King's Lynn fear misses could be costly

The entertaining 1-1 draw fought out between Gloucester City and King’s Lynn means that the destination of the Southern League premier division title will not be known until the final day of the season.

King’s Lynn go into the last match level on points with Team Bath and if they fail to secure the crown away to Merthyr Tydfil next weekend, they will spend the summer ruing the chances spurned on Saturday. From the moment that Michael Frew crashed a free kick against the bar after three minutes, they were in the ascendency. Joe Francis had an effort cleared off the line soon after and had the best chance of the first half from the penalty spot, but his effort was smartly saved by Kevin Sawyer.

Gloucester rallied in the second half and Alex Sykes put them ahead with a close-range effort, but with ten minutes remaining, Matt Nolan hauled King’s Lynn back into the game.

The dropped points ended Gloucester’s dreams of a place in the play-offs, but such setbacks are inconsequential compared with recent woes. Since the devastating floods of last July, they have been playing their home games in Nailsworth, at the home of Forest Green Rovers. But they recently secured a signed agreement to share Cirencester Town’s Corinium Stadium, while continuing to work hard to bring about a move back to within the city boundary.

“Our efforts now will bear fruit one day and all those hardy souls at present involved will know that future generations will have a top-class club that the city and its football lovers will be very proud of,” Dave Phillips, the chairman, said.

“Negotiations continue and we are satisfied with the way they are progressing at the moment.”

MARK VENABLES