Last Gasp Goal Denies Daniels
An injury-time equaliser denied the Daniels victory in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Lincoln United.
Stamford were stung by the Whites' 92nd minute leveller after the hosts had played most of the second half with 10 men.
Two goals inside the opening 25 minutes had set Stamford well on their way at their high-flying hosts.
But a defensive error allowed Lincoln to reduce the deficit 10 minutes before half-time.
And, despite having Josh Nichol dismissed for his second yellow card of the game, Stamford were punished for squandering some decent chances by Lincoln's late leveller.
Manager Graham Drury admitted the point at a side who started the day in second place after three successive wins felt 'like a defeat.'
He said: "It was another frustrating day at the office.
"It was a comedy of errors for their first goal to allow them any sniff of the game.
"It gives them a bit of belief and it's completely changed the game.
"You're going to be under pressure just after you've conceded a silly goal. It changes the mindset and changes both changing rooms.
"But we should be experienced enough to shut it out and be braver in possession of the ball.
"We've had three one-on-ones after that though and we've been hit by a sucker punch at the end because we haven't kept possession of the ball.
"We look a frustrated side because the players are getting on top of each other which isn't helping.
"There was no need when we were in control of the game. We started shouted and bawling at each other when we were 2-0 up and that gave them the confidence to still think they were in the game because we lost our discipline.
"I can understand the frustrations, but we're not far off. We're so close to it, but we're just not getting close enough to the points that we should be taking.
"We've dropped eight points against Gresley, Carlton and Lincoln and, if you add that to the table, we're in the top three.
"We're not far off, but if we don't stick together we won't be anywhere near.
"If we stick together and keep believing and encouraging then we will get somewhere.
"It could still be a good point. It's a tough place to come against a bit of bogey side for us but, when you are 2-0 up, you expect to win the game.
"We had some great chances to wrap it up and I felt we were probably at our worst when they went down to 10 men.
"They were the better side with 10 men. They put balls in good areas and made us defend.
"They picked the second phase up more than us. We've got to squeeze and condense them areas and be clever when we've got the ball to keep it and get it into wide areas to stretch them.
"It was a combination of everything why we dropped two points.
"It wasn't just the strikers missing. It was people panicking from the back, people not getting tight enough in midfield and being brave enough to get on the ball to find wide areas and to get teams stretched.
"The positives are that we're creating lots and lots of chances though.
"We've just got to make sure we take them because, if we do that, we could be second in the league by now."
Stamford fielded the same starting line-up that had won 1-0 at Leek Town on Tuesday night in their FA Trophy replay with new signings Ryan Seal and Joe Boachie both named on the bench.
It took the Daniels just 13 minutes to break the deadlock after a promising start when Joe Burgess rose highest to head home a Jake Duffy free-kick.
The lead was doubled eight minutes later with Duffy again the provider when his fine cross was nodded home by Jon Challinor.
A third Stamford goal nearly followed shortly after when a fine weaving run and cross from Reece Morris picked out Liam Adams, but he was denied by an excellent reaction save by Michael Emery from close range.
The save was crucial for the Whites as their next raid on the Stamford goal saw Dan Haystead and Chris Salt both fail to deal with the ball and Matt Cotton took full advantage of their indecision to halve the deficit.
The goal clearly gave Lincoln a lift and Haystead had to be at full stretch to finger-tip away a header from Paul Grimes.
But the home side's hopes looked to have taken another hit early in the second half when Nichol, who had been cautioned in the first half for a foul, was dismissed after being booked for dissent.
Stamford looked to put the game beyond their hosts with Burgess being denied from close range by the excellent Emery.
Boachie, who was introduced for his Stamford debut at half-time in place of Bradley Fortnam-Tomlinson who was carrying a knock, then produced a brilliant burst forward only to be denied a debut goal by another smart stop from Emery in a one-on-one.
The chances kept coming for Stamford with Ryan firing wide from distance after finding himself in space while Adams cracked a couple of efforts wide with team-mates also well placed to receive a pass.
Ryan saw another effort blocked on the line by Michael Jacklin before Lincoln started to grow in confidence at Stamford's failure to finish the match off.
Haystead had to tip over a header from Sean Wright before Jordon Cooke made a crucial block on the line as Lincoln forced a succession of corners.
They eventually found their breakthrough in the second minute of injury time when substitute Tom Garrick slid in at the back post to convert a low cross and land a tough blow on a Stamford side who had created the better chances throughout.
Assist
Jake Duffy
Assist
Jake Duffy
Star Player
Joe BurgessKey moments
Videos and photos
Highlights
As it happened
- Lincoln United
- Stamford
- 0
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Joe Burgess Goal 13:00'
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Jake Duffy Assist 13:00'
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Jon Challinor Goal 21:00'
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Jake Duffy Assist 21:00'
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Josh Nichol Yellow Card 24:00'
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Matt Cotton Goal 35:00'
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Jordon Cooke Yellow Card 39:00'
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Lynton Karkach Yellow Card 43:00'
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Joe Boachie Sub On 46:00'
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Bradley Fortnam-Tomlinson Sub Off 46:00'
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Matthew Wilson Yellow Card 50:00'
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Josh Nichol Red Card 51:00'
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Lynton Karkach Sub Off 55:00'
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Tom Garrick Sub On 55:00'
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Ryan Seal Sub On 63:00'
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Reece Morris Sub Off 63:00'
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Grant Ryan Sub On 64:00'
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Jon Challinor Sub Off 64:00'
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Callum Chapman Sub On 81:00'
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James Blunden Sub Off 81:00'
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Kane Hutchinson-Wilkes Sub On 86:00'
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Rob Norris Sub Off 86:00'
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Tom Garrick Goal 90:00 +2:00'
Team selection
- Lincoln United
- Stamford
Haystead, Dan
Cooke, Jordon
Miller, Kern
Morris, Reece
Salt, Chris
Egginton, Josh
Burgess, Joe
Duffy, Jake
Fortnam-Tomlinson, Bradley
Adams, Liam
Challinor, Jon
League round up
Other East Division results
Comments
Standings
| # | Team | Pl | Pts |
| 9. | Belper Town | 38 | 59 |
| 10. | Marske United | 38 | 58 |
| 11. | Stamford | 38 | 50 |
| 12. | Frickley Athletic | 38 | 48 |
| 13. | Stocksbridge Park Steels | 38 | 43 |
| 14. | Lincoln United | 38 | 43 |
| 15. | AFC Mansfield | 38 | 42 |
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