The die has been cast, the results are in and after a superb season of football, we fell just short of promotion.
That doesn’t mean we won’t be visiting new grounds, seeing new faces and taking on an opposition that have become a little unfamiliar to us. Instead, we’re going to meet up with some former Imps, visit grounds that I can’t remember going to and be given a taste of where we have come from with a couple of trips not quite in keeping with the Stadium of Light, Portman Road and The Valley.
Who are the new faces and how have we done against them in the past? Here’s the lowdown, team by team.
Cheltenham Town – Champions of League Two
Ground: Jonny-Rocks Stadium
Capacity: 7,066
Manager: Michael Duff
First Time We Met: 31/10/87, GMVC, Lincoln 5-1 Cheltenham (Evans 2, McGinley, Cumming, Sertori)
Last Time We Met: 13/04/19, League Two, Lincoln 1-1 Cheltenham (McCartan)
Biggest Win: 31/10/87, GMVC, Lincoln 5-1 Cheltenham
Heaviest Defeat: 18/11/2004 Cheltenham 4-1 Lincoln (Mayo)
Overall Record: Wins 7, Draws 6, Defeats 12
Cheltenham Town won League Two last season, with former Imp Ellis Chapman pulling some of the strings for them. Their achievement was impressive – The Robins are not the richest club at that level but they appear to have a superb young manager in Michael Duff.
We first came across them in the GMVC, winning 5-1 and drawing 3-3 later in the season. we have a habit of appearing in big games against them – they secured the National League title against us in the 2015/16 season, then we secured the League Two title against them the last time we met.
They might be a ‘small’ club, but they’re going to be ultra-competitive and will be hopeful of retaining their place in the division, in much the same way Crewe did last season.