I expected a one-sided second half, and in terms of possession, we got it. I went to Cardiff hoping for a draw. That would have been big, and given we’ve not lost a game, home or away, to a current top six side (we’ve only lost one to teams in the top half) I thought it would be a reasonable hope. That, in itself, is a huge thing really. Earlier in the season we clung on to a lead at Bolton before they scored what we now know to be a trademark late winner, but otherwise, we’ve been really good away from home since November.
Cardiff came out, had the ball and produced little. We didn’t do a lot in terms of attacking, but we did an awful lot in terms of closing down, harassing, keeping our shape and waiting. What were we waiting for?
We were waiting for Tendayi dropping the ball back to Hamer, and him clipping it down the line for Street. Street’s touch was exquisite to House, and then telepathy took over. House doesn’t look, he doesn’t need to. Street makes the run, House takes his defender with him, and Street has left Osho in a heap. In fairness, he’s up and chasing, but Kpakio dawdles across and that gives Street that split second he needs to put the ball through Trott’s legs for 1-0. That’s four in four for Street, ten in 42, a solid return from a player who has been played wide, and used from the bench for some of the campaign.
What immediately followed was not good. The game took ages to restart, and it turns out that an opposing supporter has made a monkey gesture at Tendayi Darikwa. Incidents of racism are happening too often, but let me say this, it doesn’t make Cardiff City a racist club at all. It makes one person in their fanbase a horrible moron. I’ve seen it on two occasions in our own fan base over the years, and it reflects on horrible individuals, not on a whole fanbase or club.
I’ve seen some unbelievable comments trying to justify the ‘reaction’, claiming Tendayi provoked it. Rubbish. There is no provocation for racism. Fans abuse players all the time, we’ve all called an opponent a name or two, and in my opinion, the player has the right to give a bit back, as long as it always stays within the realms of decency. Cupping ears? No issue with that. Monkey gestures? Get back in the 1970s, you odious, backwards creatures.
There was also an incident later on when George Wickens appeared to be pelted with items from the crowd. The atmosphere certainly turned after the goal and only one set of fans could be heard, aside from when the boos came down, mainly for our tactics. Wickens did take a bit of time, but the more stuff that comes from the stands, the more time it will take. Tom Reeves will have had a tough time writing the game up, and that will be mainly due to the behaviour of one or two supporters in amongst 27,000 football fans.
What I’ll add to this is my seat was in the media box, which is in the home side. I had to use their concourse, get a drink from there, use the toilet, and while I wasn’t wearing a Lincoln shirt, my pass does have the City badge on it. I found every single person I spoke to, staff or supporter, to be first rate and a credit to their club and their city.
What was first class was the second goal, but first, an indulgent tale. At 1-0, our fans sang ‘we are top of the league’. It was one of my Dad’s favourite songs, although he’d sing it when we were seventh. He’d sing it on the opening day of the season, he did after the 2-2 draw with Wycombe. I heard it from the away end and I recorded a short video for Mo, Dad’s partner. I looked up to the sky and (not out loud) spoke to Dad. ‘We are top of the league now Dad, but we need a hand’. I shit you not, by the way, but as I did that, Ollie Tanner played a short ball that McGrandles intercepted.
The stories write themselves. I didn’t give my Dad a thought as Jefferies took McGrandles’ pass, cut inside and scored past the club he represented at the age of 13. That’s his fourth goal involvement in three matches, and he’s certainly made sure his name joins the long list of Lincoln City players that fans say ‘he’s done well this season, you know’, and considering he missed a lot of it through injury, credit to him.
Two more players I want to credit are Ryley Towler and Alfie Lloyd. Everyone played their part, nobody had a bad game, but Ryley came in having been used mainly as a sub. He dropped in at left back, a position that Adam Reach has made his own, and didn’t put a foot wrong. He’s not a left back, he’s a left centre back, but he kept £19m Omari Kellyman as quiet as he needed to. Given that he’s not seen as many starts as he’d like, that is really impressive.
Alfie Lloyd is another who you couldn’t point to and say ‘he should be getting a start’, but when he comes on, he’s good. For me, it’s his work rate. He must have covered as much grass in his cameo as some players did in an entire half. We needed that, with a two goal lead, we just needed to work hard. I suspect we might use Oné from the start on Tuesday, and Alfie came on to keep Oné fresh as well as stake his own claim. I’ve been really impressed with his brief cameos, he’s not played many minutes, but he does put in a shift.
After that? Cardiff huffed and puffed, we stood firm, and while they might have got one back when Rubin Colwill fired wide, Tom Bayliss also drew a late save from Trott, which could have put gloss on the scoreline. We never stopped our game plan. Cardiff didn’t, they have one plan and it works well, but we were a different animal from the one that beat Northampton 4-0. We needed a different approach, but the same players did the job. Some might have started 30-odd games for us, others might be more versed with coming off the bench, but every single one can be trusted.
Right now, Lincoln City don’t have a weak link. We don’t have an area where we might get an injury and worry. I thought we did, the two players I said we couldn’t lose were Jack Moylan and Freddie Draper, and without them Jefferies and Street have added goals and assists. Big shout-out to our recruitment as well, because those two players came in last season, didn’t leap out in their first campaign for one reason or another, and yet have proven to be really good signings. It’s almost as if Jez and the recruitment team know exactly what they’re doing, and it leaves me excited for Deji Elerewe and Josh Honohan.
The sun set on Cardiff, and Bolton did their usual trick of pulling something from the jaws of nothing against Wycombe to keep the pressure up, but they’ll be looking at Cardiff now, rather than us. They still have the Bluebirds to play, and we go to Exeter knowing a win could leave us 13 points clear of third, with ten games to play.
Ten games to write their place into history. Ten games to become the first team to play second-tier football since 1961, the first to earn promotion to that level since 1952. The first Lincoln City team to play in the rebranded Championship, and who knows, maybe the first to go 20 games unbeaten. It’s just unbelievable.
Sure, it’s just three points. That’s it, three points, we got the same for that as we did for scrapping to a 2-1 win against Burton Albion at the Bank. Which will you remember in ten years’ time? Who did we scrap a 1-0 win against a couple of weeks before the MK Dons win in 2019? No? Of course not, because it wasn’t a packed away end, promotion rivals beaten, huge moments right in front of the fans.
I’m sentimental when it comes to football. I believe in fate. That’s why we drew Chelsea in the cup, a draw I predicted before we’d beaten Burton. It’s why our last home win before my dad passed was Luton, it’s why Luton was my first away game as visiting press. I believed, for a fleeting moment, that when I looked to the heavens, Dad was watching. I don’t know what I believe about life and all that, but I felt that moment. This is the awkward half-and-half season for me, you know when a club changes manager and it’s half one and half another? That’s 2025/26, the one where I had Dad for a bit and then I didn’t. How fitting it could be if the very last one he started watching is the one we go up in.
That’s enough about me and my little journey through grief. This game wasn’t about me, but in a way it was. It’s about you as well, and the 3,000+ in the away end. We all have our stories and beliefs about football. We all live the agony, we all enjoy the highs and yesterday, we were served the very finest of dishes, the sort of win that defines seasons, the sort of weekend that flashes before your eyes like it was yesterday when you’re old and grey.
It might only be worth three points in real terms, but its value on a personal level is priceless.
Up the Parma Violet Farmer Imps.
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* Yeovil, 1-0. Mark O’Hara. Yeah, you remember it now!
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