Fightback makes it four in a row

Makeshift Skegness Town made it four consecutive wins when they overcame Armthorpe Welfare at the Vertigo Stadium on Saturday.
Will Britton.Will Britton.
Will Britton.

They had to come back from behind to take the spoils against a side lacking in confidence after seven straight defeats.

Tom Finley gave the visitors an early lead, but the Lilywhites came storming back to claim the points and avenge the defeat they suffered at Armthorpe in September.

The seasiders went into the game in confident mood with four wins out of the last five matches to their name.

But they were without the likes of defenders Lawrence Lambley and Bailey Forth and the tenacious Richard Ford in midfield.

Andy Parish and Harry Bunce slotted into the defence, alongside Courtney Warren, while Peter Evison got his first start for a number of weeks.

There was little he could do to prevent the huge frame of Finley opening the scoring in the fifth minute.

Jordan Buckham’s corner from the Armthorpe left was met by Finley, who guided his header into the top corner from 15 yards.

Town were behind for less than two minutes. Ben Sibbick helped to keep the ball alive following a throw-in from the right. He nodded to Daniel Stevens, who laid the ball off to Joshua Morrall for the left back to fire into the bottom corner past the young Ryan Bedford in the visitors’ goal.

It was important that the depleted seasiders found the equaliser as soon as possible to avoid the Wellie getting their noses too far in front.

The visitors played a very high line and you had to think that it was only a matter of time before the pace of Will Britton would see them in trouble. It took the striker a while to avoid the offside trap, but when he did, midway through the first half, Bedford stuck out his left boot to prevent a certain goal.

At the other end Town were grateful to see the ball stick to the chest of a diving James Lambley when danger man Jordan Buckham threatened with a strike from the edge of the area.

The two sides started the second half on level terms, but Armthorpe started to boss the possession.

To their credit Skegness worked hard to limit the number of chances, but careless passing handed the ball back to their opponents all too often.

Frustrated by their lack of opportunities, the visitors started shooting on sight without threatening Lambley’s goal.

Even when afforded extra room Luke Williams pulled his shot wide of the target.

As the game entered the final quarter chances started to appear at the other end. A mis-kick by Bedford, when he was closed down by Callum Robinson, presented the seasiders with their first real opportunity of the half, but Britton strayed offside at the vital moment.

With 20 minutes left on the clock Skegness finally unlocked the visitors’ defence. Sibbick fed Morrall on the left and the full back jinked his way into the area before crossing for Stevens to head home at the second attempt his fifth goal of the campaign.

Having survived a scare at the other end, when Craig Aspinall failed to convert a back post tap-in following Josh Dodd’s cross, Britton sprung the offside trap in the 76th minute. He took the ball around Bedford, but his touch was just too heavy and he was denied by the foot of the post.

Bedford gratefully gathered as the ball came back from the frame of the goal.

Britton’s next chance came two minutes later, but his free header was easily collected by the exposed keeper.

With ten minutes left Skegness made the points safe with their third goal. Stevens’s hopeful pass towards James Wroot somehow found its way past a defender. As the full back tried to recover Wroot looked up and smashed his shot into the far corner past a static Bedford.

Tempers flared with five minutes left after an Armthorpe player appeared to suffer an injury while lying on the ball. Both sets of players pushed and shoved for a while, but no action was taken by the officials.

The win lifted Town two places to 13th in the table.

TOWN: J. Lambley, Bunce, Morrall, Evison, Parish, Warren, Sibbick, Robinson, Britton, Stevens, Wroot, Ford, Forth, Young.

On Saturday Skegness travel to high-riding Grimsby Borough for a 3pm kick-off.