Matchday 12 sees the Linnets travel the furthest they will all season, as they visit Penydarren Park to take on Merthyr Town.
A mixed start to the season for the Martyrs sees them sit in 18th place in the National League North table, with three wins after eleven matches. However, they are closer to the play-off picture than the bottom four, sitting four points off seventh and five points above Southport in 21st place.
The last five matches have seen Paul Michael’s side collect two wins, two draws and one loss. Those wins came against table-toppers Macclesfield at Penydarren Park and Chester at the Deva Stadium three days later. The growing worry, however, would be the fact that the Martyrs have conceded four goals from the 88th-minute mark onwards already this campaign. The latest came last weekend, when Aiden Rutledge buried home a last-gasp equaliser in the 93rd minute. All of this is worth knowing; however, Merthyr’s overall performances this season have been encouraging.
Paul Caddis agreed with this, saying in his pre-match interview earlier that, in his opinion, he believes “they should probably be seven or eight points better off than what they are.”
The last game at Penydarren Park saw Merthyr narrowly fall to defeat at the hands of Marine, as Fin Sinclair-Smith scored a 90th-minute winner.
Last time out for the Linnets, it was a back-and-forth game at home to Buxton, where Paul Caddis’ side defended rigidly to earn a 1-0 win, thanks to a late first-half penalty converted by Jesse Nwabueze.
The previous meeting between these two sides saw Merthyr just edge past the Linnets, staying compact in formation and guarding Jamie Cogman’s box incredibly well. The difference was a magical piece of individual brilliance from attacking midfielder Kieran Evans, as he dribbled through Lynn’s midfield before expertly placing the ball past an outstretched Paul Jones, who couldn’t stop it from nestling into the bottom-right corner.
Before that, the first meeting between the two sides in the National League North saw Lynn cruise to a convincing 4-0 victory.
With this being the weekend for Fourth Qualifying Round action in the Emirates FA Cup, Lynn are one of only two teams in the top nine of the National League North playing league football this weekend, giving the Linnets the chance to climb as high as fourth. A win for Merthyr would see them climb to at least ninth in the table, demonstrating just how close the league is at the moment.
We cannot wait to see you in Merthyr Tydfil tomorrow, and we wish those travelling to the game a safe journey to South Wales. We thoroughly appreciate the commitment you show to the club.
Up the Linnets!