Simeon Jackson may be a relative newcomer to the Linnets squad – but he put his foot firmly down on The Walks pitch when it came to taking a second-half penalty.
Emerging talent Sonny Carey fancied it, but Jackson – who had won the penalty on 70 minutes - was having none of it, grabbing the ball and then calmly sending the keeper the wrong way and planting the ball in the bottom-left corner.
“Sonny was trying to take the ball off me but that was never going to happen,” said Jackson, with a smile.
“I have taken a few, especially when I get fouled there is no way he is getting that off me.”
It proved to be the match winner and, after a midweek appearance at Altrincham where he hit the woodwork twice and had two goals disallowed, some respite for Jackson, with his first Lynn goal since arriving earlier this month.
It meant a reunion with Lynn boss Ian Culverhouse, who was assistant boss at Norwich when Jackson was ripping it up a decade ago.
“It’s brilliant,” said Jackson. “Lucky for me and some of the boys, I’ve worked with him previously. Training is brilliant, and how he sees the game and stuff is just brilliant and for me to come in and play a part in this is really good.”
Has the tinkerman changed?
“No. Still the same. He wants us to get on the ball and play – and to be fair to the group they’ve been doing that and it’s no secret why there has been success here in the last few years.
“It is just the way he sees the game, the way he wants to play, his experience, what he has done in the game - it is just brilliant for me playing in it. He gets the best out of you and you are just learning from him every day. It is great to be a part of.”
And if Jackson has his way, he admits he’d jump at the chance to come back next season.
“Definitely,” said the 34-year-old. “It’s a great group here, wanting to do well and I think there are plans to kick on and get more success and I definitely want to be part of that.”
Jackson has featured in the last six Lynn games, but is far from a squad newcomer – Saturday’s team featured midfielder Ethan Coleman, signed the previous day, and Rob Howard, who has been at Lynn for less than a week – although Elkan Baggott was absent because of illness.
Winless in eight games, Lynn finally got some reward for their efforts after a series of games which were filed under “so near, yet so far”. And it was done after coming from behind to win – something a Lynn team hasn’t done since October 31, when they beat Woking 3-2, having trailed 2-1.
It didn’t look good for Lynn when they fell behind inside a minute, a Jack Payne free-kick just outside the area eluding every attempted touch and nestling in the bottom right corner.
It was all square five minutes after the break when Eastleigh keeper Joe McDonnell spilled a firm but stoppable shot by Alex Kiwomya and Michael Gyasi swooped from close range.
Ten minutes later Jackson entered the fray and on 70 minutes, scored the winner. Michael Gash turned well in the area, but saw his shot saved. Jackson tried to pick up the pieces but was inexplicably manhandled by defender Joe Partington, leaving referee Rebecca Welch with the easiest decision of the day. Jackson stepped up, the keeper went left, the ball went in the other corner and Lynn had their third win of 2021.
King’s Lynn Town: Richardson, Howard, Fleming, Callan-McFadden, Denton, Clunan (Payne 55), Carey, Kiwomya, Coleman (Jackson 60), Gyasi (Davies 76), Gash. Subs not used: Gascoigne, Guimdo-Tasguim. Goals: Gyasi 50, Jackson 70
Eastleigh: McDonnell, Blair (Smart 55), Partington (Bearwish 81), Boyce, Bird, Tomlinson, Hollands, Miley, Baggie, Smith. Subs not used: Green, Flitney, Scorey. Goal: Payne 1
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