Three former Lincoln City men were in action last night, although only two were players contracted to the club.
It seems weird with the World Cup going on, and us yet to kick a ball in anger in a friendly, to be talking about a competition that will end in May 2027, but such is the world of football. It’s a good job Gibraltar didn’t qualify for the World Cup, because if they had, St Joseph’s tie against Bohemians would have looked a lot different. They have a number of Gibraltan internationals among their ranks, including goalkeeper Bradley Banda.
Banda was substituted in the 64th minute of the tie, which ended in a 2-0 win for Bohs, but he wasn’t the first player to be removed. One time Imps trialist Senan Mullen, who appeared in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup against Boston United, was removed at half time, with the score 0-0. His replacement, Sadou Diallo, added a late assist to cap off the win.
Our links to the other two matches are far less tenuous. One I missed last night was Max Melbourne. He’s having quite an eclectic career, and honestly, I’m quite happy for him. His Imps spell wasn’t exactly run-of-the-mill: he arrived on loan under Danny Cowley, didn’t play, was given a contract under Michael Appleton, and was then usurped by Tayo Edun and Sean Roughan. A good loan spell saw him come back, score a winner at Home Park with his last kick in Imps’ colours, before a move seemingly down the pyramid.
He returned to the Bank as a Morecambe player, playing twice in three days against us, but then suffered injury issues. After a spell in the six-a-side Baller League, he has now moved to Penybont in Brigend, where last night he made his debut in a Conference League game, in front of 1,900 fans at the cavernous Cardiff City Stadium. They lost 1-0, and he played 90 minutes.
He’s still only 27.
Finally, one of our own, Ellis Chapman, was thrown straight into action last night. Ellis, a second-generation Imp after his dad Darren was also a YTS player, made his debut for Derry City in the Europa League. That was more of an occasion: more than 12,000 supporters watched 31-time Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia fight to a 3-2 win, a result that leaves the Irish side with a real chance of progression when they get back to Brandywell.
Ellis, playing alongside recognisable names such as Gavin Whyte, James McClean and Carl Winchester for the Candystripes, made his debut despite only having joined in the week, one of two debutants. Christy Grogan also joined recently, and he too lined up against a strong CSKA Sofia side, including former £25m Inter Milan player Stefano Sensi. 200 supporters made the journey from Ireland, with plenty of hope for the return leg.
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