns' men were two goals to the good they were working hard to keep a clean sheet. |
| There was a slight respite from the onslaught though as a Cox run on goal was brought to a halt by a clumsy challenge that saw the City man dragged to the ground, although the referee saw nothing wrong and let play continue. Then from a corner Hay almost sliced the ball into his own net after Daryl Addis had been denied by the keeper following good work from Smith. |
| As ever the interval gave us all a breather but for once it gave me something to smile about as I won third prize in the raffle. Not bad because I normally have the next ticket or the one before it! |
Lynn left back Gary Setchell obviously enjoyed the comfort of the dressing rooms as the first thing that he did in the second half was go straight through the back of Addis in a gruesome attempt to win the ball. The City man was left grounded and weak refereeing meant that what should've been a straight red card was only a yellow.
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| The City fans were rightly annoyed that he remained on the pitch although it wasn't the view of one knobheaded away fan who shouted "Great tackle Setch" as he made his way past through the home support. Now I'm not one to go down the 'inbred' route with the Kings Lynn (and Grantham) fans, but do they all react in this manner when they smell different blood? |
| Impressive winger Mark Angel was subbed for a Danny Hammond, a centre back. A strange move for a team that was two goals down. |
| Some might say that Chris Burns was lucky not to be sent off as he sent Danny Bloomfield tumbling as he looked to break free of a high City defence on the halfway line but the gaffer was simply cautioned. To be fair to Burns it looked nothing and it's odd how the laws of the game can equate a vile challenge from Setchell with this incident. |
| Even more incredible was how Kings Lynn had failed to score whilst they continued to create chance after chance. Ludovic Quistin charged down the left wing evading challenges all the way before one of his teammates wasted his efforts by turning his cross over the bar. This was following by Matt O'Halloran looking a gift horse in the mouth when unmarked from ten yards out he could only shoot weakly at Bath. |
The referee's union and their conspiracy against City of not giving us penalties followed when a Cox run and cut back saw THREE seperate handball claims all denied in the same move. We could play against the Harlem Globetrotters and still not get awarded a spot kick.
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| Darren Hay had Lynn's last chance of note though when he controlled the ball with his chest before shooting tamely to the far post. Bearing in mind that this happened with twenty minutes left you can understand why the travelling fans were disappointed by the days events. |
| It wasn't much better for City though as the game petered out into an end of season affair. The only action of note came from the sidelines where City made three changes within a matter of minutes of each other. |
| First off was Avery, the youngsters always get taken off irrespective of how well they've done. Adie Harris replaced him. Then Keith Knight put an end to any hopes Griff might've had of getting a hat trick when he took his place and Jamie Reid would've been frustrated to see his youth team Captain Andy Varnham go on for Addis leaving him all alone on the bench. |
| Nothing happened then other than a Dave Wilkinson glancing header that flew wide, although his 'glance' was that fine there is some doubt whether he actually touched the ball at all. |
| At the final whistle the City players engaged in their annual ritual of applauding the supporters for another good year, a premature act considering there was one game left at Banbury seven days later! |
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| Tiger Roar Man of the Match - Neil Griffiths |
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Neil Griffiths
Star Man |
With Captain Neil Mustoe banned Griff reclaimed his old armband and won the game for City with two first half strikes. Neil was eventually subbed in the second half after engaging in a ding dong battle with Darren Hay for the third time this season.
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