Skegness too strong on the wong

The final scoreline belies the fact that the game was evenly contested until the final twenty minutes when the away sides numerical superiority finally told. Town had battled well after being reduced to ten men with less than twenty minutes played but when their resistance was finally broken just past the hour a strong Skegness side took full advantage to record a comfortable victory.

With skipper Chris Johnson having to withdraw from the squad, manager Paul Johnson moved Scott Lowman into the back four alongside Steve Brown with Nathan Rawdon and Andrew Shinn recalled at fullback. Town settled quickly and were seeing a lot of ball in the early stages with Ollie Johnson and Richard Jackson prominent in midfield. Town had an early opportunity when Michael Harness controlled a long ball from Tony Edwards but his effort was just wide. Danny Bent then saw his effort blocked as Town looked to take the initiative but the dismissal of the influential Steve Brown inside twenty minutes was a real blow.

A long clearance allowed their centre forward to get in behind Town's back four and a deliberate trip from Brown was followed by the inevitable red card. Town reverted to 4-4-1 with Steve Lovett dropping to right back with Nathan Rawdon moving to centre half. Nathan went on to have a fine game and he will have been pleased to get ninety minutes under his belt.

Despite being reduced to ten men Town played well for the remainder of the first half. Ollie Johnson was keeping the ball well in midfield and with Tony Edwards and Michael Harness looking to get forward to support Danny Bent, Town kept pushing forward. However, they failed to really test the away sides stand in keeper and a Harness strike that just missed the target was the only time they really threatened.

The second half saw the visitors dominate possession but Town still looked reasonably comfortable and with Michael Harness causing the Skegness defence problems Town were still hopeful of getting a positive result. However, just past the hour Skegness took the lead when a free-kick was lofted to the far post and Davison's looping header dropped beyond Burchnall into the far corner. This was harsh on Town as Harness had been penalised for what looked to be a fair challenge that led to the award of the free-kick.

Skegness were now in the ascendancy but Town had a great opportunity to equalise midway through the half. Michael Harness again did well to get to the byline and put over a great cross but Danny Bent headed wide of the far post. Shortly afterwards Danny was replaced by Carl Smith as Town looked to try and get more possession but almost immediately they conceded a second goal. Burchnall's sliced clearance was well dealt with by Nathan Rawdon but when Steve Lovett's pass to Smith was intercepted, Skegness broke quickly and the substitute Reid took full advantage to double their lead.

This knocked the stuffing out of Town and shortly afterwards Papworth added a third goal to rub salt in the wound. To their credit, Town kept working hard and when Richard Jackson found Michael Harness he turned quickly before firing a low shot just inside the far post. Substitutes Callum Low and Sam Johnson replaced Lovett and Edwards for the final minutes and Sam just failed to get on the end of a fine cross from Jackson moments after coming on.

Town went to three at the back for the final minutes in the hope of salvaging something from the game and Reid took advantage of the extra space to curl a fine shot into the top corner but this was really harsh on Town who had performed creditably for the majority of the game. It was only in the final twenty minutes that Skegness secured the win they undoubtedly deserved but the margin of victory flattered the away side.

However, Town will know only too well that they can't compete against such strong opposition with ten men for the majority of the game and the lack of shots on target throughout the ninety minutes will be a concern to manage Paul Johnson. This coming Saturday Town face a difficult trip to Billinghay in the County Cup and he will be hoping that Town are a far more potent force in front of goal. Kick off at Billinghay is at 2.15pm.

Line up: Burchnall, Rawdon, Shinn, Brown, Lowman, O.Johnson, Harness, Jackson, Bent (Smith), Lovett (Low), Edwards (S.Johnson).