I’m sitting in the warm April sunshine, queuing a few bits up for you. Tomorrow, I talk about remembering a significant life event that coincides with a game of football.
Today, I recall my first away trip as Poacher the Imp, but a sobering afternoon in which relegation from the third tier was all but confirmed in 1999. It was our first competitive game at Maine Road for 90 years, and one which turned out to be our last.
It was a sobering afternoon in more ways than one for the 1,300-plus travelling Lincoln supporters, many of whom made their voices heard until the final whistle. I recall heading out across the pitch towards the travelling supporters to a wall of noise, only to be warned by stewards not to go along the sides near the home fans. ‘They’ll have you’ was the ominous warning. I heeded it, but our players didn’t – they were had by a slick Man City side we’d already beaten at the Bank.
The Imps lined up with John Vaughan in goal, Jason Barnett, Stuart Bimson, Steve Holmes, and Grant Brown at the back. The midfield featured Terry Fleming, Paul Smith, John Finnegan, and Lee Philpott, while up front, Tony Battersby and Lee Thorpe led the attack. Substitutes included Kevin Austin, Paul Miller, and current Sheffield United manager, Chris Wilder.
Chairman-manager John Reames, who saw his side go toe-to-toe with the hosts for half an hour before the floodgates opened, pulled no punches in his post-match comments.
“Both our first two goals came when we were slow to react to situations in the box,” he said. “At half-time, we told the players to keep going and be positive, only for us to concede a desperately bad goal three minutes into the second half.”
That “desperately bad goal” was the third of a 14-minute hat-trick from Paul Dickov, whose clinical finishing either side of the break tore Lincoln apart. His first came on 31 minutes, ghosting past his marker to nod home. A momentary reprieve followed, when John Finnegan scrambled a Sean Goater header off the line, but it was short-lived.
As the clock struck 45 minutes, Michael Brown surged down the right flank, and his cross eluded both defenders and goalkeeper John Vaughan, allowing Dickov a second simple finish. In added time at the end of the half, Lincoln nearly clawed one back from a Stuart Bimson corner, but Steve Holmes couldn’t adjust his feet in time at the back post.
Instead, the next goal came from the hosts just moments after the restart. Lincoln’s defence again failed to deal with a low cross, and Dickov completed his treble with the type of poacher’s effort City have sorely lacked this season.
From that point, the match only ever had one direction. Manchester City, cruising, created chances at will. Goater missed two golden opportunities, heading straight at Vaughan from close range and later putting a sitter over the bar. Dickov almost added a fourth himself, sprinting clear only to be denied by Vaughan’s quick reactions.
The fourth goal, however, was inevitable. On 65 minutes, Kevin Horlock rifled in a 20-yard volley that rocketed into the top corner — an emphatic way to cap off Manchester City’s dominance.
In truth, the scoreline could have been heavier. Michael Brown, Lee Crooks, and Jeff Whitley all sent efforts narrowly wide. Vaughan was called into action several more times to deny Danny Tiatto and others, doing his best to limit the damage.
Despite the lopsided result, Lincoln had their moments late on. With Manchester City easing off in the final quarter-hour, substitute Paul Miller forced a save from Nicky Weaver with a 15-yard strike. Terry Fleming’s weaving run in the 88th minute led to a tempting cross that Tony Battersby headed just wide. Still, there was no consolation goal to mark what was Lincoln’s first – and ultimately last – league visit to Maine Road in 90 years.
In the immediate aftermath, the bigger picture looked grim. While Lincoln were being dismantled, six of the other eight sides in the bottom nine were busy picking up wins; the other two earned draws. The net result was a sharp plunge in the relegation standings for the Imps, now caught in a dogfight they look ill-equipped to win.
Their form makes for bleak reading: just four goals in nine matches, no goals in the last five, and 16 conceded in that time. It wass the worst away record in the Football League. Injuries hadn’t helped, with Dave Phillips ruled out of the Manchester trip, Paul Smith and Stuart Bimson both going off, and Kevin Austin only just returning after a month out. Lee Philpott was managing a thigh problem, and Jason Barnett continues to play through a knee injury. One bright note was the return of John Finnegan after eight games out. But overall, Lincoln looked every bit a side that has been ground down by a long, punishing season.
Their next test — at home to Reading — came just days later and ended in a 2–2 draw, a marginal improvement but not the momentum swing they desperately needed. With just seven games remaining and the gap to safety growing, City were running out of both time and luck. In the end, it ran out on the final day against Wycombe Wanderers.
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