I thought with the wind in our favour in the second half, we’d be fine. Lincoln City, 22 unbeaten, would sweep aside the Wombles and make it 23. It still felt flat though, because that promotion we all crave will have to wait. The 10,000+ crowd, at least those in red and white, had come thinking there might be a promotion party, and when that possibility evaporated, it made the afternoon feel really strange, in my opinion. Suddenly, the party atmosphere dropped, and the Imps now had a job to do against a side that wouldn’t play their role.
I’m happy to be corrected, but I thought they were the better side in the second half. There is no doubt at all the Zack Nelson should have scored, after Seddon’s cross bounced off Hackett and landed at his feet, eight yards out. He had to hit the target and, if he did, City would have been 1-0 down. Instead, it blasted into the executive box windows, and we got to chase a winner, rather than a leveller.
There were half chances for both, we blocked and scrapped at the back, while Sonny Bradley scooped over from close range as well. Ryley Towler had a big shout for a penalty turned down after a wind-assisted long ball bounced for him in the area, but as yet, I haven’t been able to see a replay, so couldn’t comment on whether or not it was a penalty. At the time, my gut instincts told me no, it was not.
As time ticked away, it looked like another 0-0 against Wimbledon. They’re always the same, they come to the Bank and battle, and we never seem to get much joy. Final day of the 2020/21 season was the same, and a midweek match a year later. I know I’m waxing lyrical about them, but they made this feel like a hard-working League Two side in an FA Cup game. That’s the feel it had for me, and given they have nothing to play for, that is a compliment. Also, it’s no slight on their players, I’m not saying they are a League Two outfit at all, I’m saying they work hard like one having a day out at a side they’re expected to lose to.
Lose they did, and they’ll feel massively aggrieved. We’ve been on the end of some decisions you might not like: the handball against Huddersfield for one, but we’ve benefitted as well. Maybe these things do even themselves out, and we certainly got a helping hand for the late winner. We penned them in for a period, forming that red wall maybe 25 yards from goal as we do. Jefferies, again having an impressive cameo, whips a cross in and Towler is on hand to tee up Oné from close range. A couple of Wimbledon players appealed, but nothing huge, and we celebrated. Out came the Allez Allez song, as we secured three points.
The whole stand was bouncing, Ed Duckworth would have been a brave man to disallow the goal, but he would have done, had he seen what is a fairly blatant handball in the area. He didn’t, the lino didn’t and instead of guessing, they gave what they saw. Justice for Wigan, 2024? I’ll take it as payback, 100%. Zero comfort for them as we took a 1-0 lead in a game that maybe should have been a draw, although xG does suggest we were worth a 1-0 win. Points in the bag.
Only, it wasn’t, because there were three minutes left, and underlining everything I have said about Wimbledon, they came again. They got a set piece, they came for us and for a moment, I could see a late twist as they stab home a leveller. Bizarrely, the keeper even came up. That might be a small detail, but let me ask you this – why? They’re not going down, they’re not going up, there is three minutes left in a game they’re losing 1-0 and they send the keeper up, like it is a cup tie. Why?
I don’t care why, I respect it. Fight for every point like it is your last, especially when a decent number have travelled to watch. I hated it at the time, but seeing Nathan Bishop making his way up for a corner in the 40th league match of the season like it was an FA Cup First Round game made me believe in desire a little bit more than before. That’s enough of me dribbling all over Wimbledon, but should we go up and they stay down, I’ll be looking out for their results hoping they kick on and challenge the top ten next season.
For us, the goal only underlined the odd nature of the afternoon. In my mind, it meant nothing, we weren’t going to secure promotion. Of course, that’s not the case: only one of Stockport and Bolton can catch us now, as they play each other on Monday. Stevenage and Bradford’s faint and faded hopes of overhauling us disappeared, and the real possibility of us getting promoted by losing game 24 arose. Imagine we lose 1-0 at Reading, and our pursuers draw 1-1. That’s us promoted. That does feel very Lincoln City (not 25/26 Lincoln City, actual all-time Lincoln City).
We’re like a dark joke at times: relegated twice out of the league, having spent 90 games of the 92 outside the relegation spots. First team to be promoted from non-league after relegation, first team to hit 74 points under two points for a win, first team to lose a game of golden goal in English football. We’re the punchline, we’re the ones that twist history and it would be so fitting to lose to a Paudie O’Connor header, only for Lewis Fiorini to come on and level late against Bolton.
After the game, things didn’t feel any less odd. There was a muted jubilation, many seeing the win as a major step, others feeling flat that other results hadn’t gone our way. The truth is we did what we needed to do, and we couldn’t affect anything else. The teams we expected to play their part, Stockport and Bolton, did not, and so for some, Good Friday was okay, whereas Easter Monday could be magnificent. I should have known, when I did my earliest promotions article the other day, I worked off Easter Monday as the date, not Friday, so it is my fault.
We went out anyway, sadly finding Stack half empty, and the Golden Eagle dominated by the pub quiz by eight o’clock, rather than packed with people in red and white shirts crying. It was a normal Friday night out, nobody concerned with celebrating a promotion that didn’t happen. Our Stacey West team wanted some drinks and a chance to come together, so we took it.
I got a phone call from Fe around seven, asking what the situation was. She couldn’t understand why we wanted to celebrate something that didn’t happen, and I think I summed it up best with the following line.
We’re not actually promoted, but we’re a little more promoted than we were yesterday.
Up the Imps
Final Page: Bubs Gallery
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