Linby were able to keep their heads and hold on to beat South Normanton 3-2 in a game that looked likely to flare up on more than one occasion this afternoon at Church Lane, writes Kieran Booker
The home side led at half time through Aidy Harris’ late strike after a Shaun Smith goal cancelled out Lewis Weaver’s early strike. South Normanton levelled again through Fraser Kirk before Lewis Weaver got a second with 12 minutes to go.
The Reds made an early impact in the first game of the new year when Weaver was able to break through on the left side of the box after just two minutes, he showed composure to slot past Branon Meehan in the Normanton goal to give his side an early lead.
The pacey striker nearly got himself a second after ten minutes when he beat a tight offside line to break through 1v1 with the keeper. Unlike his earlier effort this time Lewis could only fire the ball high over the goal.
South Normanton had to continue to withstand some heavy Linby pressure as the first half went on. They first survived a goalmouth scramble as Stef Cobb’s cross wasn’t cleared and then minutes later Meehan showed bravery as he smothered the ball after Weaver managed another 1v1 breakaway.
Kyle Johnson had the away team’s best chances of the first half hour. He first managed to get a shot away on a Normanton break but saw his effort fly just wide to the right side of Davies’ goal and then wasted a good opportunity from a set-piece when he saw his free-kick from the edge of the box curl high over the goal.
The Shiners started to get themselves back into the game following that early onslaught and were unlucky not to level when Sam Sims found himself open in the middle of the box, the defender could only shoot over under pressure.
With 32 minutes gone the game was back level. South Normanton was able to patiently pass the ball down the left side of the pitch, it was then played into the centre where striker Shaun Smith buried it in the net for his 14th goal in as many games.
As the half came to an end Linby managed to get themselves back in front. Aidy Harris and Lewis Weaver chased a loose ball down and won their side a corner. The set piece led to the ball being cleared off the line from a header in the middle, it continued to scramble in the box before Aidy Harris eventually tapped it home.
Linby continued to threaten in the second half without pressuring the goalkeeper too much. First a Glenn Tolley free kick could only fly straight at the keeper before a Kye Pilmore shot flew wide of the post from inside the box.
Fraser Kirk showed some dominance in the air for South Normanton when he headed wide from a free kick into the box. The same player grabbed an equaliser for his side from another set piece when he connected with a header from a corner into the box.
The sides were level for only 7 minutes as Lewis Weaver grabbed his second of the day after 78 minutes. The young player used his pace to meet a Aidy Harris through ball before racing 1v1 with the goalkeeper and again showing his composure to put the ball away.
After finding themselves behind for the third time, the South Normanton players clearly started to get fired up. This led to a fracas which ended with a crowd of players arguing, the Linby captain being booked and two South Normanton players being spoken to.
In the aftermath of that incident, Normanton made a triple substitution in the hope of pulling something back from the game. They tried to push forward but Linby’s towering defence were able to head and kick away a number of balls played towards their goal.
In injury time, tempers flared up again. Fraser Kirk was at the centre of the drama as he attempted to grab Linby striker Weaver’s face a number of times before pushing at the player as their teammates surrounded them. The referee deemed the incident only worthy of a yellow card for the Normanton man.
The game ended soon after in a result that pushed Linby up to 6th in the league. After the match Linby manager Lewis Saxby said “That win shows that we can mix it with the teams pushing at the top of the league. We’ve had to keep our heads today and we’ve had to show good concentration at the end to see the game out, but we’ve played well and got the result.”
