Evo Stik Division One South
Shaw Lane Aquaforce 0-2 Lincoln United
Shaw Lane Aquaforce manager Craig Elliott was furious with his side’s display
The job looked impossible even before kick off, but Shaw Lane Aquaforce’s hopes of overhauling runaway leaders Stafford Rangers appear to be evaporating after a hugely disappointing display against a well-drilled Lincoln side.
Twenty-six points separate Stafford and Aquaforce. The Barnsley-based side have seven matches in hand which means Aquaforce would still need Stafford to drop a good number of points. Considering Stafford’s recent form, that looks unlikely.
Shaw Lane now need to concentrate on themselves and not worry how the leaders get on because any more performances like the one on show against Lincoln, they won’t even scratch the paintwork on Stafford’s promotion bus.
Craig Elliott’s men were sluggish from the off, not surprising after over two weeks without any action, but even an early Lincoln goal did not get them going.
Jack McGovern scored from close range and all Aquaforce had in response was a decent attempt from Rob Youhill. It became a mountain to climb by half-time as Mitchell Griffiths raced away to score their second goal.
Even when Aquaforce were presented with a manna from heaven as the teams geared up for the second half, they failed to take it. McGovern, Lincoln’s danger man in the first half, was forced to go in goal after stopper Mariano Ziccardi went off injured.
McGovern had a quiet half and it was Lincoln who looked more like to score. Long term Aquaforce supporters, accustomed to their team pulling rabbits out of hats and rescuing themselves in tricky situations, were left disappointed by a lack of shots at the opposition’s goal.
Lincoln, quick in all departments, gave Aquaforce several headaches on the counter-attacks and Ian Deakin kept the score at 2-0 on at least two occasions.
The visitors, play-offs rivals to Aquaforce, do deserve a lot of credit for their excellent display. With two very-disciplined banks of four in the second half, Lincoln stuck to their game-plan to the letter and rarely let Shaw Lane hurt them.
All that can be said for Shaw Lane is that the performance was out of character and fell below the standards that have been set in the last few years.
What they said
Stats and Facts
Shaw Lane’s last league fixture was the 1-1 draw with Basford United on the 2nd January. Their last home match also finished 1-1 – against Chasetown on November 28th.
Going into the visit of Lincoln, Aquaforce were unbeaten in ten league fixtures. Newcastle Town, in September, were the last team to beat them.
Line-ups
Shaw Lane Aquaforce: Deakin, Stohrer, O’Brien, Istead, Radford, Jones (Meynell HT), Youhill (Bennett 65), Thornhill, Priestley, Morris (Allott 74), Davidson. Subs unused: Sharry, Wafula.
Lincoln United: Ziccardi (King HT), Lemon, Smith, Toyne, Jacklin, Wright, Fairclough, Whitehead, McGovern, Norris (Cotton 67), Griffiths (Gibson 88). Subs unused: Ward, Cann.
Referee: Joe Goodwin
Ref Rating: 8/10
Attendance: 121
Man of the match: Mitchell Griffiths (Lincoln United)