Drayton grab winner in seven-goal thriller
Market Drayton Town grabbed a late winner to edge a seven-goal thriller against Lincoln United.
Even Town's taste for turning the routine into the remarkable was stretched by this one.
A couple of hours before kick-off, boss Martyn Davies discovered two of his starting selection could not play and a couple of intended substitutes were not available.
Throw in a week in which training had to be cancelled and it meant even his most rudimentary plans for coping with one of the Evo-Stik First Division South's hottest teams went out of the window.
Little wonder Lincoln, with five wins in an unbeaten run of six games during which they had scored 16 goals and conceded just three, looked favourites to strengthen their play-off position with a sensational start.
Gaining possession straight from Drayton's kick-off, Matthew Cotton took half a dozen strides into Town territory.
He let fly with a crackerjack that sent the ball dipping and curling beyond goalkeeper Ash Rawlins' reach into the top corner.
"A wonderful, wonderful goal," was Davies's description later, though he seemed to be saying something rather different at the time. Lincoln, however, were far more vocal 14 minutes later.
Referee Leslie Sinclair, who generally kept things going with commendable common sense, angered them by deciding full-back Jordan Lemon had handled Cohen Bramall's cross.
Josh Green rammed home the penalty, despite imposing goalkeeper Mario Ziccardi getting a flailing boot on the ball.
Lincoln led again on 24 minutes with Sean Wright converting Michael Griffith's cross but in no time Town were on terms once more through Green, finishing well after good work by Will Whieldon.
A storming second-half saw both sides hit the bar before Michael MacKintosh's fine finish put Drayton in front for the first time on 62 minutes, with Kallum Smith making it three apiece 10 minutes later.
At this stage, everyone might well have welcomed a well-deserved draw.
Instead, both sides embarked on a tremendous see-sawing showdown before Whieldon capped his man-of-the-match performance by clipping the ball back past Ziccardi when he could only parry sub Nicky Porter's fierce shot.
