King's Lynn Town 4-4 Aldershot Town

King's Lynn Town 4-4 Aldershot Town

Vanarama National League

Saturday 29th May 2021

Eight goals, plenty of missed chances and good entertainment on what was the final day of the regular Vanarama National League season - it felt nice to (officially!) be back inside a football ground again even if the matchday experience was different compared to 'normal' times.

A total of 881 people were in attendance for a game which was always going to be full of chances considering there was nothing whatsoever riding on the result. No relegation from the National League this season has meant the pressure has been off for several weeks already and that's resulted in the defensive floodgates opening for King's Lynn! They went into the final day having shipped a remarkable 94 goals - though still only the second-worst defensive record in the division behind fellow part-timers Wealdstone.

Aldershot's problem over the past 12 months has been inconsistency. For much of the season they've lurked in mid-table knowing a decent run might elevate them into the play-off spots but such a run just never materialised! The fact they've been scoring and shipping frequently in recent weeks was another subtle nod in the direction of this game being a goal-fest though.

Tickets were easy to obtain; bought a couple of weeks ago on King's Lynn Town's website and other than a temperature test at the turnstile and regular announcements over the PA system asking fans to wear face coverings, there wasn't too much Covid-related nonsense spoiling everyone's enjoyment. The strangest aspect of the matchday experience was that each side of the ground had been sub-divided into sections with every spectator being allocated a colour-coded wristband - thus anyone caught in the wrong zone received a stern telling off from stewards. It's utter nonsense but I guess the club have to be perceived as being compliant by the draconian authorities who'd no doubt be quick off the mark to punish them if they sensed even the slightest wrongdoing!

On the pitch, much of the attention was centred upon Michael Gash who was appearing for the last time in a King's Lynn shirt. The 34-year-old target man, a formidable presence with a physique which is very similar to my own, has played a considerable role in the Linnets' meteoric rise up the non-league divisions over the past four years and received a guard of honour as the teams entered the pitch. He was accompanied by Ryan Jarvis (once of Norwich City) who has also been told his time at the club is up after the same length of stay!

Gash ought to have opened the scoring early on because King's Lynn started like a house on fire; going close within the opening few seconds before he then missed an absolute sitter on six minutes - somehow smashing the ball wide after Alex Babos' through ball.

There wasn't an awful lot between the teams other than King's Lynn were a bit wasteful in attack (if they'd took their gilt-edged early chances they probably would have won) and very slack at the back.

Following a spell of their own pressure where they had a shot blocked on the line, Aldershot punished some stupidity by grabbing the eventual opener on 20 minutes. Toby Edser was afforded space inside the box to reach Lewis Kinsella's set-piece cross and he guided his effort past the stranded home 'keeper - a very simple finish though the circumstances made it far too easy.

Matters then got worse for King's Lynn as they shipped for the 96th time in the National League this term with Chike Kandi intercepting a ridiculously wayward pass from Michael Clunan and ultimately sliding the ball past Theo Richardson.

With a 2-0 lead and having gradually got on top in the possession and territory stakes, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that Aldershot might ease to a comfortable win at this point. They were in full command but that all changed just before half-tine on the back of a simple route one move as Gash broke unmarked onto a direct ball down the left flank and subsequently sent a deft lob over the advancing 'keeper who'd rushed from his line and ended up being caught in no man's land.

That goal, which was wanted by so many in the crowd, proved to be a decisive and game-changing moment as Ian Culverhouse's side dominated things thereafter.

Simeon Jackson equalised from the penalty spot on 57 minutes after Michael Gyasi was needlessly tripped, but the Linnets weren't on level terms for very long because Aldershot quickly went down the other end and restored their advantage through Kodi Lyons-Foster.

Nevertheless, the momentum remained with the hosts and Jackson showed predatory instincts to draw his team level once more; hammering a superb drive into the far corner from an acute angle after his initial attempt was blocked by a covering defender.

King's Lynn were showing plenty of endeavour and desire to keep coming back but their flaws were hopelessly exposed once again with around 20 minutes remaining as they conceded for the 98th time in their debut season in the National League with Lyons-Foster punishing yet more lackadaisical marking to head home in simple fashion from a set-piece.

It seemed plausible that the Shots might bag twice more and cause an embarrassing 'century' landmark for their counterparts but instead, the balance of play in the final stages favoured Culverhouse's part-timers who got a point to show from their efforts thanks to Tai Fleming's injury-time equaliser.

All things considered, the result was immaterial for reasons already mentioned and what I expected was pretty much what unfolded; the game feeling similar to a pre-season friendly. Not many (if there's actually any) conclusions can be drawn because when the new season gets underway next August, there'll be a different type of intensity, pressure and meaning surrounding every game and both clubs will probably have quite different squads anyway.

It was a good day out overall and in decent weather - a rarity after the downpours over the past few weeks. The Walks is a nice enough ground in a perfectly accessible location and it should make for a good 'away day' once people's paranoia and media-infatuation over all things Covid-19 has subsided and us mere mortals called the general public are trusted to lead our lives responsibly again by the idiots running the country.

Here's hoping that lockdowns are a thing of the past!

Next game: Who knows? But it's now 989 competitive 'elite' games which I've watched in the UK - that 1,000 landmark is edging closer at long, long last!