Athletico Lincoln 2-4 Black Swan

With Athletico Lincoln on a run of six games without a point, this Division Three tie seemed as much an away banker as was humanly possible. The league leaders were made to work incredibly hard for their victory, however, and it was not until the dying seconds that the result was put beyond doubt with a scoreline of 2-4.

The game started as a somewhat cagey affair, with neither side really stringing passes together, and the away side soon became impatient with being kept at bay by the league whipping boys. A number of heavy challenges dominated the first quarter of the match, with Chris Spong showing that Lincoln were going to stand up and be counted with a crunching tackle in the middle of the park. The chances soon started to come as the game opened up and it was Athletico that first tested a keeper with Gary Marriott forcing the Black Swan no.1 into a diving save at full stretch after a mazy run from the halfway line. Black Swan eventually opened the scoring on the half hour mark with a header placed past the desperate dive of new Athletico goalkeeper, Jack Guest.

The home side responded with a goal of their own almost immediately, with Freddie Warner displaying his trademark pace to race on to an intricate through ball to slot home from just inside the area. The scoreline remained at 1-1 until half time, with Athletico leaving the pitch far happier after going toe-to-toe with the undefeated Black Swan so far.

The second half began in very much the same vein as the first, with both sides playing in a fiercely competitive manner but just failing to make either goalkeeper make any noteworthy saves. There was a sense of panic amongst the Black Swan ranks, with several players arguing with each other and being reprimanded by the referee for dissent and gamesmanship.

Athletico were starting to look very dangerous on the break for a period, but it was Black Swan that went ahead again through a delicate shot from the left side of the area after a rare lapse in the home defence. A third followed shortly after, with Black Swan in danger of putting Athletico to the sword thanks to an excellent finish from a tight angle from their centre forward.

Athletico refused to concede defeat once again, though, and sheer determination and relentless pressing led to a lifeline courtesy of Warner, who had a tap in for his second goal after charging down the Black Swan keeper on the six yard line. The underdogs were sensing an upset, and heaped pressure on the Black Swan defence for the final ten minutes. In the 89th minute, auxiliary striker Joe Chapman had the chance to draw level, but an astounding save from the goalkeeper kept the score at 3-2.

Black Swan eventually put the game out of reach with a last minute goal on the counter attack to end Athletico’s plucky resistance.

Despite the result, Athletico Lincoln put to bed rumours that they were going to be walkovers all season, and left the ground confident of being able to defeat most teams in the league with performances of this standard. It was testament to Lincoln’s efforts that the cocky complacency of the Black Swan players pre-game had been replaced with tired, respectful handshakes by the final whistle.