As we look forward to life in League One, it’s not difficult to also remember where we’ve come from. Every report begins with something like ‘mid table in the National League three years ago’. It’s a nice angle for the mainstream press.
In December 2016. the best we were hoping for was the top five. Winning the National League title would be a huge ask, especially with the likes of Tranmere and Forest Green competing with us. We weren’t to be perturbed though and not long after beating Oldham 3-2 in the FA Cup, we faced Tranmere in the league.
Tomorrow, we could secure the title against our old rivals. We could see the first Imps’ team in a generation to lift a Football League title. It all comes down to this game, unless of course we don’t win, then we get another free hit next week. Anyway…
In order to give you a taste of what once was, whether you were there or have returned since, here is a section from my blog of 2016, originally titled ‘Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better’. It’s been peppered with some exclusive, never before seen on the blog photos mustered up from my computer courtesy of Graham Burrell. Weren’t at the game? This little piece will have you thinking you were. Enjoy.
As any Danny Cowley team normally does, we started at break neck speed. I flippantly said on a blog a couple of days ago that Nathan Arnold would score an opener for us on five minutes, and sure enough he popped up in the box after a Sam Habergham long throw to give us a crucial lead. Of all the games we’ve played this season, I felt this was one game where we needed to get in front early. I know the biggest game of the season is always the next one, but on the face of it I think today really was one of the biggest we’ve faced. To grab such an early lead was crucial as it meant they had to come at as. They certainly did that.
After the goal I felt the game imploded a little bit. Danny might not be able to say this, but frankly the referee was shit. Had he got in the Christmas spirit and handed a few cards out early doors we might not have seen such a scrappy affair, but Tranmere got away with some horrible challenges. To give free kicks and no cards for certain challenges was bizarre, he wasn’t ‘letting the game flow’ he was just a bad referee. Louis Maynard should have got a yellow Christmas greeting from our match day referee for an early high boot on Alex Woodyard, and maybe Jeff Hughes for a bruising challenge on Matt Rhead. It was nice to see Hughes with a bit of physicality to his game though, because even when he was scoring goals here he used to weigh about four stone wet through, and he’d blow away if the wind got up.
If I’m brutally honest I thought for the last 25 minutes of the first half we were poor. We couldn’t get out, our passes were going astray and although we were containing a decent side we certainly weren’t threatening. Tranmere certainly threatened though, and on 29 minutes they got an early Christmas present from a referee finally entering into the festive spirit.
At first glance I thought Andy Mangan had been fouled. I was lower tier in the Coop, and from the angle it appeared that Howe just clipped the striker’s heels, and he went down as if he’d been cut off at the ankles with an industrial saw. The linesman didn’t flag, but as soon as the referee blew I had no doubts it was a penalty. All around me people were up in arms, but I felt my view would be exonerated with the luxury of a video replay.
I was wrong, Mangan cheated and looking back it was a blatant and disgusting dive that the linesman (if not the ref) had a perfect view of. Former Imp Jeff Hughes struck a good penalty to make it 1-1, and the next fifteen minutes I felt we drifted out of the game. Perhaps it was the blatant injustice we’d just witnessed, maybe it was the strong travelling support willing their team on.
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