1987 – Barnet 4-2 Lincoln

The fixtures are a random selection, or at least that’s the belief, but in 1987 Imps fans felt that wasn’t the case. Following our relegation out of the Football League, the first automatic relegation in history, the GMVC wanted to give us a warm welcome. They did that alright, with two away games in the space of four days. The first saw us pitted against Barnet, the jewel in the non-league crown and runner-up to Scarborough the year before. Barry fry seemingly had them on course for promotion to the Football League and surprisingly, we went there for the opening fixture. If that wasn’t enough, Dave Sansom (brother of Kenny), got an early penalty for a weak handball, as if the league wanted them to get the win.

City lost 4-2, then went to Weymouth a couple of days later, the big spenders of the division, and lost 3-0. Two games down, seven goals conceded and zero points. It didn’t look good for the Imps, but eight months later we were back where we belong: in the Football League.