Easter weekend in English football has long been associated with pivotal moments — the decisive fixtures that often define seasons.
Who can forget Torquay and Gateshead in 2017? Not me, nor can I cannot remember anything from before I was born. However, if there was an Easter I’d have loved to witness, it came two years before I entered the world.
In 1976, no club epitomised pivotal Easter weekends better than Lincoln City. Under the stewardship of a rising managerial force in Graham Taylor, the Imps embarked on a punishing yet glorious spell of three matches in four days, winning each of them to secure not only promotion but also the Fourth Division title — and in a manner that left their supporters, and history, breathless.
By the time Good Friday, April 16, rolled around, Lincoln City stood on the brink of history. Sitting on 66 points — already an astonishing tally in the era of two points for a win — they had not only surpassed the 100-goal mark but were now eyeing a new Fourth Division record of 70 points. With back-to-back home games against Stockport County and Doncaster Rovers, the path to immortality lay clear before them. Three points from those two fixtures would be enough to crown them champions, with three games still to spare. One of those games would then come on Easter Monday at Oakwell against Barnsley.
Good Friday: A Gritty Step Closer (Lincoln City 2–0 Stockport County)
The Easter programme began at Sincil Bank with a rematch against Roy Chapman’s Stockport County — a side they had comfortably beaten at Edgeley Park just four days earlier. But the return fixture proved to be a far sterner test. Before a crowd of 10,906, Lincoln laboured through a stubborn Stockport display before emerging victorious with a 2-0 win that gave them their 30th league win of the season — matching Notts County’s record from 1970–71.
Stockport, clearly wounded from their earlier defeat, returned with a revised game plan that stifled Lincoln’s usual attacking flair. Dave Smith, so influential at Edgeley Park, found himself neutralised, and for long spells in the first half, the visitors even looked capable of causing an upset. But class eventually told.
The deadlock was broken just before the hour mark when Dave Smith’s curling free-kick was nodded down by Sam Ellis for the returning Percy Freeman to slide home his 21st of the season. Then came a turning point: Richard Dixie, on loan from Burnley, received a second yellow card for a foul on Freeman and was dismissed. Sam Ellis stepped up and calmly dispatched the resulting penalty, his 13th goal of the campaign.
It was not a sparkling performance, but it was efficient and vital. As Graham Taylor admitted post-match: “There’s no hiding place now.” The Doncaster game awaited, and with it, the chance to claim the title on home soil.
Easter Saturday: Champions in Style (Lincoln City 5–0 Doncaster Rovers)
If the Good Friday match was a tense chess game, Easter Saturday was a coronation by fire. In front of a season-best crowd of 14,096, Lincoln City dismantled Doncaster Rovers in ruthless fashion, putting five goals past a team who, only a day earlier, had still harboured faint promotion hopes themselves.
The scene was set for a party, and City didn’t disappoint. From the first whistle, they played with the hunger of challengers and the quality of champions. Within ten minutes, Ian Branfoot — against his former club — flicked in the opener after a Dave Smith corner was poorly cleared. Five minutes later, Freeman powered home a header from another Smith set-piece. And before halftime, Alan Harding scored a stunning solo goal, ghosting past defenders and sliding home Lincoln’s third.
Doncaster never recovered. Their defence, featuring debutants and weakened by the absence of star striker Brendan O’Callaghan, collapsed under the weight of Lincoln’s attacks. Freeman added his second of the game in the 75th minute after a clever throw-in routine involving Smith, and moments from time, Ellis converted yet another penalty — again won by Smith — to round off the 5–0 rout.
The final whistle brought bedlam. Supporters flooded the pitch in joy. Champagne was popped in the director’s box. Players were hoisted onto shoulders. After 25 years without a trophy, Lincoln had done it — and done it with flair. Taylor, typically modest, deflected the praise: “They’ve worked hard and now they have their reward… I’m pleased and proud for every single one of them.”
Easter Monday: Champions Tested (Barnsley 0–1 Lincoln City)
Barely 48 hours after their jubilant celebrations, Lincoln faced their third and final test of the Easter spell: a trip to Oakwell to face a strong Barnsley side with one of the best home records in the division. It was a classic trap game — a proud opponent, a fatigued champion, and a hostile crowd eager to witness an upset.
Yet Lincoln once again rose to the occasion. Although it wasn’t pretty, it was a victory steeped in grit, defensive resilience, and a sprinkle of magic from their talismanic players.
The only goal came in the 36th minute and typified City’s season. Dave Smith, as so often, was at the heart of it. Winning a tackle in midfield, he surged forward before releasing Harding, who laid the ball wide to John Fleming. Fleming’s cross was perfect, and there was Freeman again, leaping above the defence to head home — his third goal in as many games.
The second half was a storm. Barnsley pushed, pressed, and pounded the Lincoln backline. Peter Grotier, voted man of the match, pulled off two outstanding saves — one from a diving header and one from Bob Doyle’s penalty after Sam Ellis was penalised. His heroics preserved Lincoln’s lead and ensured their 32nd win of the season.
The game ended with flaring tempers and bruised bodies, but Lincoln stood tall. They had not only won the title — they were now chasing history.
Legacy of a Golden Easter
Three matches. Three wins. Nine goals scored. None conceded. And, most importantly, a Fourth Division title sealed with a flourish.
Lincoln’s Easter of 1976 was more than a collection of results. It was a coming-of-age moment for a club and a manager. Graham Taylor, still in the early stages of a managerial career that would see him take charge of the England national team, had built a side full of hunger, spirit, and tactical maturity.
His team didn’t just win — they dominated. The haul of 70 points (eventually rising to 74), 32 wins, and 111 goals set records that have stood for years. Freeman ended the season with 23 league goals, Smith contributed goals and countless assists, and the backline, marshalled by Ellis and protected by the heroic Grotier, provided steel when it mattered most.
More than that, Lincoln reconnected with their fanbase. The scenes at Sincil Bank that Easter — the pitch invasions, the singing, the champagne — weren’t just about success. They were about belief, about the lifting of a 25-year burden. For many in red and white, it was the greatest week they had ever witnessed.
Football often celebrates the extraordinary — the moments where the human spirit pushes beyond limits. Lincoln City’s 1976 Easter campaign was just that. A team playing three times in four days, with pressure mounting and history beckoning, delivered perfection.
They did it at home, they did it away. They did it with style, with strength, and with swagger. And in doing so, they carved their names into the history books and the hearts of their fans forever.
The chant that rang out from the terraces of Sincil Bank that weekend — “Champions, Champions!” — wasn’t just an acknowledgment of a league title. It was the cry of a city rediscovering pride through its football club.
And oh, what a beautiful Easter it was. we only had to wait 41 years for another that compared!
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