16-05-2006, 02:40
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disturbed loner
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 69271
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Re: English League 2 playoffs 16th & 18th
seems Lincoln are having probs upfront though-
Quote:
Lincoln 0 Grimsby 1
By Imps' Staff
Date: 14/5/2006
Lincoln City gave away their home advantage by allowing Grimsby Town to record a 1-0 victory in the League Two play-off first leg.
This was a disappointing defeat for Lincoln, who had plenty of possession but could not find a legal way past the Grimsby defence. Perhaps this outcome was to be expected, as last week, Lincoln had struggled to score against Rochdale.
With that in mind, perhaps it was even more surprising that Imps' boss Keith Alexander named the same staring line-up. This meant that Simon Yeo had to accept a place on the substitutes' bench rather than the predicted starting role.
Grimsby's game plan appeared to be one of score early - they would also try this tactic at the commencement of the second half. After just 20 seconds of play, they won a corner but Lincoln were alert to deal with the danger.
Grimsby were extremely lively in the opening ten minutes and it seemed only a matter of time before they scored. However, The Imps calmed and did in fact succeed in sending the ball into the Grimsby net twice, only for both goals to be disallowed.
The first disallowed goal came in the 16th minute when Jamie McCombe headed the ball under goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall. As McCombe turned to celebrate, he was greeted by the referee who had ruled that McCombe had pushed a defender over.
Four minutes later, and Marvin Robinson saw his strike disallowed for offside, following a good passing move involving several players.
Lincoln were rocked, and it was little surprise when a minute later, Grimsby took the lead. Andy Parkinson showed good skills to create the chance but Lincoln's defence must take the blame, as a lack of concentration played Curtis Woodhouse on side. Parkinson passed to Woodhouse, whose cross was diverted into the net by Gary Jones for 1-0.
Credit must go to Lincoln because they did not allow their confidence to drop. As the game progressed, the sense was that Lincoln would soon score. Unfortunately, they wasted their best chances and were then mainly restricted to speculative shots.
The outcome of this match might have been different had Mildenhall not played as well as he did. Although he was only forced into one real save - from Lee Beevers' 32nd minute power drive that Mildenhall tipped over the crossbar - his presence was immense, as he caught numerous crosses.
As the match entered stoppage time, Lincoln came within an inch of scoring the equaliser. A 90th minute corner was headed downwards and goal wards by Nat Brown. The ball went past Mildenhall but somehow, Woodhouse managed to drop low enough to deflect the ball off the goal line. However, there was little power on the clearance, which allowed Gareth McAuley to instinctively hook the rebound at goal, only to see his shot hit the post.
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English League 2 playoffs 16th & 18th
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