Bohan Dixon came off the bench to score twice as Lincoln City beat bottom club Hyde at Sincil Bank on 28 September 2013.
If you need a barometer of how far we’ve come, I’m writing this because we have full internationals playing in the Nations League, sandwiched between games against Swansea and Sheffield United, but 13 years ago, we were thankful for winning at home against Hyde. Not only that, but the crowd was around 30% of our current number of season ticket holders, and we were thankful because we’d come away from a game against Hereford United the week before with nothing.
How did we win this? Three second-half headers secured the points for Gary Simpson’s side, with Ben Tomlinson breaking the deadlock before Dixon made a decisive late contribution. All three goals came from corners, so some things never change, but the final scoreline disguised a contest that remained in the balance until the closing stages.
Simpson made one change to his starting line-up, bringing Nick Wright in for Jake Sheridan, but those hoping for a comfortable afternoon against the division’s bottom side had to be patient. In front of 2,311 supporters, including 44 visitors, the opening exchanges offered little indication that City would eventually win by three.
Our first corner arrived after 18 minutes when Hyde goalkeeper Nick Liversedge failed to prevent a poor defensive header from going behind. Sean Newton’s delivery was cleared, however, and the visitors broke quickly, with Josh Brizzell forcing Paul Farman into a low save.
City struggled to find much rhythm, while an appeal for a back-pass after the ball was taken away from Todd Jordan following a Tomlinson cross brought nothing from referee Wayne Barratt. Simpson was unhappy on the touchline, with the game still lacking the quality required to separate the sides.
Andrew Boyce came closest to changing that on the half-hour, meeting a Tom Miller cross with a dipping header that Liversedge tipped over. Alan Power’s subsequent corner travelled through a crowded penalty area without anybody finding the touch it needed.
Hyde had their moments too, with Liam Tomsett testing Farman from distance before Martin Devaney sent a low effort narrowly wide. Jordan then needed treatment following a clash of heads with Alex Brown, eventually returning after a lengthy stoppage.
We began to apply more pressure as the interval approached, with Newton providing a threat from the left. One particularly dangerous delivery flashed across the area just beyond Wright and Tomlinson, but the breakthrough remained elusive, and the sides went in goalless.
The half-time entertainment saw then-Commercial Manager Russell Moore come onto the field with two girls in Imps’ kits to conduct a crossbar challenge, lost convincingly by my mate Portion.
The scoreline changed almost immediately after the restart. Tomlinson won a corner within a minute, then met Newton’s inswinging delivery ahead of Liversedge to head us into the lead in the 47th minute, registering his fifth goal of the season.
The goal gave City something to build on, and further opportunities followed. Boyce headed another corner over after Wright’s attempt to find Power had been cut out, while Jon Nolan was denied by Liversedge as we kept the visitors under pressure.
Hyde were not finished, though, and Will Haining headed wide from a Devaney corner before Tomsett came considerably closer. After Tomlinson surrendered possession, the Hyde midfielder’s low shot clipped the outside of the post, offering a reminder that our advantage was still a narrow one.
Former Imp Louis Almond replaced Tom Collins as the visitors looked for a way back, but it was a change at the other end that would settle the afternoon. Another knock forced Jordan off in the 75th minute, with Dixon taking his place, before Luke Foster replaced Mamadou Fofana a minute later.
We had to defend two Hyde corners in quick succession before Tomlinson carried the ball upfield and won one for City. Power delivered deep towards the far post, where Dixon rose to power home a header in the 79th minute, opening his account for the club only four minutes after coming on.
There was still work for Farman, who palmed away two efforts as Hyde tried to respond. Sheridan then replaced Wright with five minutes remaining, while the visitors introduced David Poole for Devaney.
City continued to push forward and, with a minute of normal time left, the same combination produced our third. Dixon met another Power corner and headed in from close range, with Hyde’s appeals for a foul dismissed by Barratt.
The visitors’ frustration continued into stoppage time when Tomsett was booked for a late challenge on Sheridan, who also received a yellow card for his reaction. By then, the points were secure, with Tomlinson’s opener and Dixon’s late double turning a scrappy afternoon into a convincing result.
Speaking afterwards, Simpson acknowledged the pressure of facing the division’s bottom side and felt the opening goal had helped City settle. His priority was turning performances into points after defeats against Luton and Hereford, while Dixon’s contribution from the bench earned particular praise.
“They’re always difficult games, these. The pressure’s on you, the expectations are that you should go out there and win. We needed a goal to settle us down but to be fair I thought we were worthy winners.
“We could have scored more. We put some good balls across the box and I was pleased for Bohan, coming on and getting a couple of goals.
“It wasn’t so much the performance today, we needed the points. We’ve had two good performances [against Luton and Hereford] and got no points from them so today was about getting the win.”
Lincoln City: Farman, Miller, Boyce, Brown, Newton, Fofana (Foster 76), Nolan, Jordan (Dixon 75), Power, Wright (Sheridan 85), Tomlinson. Unused substitutes: Fairhurst, Gray.
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