More frustration as Linnets lose third game in a week

South Shields 2 King's Lynn Town 1

Adam Lakeland was left to reflect on a tough run of games and frustration with match officials as his King’s Lynn Town side went down to their third defeat inside a week.

The Linnets trailed at half-time before the hosts doubled their lead with a controversial goal with 12 minutes remaining.

Lynn pulled one back through Kian Ronan on 88 minutes and had a great opportunity to bring home a point when they were awarded a penalty in time added on, only for Jonny Margetts to blaze his effort over the bar.

It a depleted Lynn side - missing Freddie Sass, Cody Johnson, Josh Hmami, Sam Walker and Gold Omotayo - slipped to seventh in the National League North table.

“It's been a tough run for us, a really tough run,” said Lakeland. We played Oxford City away on a Tuesday night, we've had Spennymoor away on a Tuesday night. We've had Chorley away in between, we've now had South Shields away.

“We've had a lot of travelling and a lot of really tough games and we've been a little bit bare bones today, but the players are giving everything and providing they keep on doing that, then we'll be absolutely fine. We just got to go again.”

Lakeland’s post-match mood wasn’t helped by what he saw as injustice from the officials, particularly over the second goal, with his players adamant the ball had not crossed the line.

“Frustrated with the officials at the end of the game if I am being honest,” he said.

“We seem to be seeing more and more of these linos getting involved and for me they've got to be crystal clear that to get involved they are 100pc right. I felt we were really unfortunate last week at Chorley with one and all the lads have told me, and they're an honest group of lads, the ball’s not gone over the line for the second goal and I think initially from where we were stood, the way that the ball travelled away from the goal suggests that it didn't cross the line.

“If it hasn’t crossed the line, then that's cost us getting anything here today because we would have got a draw.

“And if we had capitalised on what looked like a soft penalty given to us, which is one of the first bits of fortune we've had from officiating in what about 20 games now, we could have won.

“So that's a real big moment, that. If the lino has got it right and we're all wrong, then we'll be the first to hold our hands up. But if he's got it wrong, we'll be coming for him in our post-match report that we've got to do, because that's a massive decision to make.

“But look, obviously the penalty miss is a massive moment. But Jonny Margetts has been out for eight weeks. He's played 90 minutes, the number of goals he’s scored since joining us in January and points he's won for us, there's nobody else I’d rather have over the ball than him.

“I think the way for him to take it didn't help and they obviously played that incredibly well, delaying the restart of the game, but then I asked the fourth official how much extra they were going to add on following the miss of that penalty and he said three minutes and then I look up at the clock and we've played 97:29.

“They just talk nonsense, they make it up as they go along and it's just not good enough for this level of football. There were 2,600 in here today, a fantastic football club, really good team, great atmosphere, two really good teams. The third team - didn't think they were great, particularly the ones on the outside of the pitch. I thought the referee was ok, but the ones on the outside, not got enough.”

South Shields: Boney, Richards, Taylor (Crossley 75), Broadbent, Morse, Briggs, Mee (Bramwell 75), Jenkins, Heaney, De Bolle (Hodgson 85), Blackett (Duoik 85). Subs not used: Seymour. Goals: Blackett 30, Crossley 78

King’s Lynn Town: Jones, Crowe, McFadden, Wilson, Taylor, McCammon, Hughes (Coulson 90), Crane, Barnes (Forde-Brown), Margetts, Williams (Ronan 63). Subs not used: Falcao, Boyes. Goal: Ronan 88.

Attendance: 2,622.