LETHAL LYNCH FIRES DAWLISH TO VICTORY
DAWLISH TOWN 2 HALLEN 0
Two trademark finishes from the prolific Antony Lynch were enough to give high-flying Dawlish Town a 2-0 win over visitors Hallen on Saturday – a result which extended the Seasiders’ thrilling unbeaten run to 11 matches.
Chris Myers’ team are simply unstoppable at present, rising to fourth place in the Premier Division and boasting one of the Western League’s most potent strikeforces in Lynch and co-striker Jamie Mudge, who have scored some 27 goals between them this season.Myers has reiterated several times this season that he is desperate for his side to claim a top five finish at the very least, and is delighted with the current purple patch that has turned Dawlish into the league’s form team.
The former Torquay United star said: “We scored two well-worked goals – great finishes from great crosses, and Antony Lynch really took them both very well. He is prolific, and we’ve got to keep on supplying him with the ammunition.
“It was a hard-fought game, and we had to grind out the result on a sticky pitch. Credit to our ground staff, they worked hard and got the game on. I’m really pleased to have won the last two games when the match was in doubt originally.
“With our two goals, they came from the only two times we really got the ball down and played some good passing football. Hallen made it hard for us, but we put our foot on the ball and got two great goals.
“It was a good win, and we’re joint fourth now with games in hand as well. We’re all working towards the same goal here, and that is trying to finish as high in the league table as we possibly can.
“I was really pleased with the lads. Ryan Draper kept a clean sheet, and defensively we looked like a real solid, strong unit.
“The lads have got into a real winning habit, and that’s a good habit to get into, and we’ve shown that we are able to grind out results, which is what top teams have to be able to do.”
Dawlish might have taken the lead as early as the first minute on Saturday, when centre back Arran Pugh headed on a left-wing corner only for Adam Shearer to stab the ball wide of the post.
Then, Mudge was foiled by a brave save from away keeper Steve Scannell as Dawlish dominated the opening exchanges. The deadlock was broken on 25 minutes as Dawlish moved the ball swiftly from right to left, with Darren Vickery crossing for Lynch to power a header into the bottom corner.
Hallen created several half chances early in the second period, but the Seasiders continued to dominate.
Lynch met a Mudge cross with a powerful header, but his effort was cleared off the line.
Dawlish made the game safe when Vickery scampered cleared down the left wing before delivering a sublime cross that was turned in by Lynch at the far post.