Kingstonian 3-1 Southport
K'S FINALLY GET IT WRIGHT
Well, its been a long time in waiting, 56 days in fact, but finally K's have shown that they can truly perform in front of their home crowd, against Mark Wright's strong Southport team aiming for a top 3 place. A notable appearance was Geoff Chapple's return after a "tooth" injury, and how much we missed him........
On a grim day, matching K's current league position, our greatest players of the previous millennium were commemorated in a special "Those Were The K's" parade before the match. If it was an effort to boost the attendance, it unfortunately failed, if it was an effort to fire the current K's team up for today's game, it was successful.
As hoped, K's started the game well, dominating the first 15-20 minutes. The 33 Southport (yes, we counted, although they seemed to multiply as the game progressed) fans were doing their mice impressions by trying to keep as quiet as possible throughout the first half. Winston and Ian Duerden, a striker on loan from Doncaster, were impressive early on, with the first chance going to Sammy in the first 10 minutes, bringing the ball forward and unleashing a thunderous right-foot shot from the right side of the penalty area, and forcing a brilliant save from Dickinson in the Southport goal. K's looked promising after this, although they were frustrated by a constant inability to get a decent final ball through the Southport defence.
K's player of the month Geoff Pitcher was as usual controlling the midfield, but his shots were about as impressive as Dickinson's very fashionable black and blue keeper kit. Worst kit of season contender? It just might be.
Southport were beginning to get into the game with some good passing in midfield; Ian Arnold and Simon Parke being involved in a number of chances. K's had another vital opportunity to open the scoring after Winston won a free kick on the right, which Luckett whipped in. A mass scramble followed, but despite efforts from Patterson and Harris, the ball couldn't quite be forced in.
The breakthrough came on 28 minutes, when a cross came in from the right, catching the K's defence off guard. Parke met the cross with a header to Farrelly's right, which he couldn't quite keep out. It was a well worked goal, and one that was fully deserved by the visitors.
Nevertheless K's weren't about to surrender the game. They battled back and went close with a chipped free kick from Patterson just needing a slight connection for an equaliser. On a number of occasions Winston seemed to break the offside trap, only to be stopped by the linesman every time. Pitcher continued to terrorise the Southport defence with his menacing runs, and went close with a header (yep, that's right, a header - there's a first for everything) that was again saved by an increasingly annoying presence in the visitor's goal.
The shooting was also poor at this point in the game, with Winston wasting a number of opportunities to show off his amazing shooting ability that helped him make it in the football league. However we were attacking constantly and it seemed only a matter of time before an equaliser came.
With both Woking and Northwich Victoria winning at half time, K's desperately needed an equaliser in the 2nd half, or only Kettering would be between us and the bottom of the league come the final whistle. The second half didn't start too promisingly though, with Southport hoping to slow down the game and take their lead back to Merseyside. On 52 minutes Parke had another great chance from a corner, only to be blocked by an excellent save by Farrelly, not for the first or last time. K's chances were few and far between, and with Parke making even more for himself, it seemed as though it was going to be yet another defeat for the K's.
Chapple obviously noticed this and brought on Ronnie Green for Winston, and Mark Beard on for Junior Kadi. Green's pace was immediately noticeable and this provoked a punch (?) on 71 minutes from Phil Bolland in the Southport midfield. The referee did not see kindly to this, and didn't hesitate to give a him a second yellow card. Bye bye Southport's game. Welcome an amazing revival from the mighty K's.
The free kick was taken quickly, and Duerden met the cross with a diving header. 1-1. There was only going to be one team winning this game now. Didn't Kevin Keegan once say something like that?
Kingsmeadow seems to be drawing off the pitch scuffles every week, and today's game was no different, although this time in K's favour. Andy Gouck was booked for dissent, which ex-Liverpool player Mark Wright didn't quite agree with. The argument following led to the dismissal of Wright from the touchline, something that certainly did not go amiss with both sets of fans and players.
Then, just when you thought it was safe to call the game a draw (or something like that), out came a touch of genius from Pitcher. Picking the ball up from just outside the box nine minutes from time, he glided past the bewildered Southport defence and shot left-footed into the corner. Magnificent is a word that is not worthy of this piece of class, and you have to wonder what the midfielders in the second and third divisions are doing to keep out brilliance like Geoff Pitcher. Not that I'm complaining.........
Following this were a few worrying moments for the K's defence, including a header off the line by Harris after a rare mistake from Farrelly. The frustration of the Southport team was showing as a disgraceful tackle by Grayston was rightfully punished with a booking. Gouck had another chance to grab an equaliser for the visitors, but his shot was, well...........Andy Cole-like. We weren't worried though, and the game was wrapped up a few minutes from the end when a long ball forward was chased by both Dickinson and Duerden. The latter met the ball first and a glorious chip trickled into the net. The K's fans were ecstatic, and its been a long time since they've been so.
A number of K's players played brilliantly throughout the game, including a fine performance from Steve Farrelly and David Bass. The sending off was undoubtedly the turning point of the game, but credit must go to a Southport team who gave an excellent battle and went home with a scoreline that was perhaps a bit harsh on them. A mention has to go to Colin Luckett who, after swearing at K's inability to put away a good cross from the right, consequently turned round to the K's fans on that side and apologised to them. Also Gary Patterson may wake up with a slight headache Sunday morning.......
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Sat 14th Oct 2000 |
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Kingsmeadow Stadium |
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904 |
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Football Conference |
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Kingstonian | 3 |
Duerden (2), Pitcher |
Southport | 1 |
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1 | Steve Farrelly | | |
2 | Mark Boyce | | |
3 | Colin Luckett | | |
4 | David Bass | | |
5 | Derek Allan | | |
6 | Mark Harris | | |
7 | Gary Patterson | | |
8 | Geoff Pitcher | | |
9 | Sammy Winston | | 15 |
10 | Ian Duerden | | |
11 | Junior Kadi | | 13 |
12 | Gary Drewett | | |
13 | Mark Beard | | 11 |
14 | Luke Basford | | |
15 | Ronnie Green | | 9 |
16 | Marvin Harriott | | |
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Ian Duerden |
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Gary Ekins |
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