Can I interest anyone in a lead?
By Nathan Jackson
October 1 2005
Can I interest anyone in a lead? We have plenty to give away and best of all, just one previous owner. Any enquiries, see Lincoln City Football Club. For the 5th away match out of the 6 played this season, the Imps took the lead and still didn't manage to win the game despite controlling it.
City kicked the game off but it was far from a comfortable start as the first few minutes consisted of a midfield battle although Birch did create the first opportunity when he headed Kerr’s cross goalwards. Bury’s very bumpy pitch was proving very unstable as players were constantly bringing up grass when they made tackles. Asamoah sent in a grounded cross into the box, however, before the ball could reach Robinson, it hit on of the pieces of turf that had been brought up and went comfortably into the arms of Edwards.
Bury got the game’s first corner in the 11th minute but Buchanan’s delivery was comfortably headed out. The game slowed down tremendously and the only chances (all of which were City’s), were all half chances and it was obvious why Bury are struggling. They lacked any really talent. In every team in the division, there is at least 1 player who stands out from the rest but Bury don’t see to have that and often, they had no-one on the other end of their punts down field and resembled an American Football team rather than a (proper version of) football team.
Birch was fouled around 40 yards from goal and Keates floated the ball into the box and it appeared to be going straight through, but Foster managed to get his knees to it forcing Edwards to make a save. Marvin Robinson was again in the thick of the action when Foster crossed the ball into the box but the former Derby striker, not only headed wide, but if he had scored, it wouldn’t have been allowed anyway because the referee had ruled he had fouled Woodthorpe. It’s funny how the referee thought the Woodthorpe trying to
Against the run of play, Bury almost took the lead after getting the second corner of the game. However, Luke Foster was on hand to clear the goalbound header from Challinor. City then got a corner themselves when it approaching half time but Mayo’s header went just inches wide of the post as he still seeks his first goal for the Imps’ since his return a few months ago.
It looked as though it was destined to be 0-0 at half time before Paul Mayo was fouled 35 yards out from goal. Dean Keates stepped up and absolutely hammered the ball as hard as he could and it sailed into the top left hand corner via a brilliant curve and a slight help from the strong wind. This was the midfielder’s 2nd free kicked goal of the season and he seems to be running his own 1 man “GOAL OF THE SEASON” competition.
City did have the ball in the net again with 2 minutes when they broke through 2 on 1 with the keeper. Birch ran through and pulled the keeper out of goal before passing to Robinson who slotted the ball into the net. However, the goal was ruled out for offside despite Birch played the ball BACKWARDS to Robinson, making it impossible for him to be offside.
The 2nd half began with an incident that really should have seen Whalley (sort of an appropriate name considering what happened) sent off when he lunged into a 2 footed challenge from behind on Bloomer to give away a free kick. Whalley wasn’t even booked for this. The ball was crossed in an evaded everyone before falling to Asamoah at the back post. The “striker” put in another cross than turned into a shot and hit the post,
Challinor tried his luck for Bury when putting in a completely ridiculous shot from around 40 yards which Raynor had no trouble in collecting. The unexciting and rather uninspirational Shakers looked like they had just given up as Gary Birch waltzed through several of them before unleashing a shot that was just kept out by Edwards’ feet.
Robinson was booked after a challenge on Tom Kennedy. The Bury man was obviously looking for Robinson to be punish, at first Kennedy lay like you normally would after being challenged, looked at the ref who wasn’t reaching into his pocket, Kennedy then decided to shake his leg uncontrollably and the referee decided to book Robinson. Now, if this was a yellow card offence, why did nothing happen to Whalley after his incredibly dangerous 2 footed challenge from behind.
Foster came close to opening his account for the Imps as he was on the end of a deep cross into the box but his header hit the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick. The game reached the 89th minute and it looked as though City were about to secure their first win away from Sincil Bank since the 4-1 victory over Rushden in March. However, out of nowhere, Whalley popped up in the box and shot down low and despite Raynor getting his fingers to it, it snuck into the bottom left hand corner to give Bury a very very undeserved point.
Foster did almost restore the lead 2 minutes into added time but he again could only hit the post from a corner.