Lincoln United suffered a second defeat in a row at the hands of Morpeth Town in a chaotic game that saw four goals, two red cards and a confrontation between a fan and a physio.
The Whites were looking to bounce back from a 3-1 away defeat at Carlton Town last week while Morpeth were aiming to extend their lead at the top of the Evo-Stik First Division East.
The visitors started strong from the off, attacking United straight away with a fizzing cross delivered from the right wing in the fifth minute of the game which was struck just over the crossbar.
Morpeth continued to look the more dangerous side, with both teams having their fair share of attacks until Lincoln United midfielder Kallum Smith worked his way past a defender and into the box, only to fire his shot just wide of the far post from a narrow angle.
The Whites seemed to grow into the game a little more as the first half went on.
Ben Davidson saw Morpeth Goalkeeper Dan Lowson off his line and attempted an audacious looping volley from 25-yards out which again, crept just wide of the post.
The growing number of chances from the home side however didn’t count for anything. After a scramble in the box, Morpeth forward Joseph Walton headed home from close range to give the table toppers the lead after 24 minutes.
Photo: Steve Percival
Soon after the restart, things went from bad the worse for Lincoln United. David Carson who had been Morpeth’s star man for the whole afternoon, picked up the ball and jinxed his way past two Lincoln defenders before laying off Sean Taylor. He found the net with a deflected effort from outside the penalty area.
Lincoln seemed to be holding off the onslaught after the two quick-fire goals, but four minutes before the halfway stage Christopher Reid wandered into the box unchallenged and rolled the ball into the net. Morpeth now three goals to the good.
The halftime whistle went and Sean Wright’s first game in charge as caretaker manager hadn’t had the best of starts.
Five minutes after the restart, Morpeth continued from where they left off. United keeper Michael Emery gifted Sean Taylor a tap in which made it 4-0 to The Highwaymen.
Despite being four goals down Lincoln United were still attacking the Morpeth goal and forced a spectacular save from Dan Lowson after a thunderous shot from the right side of the box.
The match had been a feisty affair from the start, but tensions began to rise and people began to lose their heads.
From the resulting corner, Lincoln whipped in a ball which went through everyone. The ball was sent back into the box and Morpeth’s goalkeeper was clattered at the back post. He retaliated and a small brawl took place in which Dan Lowson, the goalkeeper, was bshown a red card.
Morpeth forward Joe Lawson took on the responsibility of playing in goal.
The game seemed to take a sour twist from here on. After 63 minutes Lincoln United forward Ben Davidson was shown a second yellow card for clattering Christopher Reid in an aerial duel.
The game was then temporarily halted as a fan entered the field of play to confront the Morpeth physio. The fan was then escorted from the pitch and after a while was removed from the stadium.
Morpeth could have had a fifth goal after 75 minutes if it wasn’t for two goal line clearances, all while stand-in goalkeeper Michael Emery was on the floor injured. He was eventually substituted and another outfield player, Callum Dye, took his place between the sticks.
The final whistle blew, and the away side had claimed the win. Lincoln United were completely outclassed by a brilliant Morpeth Town performance. They will look to bounce back when they face Brighouse Town at home next week.
After the game Caretaker Manager, Sean Wright, said: “I thought we showed a good account of ourselves and we put in a great amount of effort all the way through the game, but in the end we were beaten by a better side.”
Report by Evan Draycott.
Attendance: 185