King’s Lynn pegged back by Worksop as they surrender a two-goal advantage in Nottinghamshire

Worksop Town 2 King’s Lynn Town 2

King’s Lynn Town were left ruing another missed opportunity as they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Worksop Town on Tuesday night.

The draw in Nottinghamshire extended their winless league run to nearly two months and it was the third time this campaign they have conceded at the death to deny them victory.

The result saw the Linnets drop from tenth to 16th in the National League North standings within minutes, as they conceded twice late on at Sandy Lane.

For interim boss Joe Simpson, it was a night of frustration after seeing his side produce one of their best performances in recent weeks, only to fall short of securing three points.

“Gutted,” Simpson admitted post-match.

“We’d put ourselves in an outstanding position, the two goals we scored were excellent, and we found a way not to win the football game.

"That’s very frustrating, but I suppose it’s just a measure of where we’re at at the moment.”

Lynn started brightly and were rewarded in the 35th minute when Morgan Williams, a livewire throughout, weaved into the Worksop box before cutting the ball across for Bailey Clements to smash home from close range.

Ten minutes after the restart, the visitors doubled their advantage through Ross Crane, who turned superbly and fired low past Worksop goalkeeper Taylor into the far corner.

But as has become a worrying theme in recent weeks, Lynn’s control began to fade as the clock ticked down.

In the 77th minute, Worksop captain Jordan Burrow pulled one back, poking home after a free-kick from Lewis O’Malley caused confusion in the box.

And with the game deep into stoppage time, Burrow struck again, reacting quickest to a loose ball from Lewis Witham’s cross to complete a dramatic comeback.

Simpson cut a dejected figure at full-time, reflecting on a game that once again slipped through his side’s fingers.

“We were excellent for large parts,” he said.

“But when you play a side like Worksop, you know what’s coming, balls into the box, physicality, runners off the back. You’ve got to be brave, and we were for most of it, but in those last ten minutes we lost our composure.”

The Linnets boss also pointed to a missed opportunity to make it 3-1 before Worksop’s late equaliser.

“We had a golden chance to kill the game and didn’t take it,” he added.

“That’s the level. You get punished when you don’t make the right decisions late on.”

Simpson praised several individual performances, including those of Williams and young defender Charlie Wilson, who completed his first full 90 minutes in five months.

“Morgan was outstanding, his energy and willingness to get on the ball were top class,” Simpson said.

“And Charlie was excellent at the back. We’ve got good players, but at the minute, little aspects just aren’t clicking.”

Lynn’s last league win came on August 30, and Simpson knows that patience and resilience are now key as his side look to turn performances into points.

“You just need one result to go your way,” he said.

“It might be ugly, it might not be pretty, but that’s how you fight your way through it.

"Tonight hurts, it hurts a lot, but we’ll stand tall and keep working.

"I'm gutted because I'm gutted for them. I wanted it for them. I wanted it for the fans, who were brilliant tonight, and they travelled in numbers."

Worksop Town: Taylor, Hutchinson, Gooda, Redford, Starcenko, Hughes, O'Malley, Whitman-Brown, Williams (Burrow 62), Whitman, Waterfall. Subs not used: Bencherif, Atherton, Joseph, Cogill, Tomlinson, Chadwick.

Scorer: Burrow 77, 90

King's Lynn Town: Chapman, Hall-Johnson, Clements, Clunan, Collins (Maja 66), Gyasi (Kamara 52), Dickens (T Wilson 46), Fleming, Williams (Omotayo 85), Crane, C. Wilson. Subs not used: Chadwick, Marriott, Smith.

Booked: Kamara, Clunan.

Scorers: Clements 35, Crane 49