Fleet signed off the season with a battling defeat as Lincoln City’s first-half performance was enough to give them victory. In squally conditions, the visitors built a commanding lead after Joe Howe inadvertently diverted Jamie Taylor’s shot into his own net. Fleet had brief parity when Liam Bellamy went down under Paul Robson’s challenge and Calum Willock scored his fourth penalty of the season.
But Lincoln stormed back and one-time Fleet loanee Jefferson Louis fired in a shot across goal where Peter Bore sprinted in unmarked to slot home for 2-1. And things got worse for the beleaguered Fleet on 33 minutes when Tom McNeill clawed Taylor’s shot away but the Lincoln striker managed to get a second go at it and hooked it over the line despite two Fleet defenders dashing back to the goalline.
Lincoln threatened to add to the score in a first half where they enjoyed plenty of freedom in the final third. But it was a different story in the second half as Fleet battled and restricted their opponents to a couple of long-range efforts. On 66 minutes Ricky Shakes carved out an opening and crossed low into the box where Bellamy struck home to give his side hope. And Fleet had plenty of opportunities to equalise, Willock twice coming close, but to no avail.
Full report to follow.
TEAM: McNeill, Howe, Herd, Stone, Smith, Barrett (Phipp 83), Bellamy, West (Pinney 83), Shakes, Willock, Enver-Marum. Subs not used: Azeez, Adams, McCarthy.
Att: 1,217
Calum Willock was MotM v Southport. Vote for the last time this season using drop-down menu above.
