There’s nothing quite like a first-day upset to rattle the division, and Lincoln City’s opening salvo at Deepdale in August 1995 was exactly that.
Preston North End were the promotion favourites, but Sam Ellis’s Imps had other ideas. A spirited, cohesive performance, fused with a moment of Puttnam-inspired magic, earned City a richly deserved 2–1 win in front of a stunned Lancashire crowd.
Pre-season odds had Preston among the bookmaker’s darlings and Lincoln at 33/1 for the title, yet you’d never have guessed it from the opening whistle. Despite missing five first-team players, Ellis’s makeshift side was anything but makeshift. They pressed, passed and prodded their way into the game from the off, and it was clear they hadn’t come to make up the numbers.
Premier League loanees Lance Key and David Brightwell added top-level assurance, while Darren Huckerby, still raw but electric, looked sharp and hungry. Twice in the opening quarter of an hour, Huckerby tested Preston keeper John Vaughan, first drawing a stop and then bending an effort just wide.
Joe Allen, making his Imps debut, was lively too, forcing another smart save in a one-on-one. Colin Greenall had a header go begging and needed treatment for a head wound shortly after, but it was Lincoln asking the questions, and Preston, increasingly, had no answers.
Against the run of play, the home side struck first. Andy Saville, one of the division’s more reliable goal poachers, glanced home a deft header on 35 minutes. The cross came from Atkinson, and Key was helpless as the ball nestled in the far corner. That could’ve been the moment Lincoln’s head dropped.
Instead, they struck back in stunning fashion. Just two minutes later, David Puttnam collected the ball fully 35 yards out and unleashed a missile that flew past Vaughan before he could react. The linesman briefly threatened to ruin the moment with a raised flag for passive offside, but referee Uriah Rennie, never a man for the mundane, overruled him, and the goal stood.
The Imps had their tails up, and six minutes into the second half, they had the lead. Gary Megson, always combative, always in the thick of it, forced a corner, and Puttnam stepped up once more. His delivery was perfect, curled in with whip and intent. Dean West arrived on cue, six yards out, and buried his header to put City in front.
What followed was a slick performance. City weren’t content to sit back, but when Preston pressed, they held firm. Brightwell and Greenall (a former Preston player) marshalled the back line expertly, while Key made important saves from Atkinson, Bryson, and Davy to preserve the lead.
City didn’t completely shut up shop. Huckerby remained a threat on the counter, and Greenall could’ve iced it with a late header. Even so, as the clock ticked into the final minutes, Preston began to pour forward. Steve Wilkinson hit the side netting and the nerves in the away end began to jangle, but Lincoln stood strong.
At full-time, it was the travelling supporters making the noise, and Gary Peters, the beaten Preston boss, had nothing but admiration. “Lincoln were organised and shut us down while we couldn’t get our game going,” he admitted. “Every credit to them. I think they’ll be there or thereabouts.”
Preston North End’s line-up included goalkeeper John Vaughan, future Lincoln midfielder Terry Fleming, David Moyes, who would later become a Premier League manager, and Paul Raynor.
Lincoln City’s starting XI featured Lance Key in goal, with Jason Minett, Ben Dixon, Gary Megson, Colin Greenall, and David Brightwell forming the defensive unit. Dean West, Udo Onwere, Joe Allon, Darren Huckery, and David Puttnam completed the outfield line-up. Paul Mudd replaced Allon during the second half, while Nicky Platnauer came on for Puttnam. Steve Wilkinson was named as an unused substitute.
Sadly, it was a false dawn. Our next win came away at Mansfield in early November, with Ellis having been sacked, Steve Wicks appointed, Steve Wicks sacked, and John Beck appointed. Dean West and David Puttnam were both sold. By the time we won our first home league game in November, only Jason Minett and Udo Onwere remained in the first team from the opening day.
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