Kingstonian 5-0 Lymington NM
FIVE STAR SHOW

Last time Kingstonian locked horns with New Forest outfit Lymington & New Milton, the match could quite reasonably have been described as a relegation six-pointer. K's, two months without a league win, had plummeted to 18th in the league but won 4-2 as Lymington's open style of play left gaps which K's readily exploited. The win would kick-start a remarkable turnaround in K's fortunes and four months on, they once again carved open Lymington's leaky defence to record a 5-0 win and move back into the playoff places with just a single game to go.

K's named an unchanged team from that which breezed past Walton Casuals on Easter Monday and they once again turned in an impressive display. In the tenth minute they may have fallen behind when a Sam Carter header forced a good save from Alan Hughes but two minutes later the Linnets self-destructed and never again looked like getting anything from the game.

Photo: Neil Harvey

Side had a header saved after a Lee cross and at the same time Julian Sills and James Ford tangled in the box. This led to some aggravation between the two, which may or not may have been linked to the events of a few seconds later. As visiting 'keeper Mark Watson cleared the ball, Jon Grace appeared to bundle Sills to the floor in the penalty box. It did not go unnoticed by the linesman, who flagged for a K's penalty. The referee awarded only a yellow card to Grace, much to the chagrin of the home fans, along with one for Side who retaliated to the situation.

Photo: Rob Blevin

James Rose stepped up and sent Watson the wrong way from the penalty spot to put K's a goal to the good. Lymington almost equalised in bizarre circumstances when a long punt bounced over Hughes and hit the top of the crossbar but overall K's began to take more control of the game. A remarkable angled lob from Side, chasing a seemingly lost cause, almost provided a second but died when it landed in the sandy goalmouth before Sills did double K's lead on thirty-three minutes.

Richard Taylor launched a long throw into the box, Rose failed to make contact but Sills threw himself forwards and got a header on goal before it took a cruel deflection off Dave Allen to give Watson no chance. Scott Corbett headed over and Side had another effort saved before just before the interval the third goal came. A diagonal ball found James Rose on the corner of the penalty box. His angle looked tough to score from but he took his time and beat Watson with a low shot, again taking a deflection to put the Surrey Cup Finalists 3-0 ahead.

The tempo of the second half did not match that of the first but K's still managed to add two goals through substitute Tony Reid. After a long ball that seemed to be going nowhere, Watson and his skipper John Waldock hesitated to deal with it, allowing the K's striker to sneak in and lob the goalkeeper to put K's four up on sixty-five minutes.

Photo: Rob Blevin

Reid may have made it five ten minutes later but blasted a volley over when in a good position and Sills was also close with a header from a set piece. The fifth eventually came five minutes from time when a superbly accurate ball from Paul Wetherall set Reid clear on goal and from an acute angle he coolly pulled the ball past Watson to send K's into delirium.

Photo: Neil Harvey

Lymington were at least the equal of K's in the second half but found Hughes in fine form. He made a splendid save early in the half from a Tyrone Bowers drive, saved with his legs after Carter had redirected a Sills clearance goalbound at some pace and showed a general confidence in coming off of his line at the right time.

Five-nil perhaps flattered K's a touch but the difference in the finishing of the two sides was marked and the Linnets made too many mistakes at the back despite showing some attacking flourish. Kingstonian now head into the season's most crucial matches with two big wins behind them - their destiny is in their own hands again and judging by the reactions of the players to this victory they want promotion as much as anybody.