It was three of the best for Moors as they strode to an emphatic National League North victory over King’s Lynn Town at The Walks Stadium.
A first half blitz saw Moors 2-0 up at the break. Aidan Rutledge put Moors into the lead on 41 minutes with a tidy finish, before Fin Shrimpton struck home off the post with just two minutes of the first half remaining.
Moors dug deep through the second half, with Nathan Simpson grabbing the finishing touch as he beat the keeper to tap home from close range in injury time.
Graeme Lee’s men started like a house on fire, with early chances in abundance. Shrimpton lined up an effort from the edge of the box in just the first minute. The ball slipped through the fingers of goalkeeper Paul Jones, trundling toward the line in what seemed like slow motion. However, defender Tom Wilson was there to clear away from danger and spare his teammate’s blushes.
After that early effort, Moors looked confident in pushing forward. Rutledge was forced wide after beating Jones in a footrace to the ball, the striker played the ball across the box to Corey McKeown, then to Olly Dyson, who jinked to the byline before looping a ball in, which was cleared away off the line.
King’s Lynn looked to kill Moors’ early momentum with a chance of their own. An intriguing ball over the top from Jonny Margetts almost found Gold Omotayo, who could have got away in the area, but Brad James was there to claim low.
Both sides had plenty of the ball, but it was that King’s Lynn that went close to firing ahead. Brilliant dribbling work on the right side of the penalty area saw Matt Warburton glide between two Moors men, before dispatching an effort on goal that flew wickedly high and wide. A real wasted opportunity.
Warburton tried his luck again, but this time from the edge of the box, firing wide after a recycled freekick came back out to the midfielder.
Moors came forward in defiance of King’s Lynn’s recent pressure, almost finding the lead themselves. Rob Ramshaw drove into the area, prodding the ball across to McKeown. The winger adjusted himself, striking an effort goalward, only for Ramshaw to unfortunately get in between the two and block the effort.
Half chances arose for both sides, as Kian Ronan’s cross flew calmly into the outstretched arms of James, before Shrimpton’s looping ball met the same fate at the other end.
The Linnets had a stellar chance to find an opener just five minutes from the break, as Finlay Armstrong’s pinpoint cross found Omotayo in the centre of the area. The striker leaped above the rest but just couldn’t make the right connection, heading over the bar.
It was Moors who struck first in the fixture though, courtesy of Rutledge. The loanee was on hand to finish low into the bottom right-hand corner after a looping cross into the area from Ramshaw found the centre forward unmarked.
A brilliantly worked goal from Moors looked to set them up for a 1-0 half time lead, but it got even better just three minutes later. With just over 60 seconds left of the first half, the ball landed to Fin Shrimpton on the edge of the penalty area. The midfield man took a touch and then curled a wonderful effort off the upright and into the back of the net.
Graeme Lee will have been pleased with his sides first half performance, two in the space of three minutes set Moors up well for the second half. Much less could be said for Adam Lakeland’s side, who now had a mountain to climb.
The hosts made two changes at the break, looking to try and reduce the deficit as soon as possible. Cody Johnson, one of the two subs, attempted to make an instant impact, but his strike was well wide.
Gold Omotayo then squandered a golden opportunity on the 50th minute as he received the ball on the far side of the goalmouth. The Swiss forward smashed a shot right across the face of goal and out for a goal kick – a real let off for Moors.
The Linnets had started the second half like a house on fire, with pressure building on Graeme Lee’s side. Brad James parried a shot back into danger, which Michael Ledger had to be alert to, blocking the follow up out for a corner.
The in-swinging corner found Josh Coulson at the back post, whose header went well wide of the mark.
A calamity at the back, orchestrated by Paul Jones in The Linnets net, saw a mishit clearance loop into the patch of Rutledge, who controlled well. The Gateshead loanee looped a short ball across the face of goal to Ramshaw, who just couldn’t get his foot around it, hitting it out for a goal kick.
Moors began to really push for a third after that defensive lapse from the hosts, with Junior Mondal and Shrimpton both having chances to put the game to bed. The winger struck wide of the mark from range. Shortly before Shrimpton lashed a half volley at Jones, who was forced to tip it over the bar.
Ramshaw won a freekick on the edge of the area after being brought down by a retreating Linnets defender, which Mondal obliged to take. The versatile wide man struck his effort just over the bar.
As the game wound down to its dying embers, it looked near impossible for the hosts to stage any form of comeback, with Moors staying resolute against their attacks.
Armstrong wasted their last opportunity when he blazed over the bar from inside the area, kicking off the mass exodus of home supporters.
Moors grabbed their deserved third as substitute Nathan Simpson got his first goal in senior football. The Boro loanee got onto the end of a poked ball through from Mondal, taking the ball around Jones and tapping home to crown the victory.
A beautifully professional performance from Graeme Lee’s men, with Moors fully deserving of all three points on the road. Focus will now shift to Tuesday evening’s encounter with Needham Market at The Brewery Field.
Full Time: Kings Lynn Town 0 Moors 3
Kings Lynn Town: Jones, Wilson, Coulson, Sass, Ronan (Crowe 73), Taylor (Marsden 73), Hmami (Johnson 46), Warburton (Barnes 64), Armstrong (Crane 46), Margetts, Omotayo.
Booked: Ronan (62), Crowe (75).
Moors: James, Ledger, Pollock, Rowe (Mondal 10 (Huntley 90+4)), Staunton, Shrimpton, Dolan, Dyson, Ramshaw, McKeown (Simpson 81), Rutledge (Harris 81).
Subs not used: Luck.
Booked: Dyson (68).
Referee: Lewis Smith
Attendance: 1,344
Written by Noah Betts
