LINGERS LEVEL WITH LEAGUE LEADERS

It wasn't an easy start as Phoenix came out of the gates in dominant form, but slowly and surely we grew into the game and Alfie Dean managed to rattle the post with a header after half an hour.

More chances followed, including Adam Kendrici hammering the crossbar with a powerful header, but Phoenix continued to frustrate us. The away side had plenty of chances of their own, dominating the game for stretches and hitting the post themselves, but we held strong until half time.

After the break we seemed the more decisive side, creating plenty of chances and having long stretches where we didn't leave the oppositions half. However it was Phoenix who broke the deadlock, with their no. 3 John Casey heading in from a long free kick to put the champions-in-waiting ahead.

This did nothing but strengthen our resolve and Lingfield players poured forward looking for the goal we deserved. It took more than half an hour into the second half for it to come though, as Sammy Clements tapped in after good work down the wing.

Buoyed by finally getting the goal our great play deserved we went in search of a winner, with Marco Mwanza coming the closest by hitting the side netting after a lovely turn inside. However it wasn't to be as the match ended 1-1, though the team can be very proud of a quality performance against a side that has lost in the league only once.

By Sam Freebody