CHORLEY were left frustrated by the heroics of King's Lynn Town goalkeeper Paul Jones on Tuesday evening, Andy Preece's side succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to the hosts thanks to Kyle Callan-McFadden's bullet header from a corner.
Both sides struggled to get a real foothold in the game for much of the opening half, Justin Johnson proving a real handful for the hosts' defence on more than one occasion albeit without troubling Jones in goal.
Justin Johnson goes close for Chorley (David Airey)
The Magpies had a big shout for handball inside the box waved away before the break, which was then followed by Lynn having the ball in the net only to be flagged for offside to cut their celebrations short.
Andy Preece's side were dealt a killer blow soon after the restart however, CALLAN-MCFADDEN firing in a bullet header at the near post to give Lynn the lead on 49 minutes.
A turning point in the game then followed just before the hour mark, Frankie Maguire clipped inside the box to give the referee no option but to point to the spot. Jack Sampson then stepped up from 12-yards only to see his spot-kick saved down low by Jones before the goalkeeper then denied Johnson on the follow-up.
Chorley continued to push tirelessly in search of an equaliser as the clock ticked on, Jones again called into action to deny Johnson once more with a terrific stop before subsequently first denying David Moyo's header then Carlton Ubaezuonu with a fingertip save that looked all but set to nestle in the far-corner, leaving the Magpies in fourth place with only two games remaining in the regular season.
King's Lynn Town: Jones, Barrows, McFadden, Taylor, Coulson, Hargreaves, Morrison, Crowe, Walker, Devonport (Rogers, 87'), Margetts (Cybulski, 77').
Chorley: Urwin, Henley (Sithole, 83'), Ellis, Smith, Wilson, Glynn, Calveley, Maguire, Whitehouse, Sampson (Moyo, 74'), Johnson (Ubaezuonu, 80').
Goalscorer: Callan-McFadden (49')
Cautions: Walker (34'), Ellis (52'), Margetts (58'), Calveley (65'), Hargreaves (67'), Jones (76'), Crowe (90+6').
Referee: Dan England.
Attendance: 863.
Up Next: We're back at home for the final scheduled home game of the regular 2023/24 season against Banbury United.
