STRIKER LIGHT AS LINGFIELD LEFT TO RUE MISSED CHANCES
LINGFIELD were left kicking themselves all the way home from Shoreham-by-Sea after being unable to press home their overwhelming superiority in midweek at Middle Road.
Dixie Dean’s depleted side, missing substitutes Marco Mwanza, who went to the wrong Shoreham in Kent by mistake, and Jake Hill, who broke down on his moped in Leatherhead, deserved to win decisively against unconvincing hosts.
The Lingers were camped in their opponents’ half almost constantly, contriving to miss around 20 chances in one of the most ludicrously one-sided games of all-time.
Yet the lack of a star striker came back to haunt Lingfield, although it was hard to criticise their performance as all of The Lingers’ players were a credit to the club, underlining the massive potential in this team who only fell to fourth place on goal difference after the game following Littlehampton Town’s 7-0 thrashing of Chichester City.
Slow starting Lingfield were rocked after only four minutes when a well worked move saw Chad Milner shoot home at the far post, giving goalkeeper Daniel Burnett no chance.
It was clearly the wake up call that The Lingers needed as they proceeded to control affairs to a ridiculous extent, frankly embarrassing a Shoreham side who had beaten Dorking Wanderers 5-1 only three days earlier, while Lingfield had inflicted the same scoreline on Arundel.
Harry Sintim eventually rewarded the visitors’ dominance by equalising after 52 minutes, firing home following concerted pressure, having been set up superbly by ever impressive centre-back Jay Kalama.
The closest that Lingfield came to snatching success was after 84 minutes when Daryl Coleman’s right-wing corner saw centre-back Fred Fleming’s header blocked before his follow-up shot rebounded to safety off the crossbar.
That unfortunate moment alone summed up The Lingers’ frustrating night, but they will have gained huge confidence from this impressive display, if only they can rectify their striking shortcomings as soon as possible.
Replacement referee Kevin Roberts brandished both sides five cautions apiece, spoiling an exhilarating affair which was played at break neck speed and even included an additional five minutes which still failed to break the deadlock.
By David Groves
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