Meadow Lane had not been a particularly happy hunting ground for Lincoln City. In fact, when John Beck took his side there on 23 August 1997, the Imps were looking for their first league victory at Notts County in 104 years.
They got it, but only after a game featuring nine yellow cards, a red card, torrential rain, a pitch invasion and a six-minute stoppage. When the dust settled, City had won 2-1 and ended County’s 100 per cent start to the season.
The conditions played a major part from the start. Heavy rain made the surface increasingly difficult, and with referee Phil Richards quick to punish challenges, cards began to mount up. Beck felt afterwards that his players had handled both the weather and the increasingly volatile atmosphere well.
“That was very pleasing. The heavy rain made conditions difficult for the players, faced with a referee who seemed to book someone for every tackle.”
County could have been comfortably ahead inside the opening seven minutes. Steve Finnan shot too close to John Vaughan, while Phil Robinson headed badly wide, but it was City who struck first after 28 minutes.
Mark Hone’s right-wing free-kick caused the damage, goalkeeper Darren Ward fumbling the greasy ball and Colin Alcide reacting to scramble it home from close range. County almost levelled during first-half stoppage time when Ian Baraclough struck the post with a low effort from around 20 yards.
The home side did eventually equalise after 64 minutes. Robinson chased Ian Hendon’s pass into the right side of the area before squaring for Devon White, who glanced the ball home from a central position. What followed turned the contest completely.
Former Imp White was booked for a foul before following through on goalkeeper John Vaughan shortly afterwards. Richards produced a second yellow card and County were reduced to ten men.
City made the advantage count almost immediately. Holmes delivered a deep cross from the right and Phil Stant, left in plenty of space, headed home from ten yards for his first league goal of the season.
Then came the chaos. A furious home supporter ran onto the pitch and rugby tackled the referee, with police becoming involved as players from both sides gathered around. The game was halted for around six minutes before Richards was able to restart proceedings.
County never recovered their momentum, and City saw the game out, something Beck felt demonstrated the growing maturity of his team.
“But our players kept their discipline and theirs didn’t. Maybe a year ago we would have got involved and had somebody sent off. But we’re learning.”
“It was a fighting, gutsy, disciplined performance.”
The statistics reflected how competitive the afternoon had been. Both sides registered six efforts on target, while City edged the corner count six to four. Seven Imps were booked, with Hone, Alcide, Fleming, Miller, Austin, Barnett and Thorpe all seeing yellow, but crucially nobody joined White in being dismissed.
Hone was named the Echo’s man of the match after a performance in which his set-piece delivery proved particularly important. Beck, meanwhile, was able to reflect on a result he clearly regarded as significant.
“A great result. Not many teams will win at Notts County in the league this season.”
The final whistle allowed City to celebrate a rare Meadow Lane success, while Richards required a police escort back to his dressing room. After more than a century waiting for another league victory at County, the Imps had certainly chosen a memorable afternoon on which to get one.
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