Can Linnets continue the momentum?

Gavin Caney speaks about the fortunes of King’s Lynn Town in his latest Your Local Paper column.It felt like a massive moment.Not just in the short term, but in terms of the bigger picture, when Josh Coulson slotted home the winning penalty for King’s Lynn Town.“This will really kickstart our campaign,” I uttered to one of the lads I was standing beside on the terraces.And it was less about what happened, but more about how it happened, that made me draw that conclusion.Sport hinges on moments. Tiny ones, mid-sized ones and large ones. But so do seasons. Teams can turn a corner, a victory can change things and there can, of course, be false dawns.It’s the hope that kills you, according to the cliche, and Lynn fans have plenty of it regarding their current team. The problem is, early in a campaign it can take a while to get going and run up a head of steam. Adam Lakeland’s men have shown flashes in 2024/25 and enjoyed some excellent results. Many have been ground out, a skill in itself, but every time a little run looks like being thrown together something stops it in its tracks. A home defeat to Peterborough Sports, for example.Conceding a last-minute goal at Worksop in the FA Cup felt like another moment where the brake pedal was being applied.And the handbrake nearly came up at The Walks during the replay when the Linnets went down to 10 men following the sending off of Ross Crane. With players out on their feet, extra-time felt seismic. As those in blue and gold urged us singing supporters on to make more noise to help give them extra backing, you could sense something special was in the air.It duly arrived when Paul Jones made a couple of saves he had no right to make and off we went to spot-kicks. Lynn duly triumphed and it felt like an important night for this latest collection of Linnets. The question was, could they build on it at the weekend?I wasn’t able to attend The Walks but I listened to most of the game on the radio and was ecstatic to hear we found a way to get the job done. One win, albeit via a shoot-out, became two thanks to edging a very decent Darlington side.Now the question is can two wins become three? A victory at Curzon Ashton tomorrow – a first for Lakeland since leaving them to become Lynn’s manager – would really turn a few wins into a run.It’s the type of morale-boosting success, and progression in the FA Cup, that could kickstart a fine Autumn.A defeat, albeit expected by many given how good Curzon Ashton are, wouldn’t be a disaster. But it would certainly feel like the progress has stalled slightly again. Twitter, sorry X, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms can provide so much good.But they don’t half serve up plenty of problems – especially for professional footballers.The barrage of criticism from trolls, opposing fans or their own supporters must be incredibly difficult to receive.And human nature means that the negativity will be focused on more than all of the positives that arrive. So it’s worth considering that the current form of Brennan Johnson may provide a social media lesson for his compatriots across the pro game.He deactivated his Instagram account following criticism received after Spurs’ 1-0 loss to fierce rivals Arsenal in September. In each of the six games since, Johnson has scored.Turning off the negative noise, focusing on what matters and listening to opinions from people who are worth listening to seems to have done the Welshman no harm at all.It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if others followed suit as a result of his recent upturn. Professional sportspeople are being worked harder than ever.You can debate the rights and wrongs of it all you like, but the fact is schedules are larger, travelling distances greater and, thus, the demands on the human body have increased.Top-level football appears ready to eat itself but tennis has bucked the trend when it comes to a fixture pile-up.The group stage of the Davis Cup Finals has been scrapped in favour of a return to home or away ties, thus decreasing the number of matches in the competition. This will ensure teams will play fewer ties on neutral venues, cut down journeys and reduce the workload on players – many of whom have been bemoaning a packed calendar.Some may not like that player power has been influential in the decision, but without those stepping onto the court there is no product.They have to be listened to, and they have. Their views matter more than that of sponsors and TV schedulers who have nothing to back if rackets get downed.That hasn’t been on the table but remained an option given the concerns that had been flagged about gruelling schedules.This should help limit injury issues on tour but also increase the quality of play at the Majors. Given the visibility of those events, and how they can help entice the next generation, this news should be seen as a positive.