Saturday, April 11th, 1992. It’s a date I’ll never forget.
Midtable Lincoln were looking to get one over on Maidstone United, keeping some slim play-off hopes alive. 13-year-old Gary Hutchinson was living that blissful part of childhood where there was no loss. Everyone I loved was alive and always had been. Sadly, when the sun set on the game, I’d suffered my first loss, and oddly, the one that perhaps still hurts the most.
I was lucky to get to know my grandparents on my Mum’s side as an adult. My gran on Dad’s side is still alive; she turned 100 last month. However, her husband, Geoff Hutchinson, died on April 11th, 1992. He was the reason I supported Lincoln, or at least 50% of it. He had been taking his son, my Dad, since the late fifties or early sixties, and in October 1986, three generations of Hutchinson went to a game for the first time.
The six years after we went to a fair few games together. We were never able to afford a season ticket, nor every match, but I loved my days out with Dad and Grandad. We had maybe been to two matches in the 1991/92 season, and there were no plans to go to Maidstone on April 11th.
This isn’t only a personal post, but I try to pick games that resonate or that have some intrinsic value to the site. I often get told I remember everything by football matches (my memory is shit in the summer) and that’s probably true. This is perhaps one of the first examples of me anchoring an event outside of football to a game. I can still picture certain moments from the day, even getting a 15-minute update on the radio as we got in the car to be driven to a friend’s house while Mum and Dad went to spend the final few hours with Grandad.
Anyway, enough of that. City lined up Ian Bowling, Paul Smith, Shane Nicholson, Dean West, Matt Carmichael, Sean Dunphy, Kevin Finney, Jason Kabia, Jason Lee, Tony Lormor, David Puttnam. Substitutes were Keith Alexander, Ben Dixon.
That line up was hampered by a threadbare squad missing five senior players – Dave Clarke and Gary West (injured), Grant Brown (suspended), and the midfield duo of John Schofield and Paul Ward – Lincoln fielded a patched-up XI, with Sean Dunphy finally making his debut nearly two years after joining the club. Thrust into the heart of defence alongside Carmichael, Dunphy acquitted himself well, helping marshal a defence that largely kept Maidstone at bay.
Despite the positive result, City’s performance left much to the imagination, visions of what might be. A flurry of long balls defined the early approach, with Bowling launching deep efforts that kept Maidstone under pressure but lacked finesse. The Stones, meanwhile, seemed determined to complicate matters for themselves, repeatedly inviting pressure with hesitant play in their own half.
The hosts looked most dangerous from set pieces, particularly through Shane Nicholson, whose deliveries from dead balls consistently caused problems for a shaky Maidstone back line. It was from one such scenario that the decisive moment arrived, 129 seconds into the game, Carmichael rising to steer a header beyond Ian Hesford before most fans had settled in their seats.
Thereafter, Lincoln failed to turn dominance into goals. Hesford denied several chances, while Lincoln’s attack sputtered. Only in the final minutes did the home side regain any semblance of urgency. Dean West’s header struck the post and Nicholson unleashed a ferocious drive that cannoned off the bar — a near miss that might’ve earned goal-of-the-season honours had it crept in.
Manager Steve Thompson sought to reignite the front line by withdrawing Jason Kabia and Jason Lee in favour of the experienced Keith Alexander, whose influence steadied a faltering offence. Trainee Ben Dixon also joined the fray, providing some much-needed width as he lined up to challenge the visibly struggling Paul Haylock.
The match wasn’t without its drama elsewhere — referee John Kirby was forced to leave the field after just 25 minutes, succumbing to a suspected pulled muscle amid a chorus of discontent from the stands. His departure handed the whistle to Martin Mountain from Mansfield, which sounds like a made-up name but isn’t.
City were occasionally tested at the back, but largely held firm. Bowling put in a composed shift in goal, ensuring a clean sheet — The Imps’ eighth in their last nine outings. That defensive solidity is a rare beacon in a side still finding its rhythm in attack. Despite the underwhelming display, Lincoln’s run of form was impressive with just one defeat in the previous 14 matches. They now sit in 12th place and still have a mathematical chance of reaching the 62-point mark likely needed for the playoffs.
We didn’t make the play-offs, and sadly, my Grandad didn’t make the next game. He passed away peacefully at home in the early evening, while my brother and I played at our friend’s house. We were collected and taken to Goltho, where the family had assembled. Football seemed like such a distant passion that evening, as one of life’s certainties became a reality for me. I’ll be honest, I never really got over losing my Grandad at a young age – he was only 67. The night before I’d been offered the chance to stay with him and Nanna while my family went swimming, but I opted to go home and play video games instead. That haunted me for years afterwards.
Even now, when Lincoln needs a goal, I often sit in my seat and look to the heavens, asking my grandad for help. I’m not one who believes or disbelieves in what comes after. I am enjoying what I have here and now, and whatever is next will be evident one day, but part of me hopes that somewhere, my grandad Geoff is up there, proud that I’ve used his passion as a basis for a career, carving out a little niche in this world.
Bit deep, I know, but sometimes you get that on the Stacey West.
Oh mate. I get this so much. With the recent reports of it being 7 years ago we won at Wembley, it reminds me that it is therefore coming up to 7 years of losing my best friend who also happened to be my dad. He said to me when he was sat in his hospital bed that Lincoln would win 1-0. After the game when I spoke to him, he said told you. And you should have put a bet on. That was a regret I will always have. God bless you dad.