For the first time in the 2024/25 campaign, Radcliffe tasted defeat at the Neuven Stadium as King’s Lynn’s Jonny Margetts scored twice to send the visitors back to Norfolk with all three points.

Under the intense late summer sun, it was King’s Lynn who had the better of the first-half chances. Their first opportunity came through Finlay Barnes, as the left winger cut in from the edge of the area and curled his strike towards Mateusz Hewelt’s top right corner, the Polish ‘keeper was able to tip the ball wide of the target.

Radcliffe responded well and had three bites at the cherry, but were unable to find a way to put the ball into the visitors’ net. In a similar fashion to Barnes’ effort, Jude Oyibo aimed for the far corner and Paul Jones was on hand to make the save but pushed the ball back into play. Fortunately for the experienced shot-stopper, Luca Navarro could only find the post on the rebound with the goal gaping, and Josh Hancock saw his effort blocked by a defender.

From then, the Linnets turned up the temperature and regularly threatened down the right wing. A clever ball over the top picked out Margetts, but the forward couldn’t bring the pass under control to test Hewelt, who was alert to the danger.

King’s Lynn continued to threaten and went close as Barnes picked out the run of Dylan Crowe at the far post, Hewelt was then called into action to divert the full back’s header behind for a corner after 25 minutes.

Just moments later, Margetts was able to head the visitors into the lead as he connected with Josh Hmami’s delivery, nodding his third goal of the season beyond Hewelt.

Despite constant pressure from the Linnets, they could only add one goal to the board which cost them only minutes before the half-time whistle, as Brad Roscoe stooped to head Josh Hancock’s 43rd minute corner into the roof of the net to give Radcliffe parity at the break.

Both sides appeared to tire in the second 45 which was perhaps expected following three matches in a seven-day period, with neither outfit able to create much in the way of chances until late in the second half.

Almost out of nothing however, Margetts grabbed his second of the afternoon by putting the final touch on a King’s Lynn attack, as the number 10 chipped the ball over Hewelt and into the back of the Boro net in the 71st minute to retake the lead.

Bernard and Jonno turned to the bench in an attempt to change the scoreline as they made all five changes available to them in the last twenty minutes of the ninety, most notably seeing former Aston Villa midfielder Callum Rowe make his debut, in place of Jude Oyibo.

The hosts were unable to create any opportunities until the final minute of the seven added on, when a dangerous, searching cross found the charging run of substitute Scott Duxbury, but the defender couldn’t direct his headed effort on target, as the ball flew into the crowd behind the goal.

Radcliffe are back at the Neuven Stadium on Tuesday night as Spennymoor Town visit M26, with both outfits looking to bounce back following defeats at the weekend.

Radcliffe: Hewelt, Roscoe, Smith (Thornley 78), Wardle, Navarro (Morgan 73), Maynard, Sargent, Oyibo (Rowe 67), Walker (Duxbury 73), Hancock (Dudley 78), Hulme

King’s Lynn Town: Jones, Crowe (Wilson 90+1), McFaden, Taylor, Sass, Hmami (Hughes 90+4), McCammon, Johnson, Barnes (Omotayo 78), Margetts, Crane

Unused Subs: Coulson, Walker