On This Day: Lincoln City Thrash Preston Despite Previous Game Being Lost To Illness

On 6 October 1984, Lincoln City finally recorded their first win of the season, putting four past Preston North End at Sincil Bank after a week in which simply getting a team onto the pitch had proved beyond them.

There are unpromising build-ups to a football match, and then there is having the previous fixture postponed because you cannot raise a side. It sounds like something that would be labelled as ‘woke nonsense’ by the eye-test brigade these days, but that was the position Colin Murphy found himself in as October began, with injuries and a bout of flu leaving City desperately short of available players.

By Saturday afternoon, however, the picture had changed considerably. Three goals in 13 first-half minutes swept Preston aside, a trialist marked his full debut with a goal and an assist, and the 1,906 inside Sincil Bank finally had a victory to enjoy.

A week on the treatment table

City had been due to host Cambridge United on Wednesday 3 October, but the Football League called the game off that morning at Murphy’s request. Several players had been struck by flu, with left-back Phil Neale the worst affected, and an already stretched squad could no longer cope.

Explaining the situation to the Lincolnshire Echo, Murphy said:

“Because of a ‘flu epidemic which hit us yesterday, we were unable to raise a team, the situation being complicated by the previous injuries to Fashanu, Shipley and Simmonite.”

Those existing problems were considerable. George Shipley had damaged an elbow at Wigan a fortnight earlier and, while he might have played in an emergency, was not properly fit. John Fashanu was still suffering from internal injuries sustained in the same match, Gordon Simmonite was unavailable, and Gordon Hobson had picked up an injury in the 2-0 defeat at Derby the previous Saturday.

The postponement bought Murphy a little time, which he intended to use to continue searching for reinforcements. He told the Echo that an addition to the squad before Preston’s visit could not be ruled out, a fair indication of how pressing the situation had become. Even on Friday, the team remained uncertain. City had kept the Football League informed of their difficulties without formally requesting another postponement, and confirmation that the Preston match would go ahead came shortly before noon.

Murphy named every player except long-term injury absentee Keith Houghton in his squad. His explanation was blunt:

“I can’t make any decision whatsoever as to who might take the field.”

By matchday, enough players had recovered to allow City to field an experienced side, although the attack was still missing two significant figures. John Thomas, the previous season’s leading scorer, had damaged ankle ligaments in training and had his foot put in plaster, while Hobson was struggling with the knee injury suffered at Derby. Thomas faced at least a month out, with Hobson potentially missing another three weeks.

Top Nine

Bottom Six

A chance for McGinley

The good news was that Fashanu could return, allowing Murphy to pair him with his former Norwich colleague Ross Jack. Shipley and Simmonite were also back, while Neale had recovered sufficiently to take his place in the side.

There was a full first-team debut for trialist John McGinley, who joined Gordon Mair in providing width. It was an attacking selection for a side still seeking its first victory. Preston, though, were hardly arriving full of confidence. They had won four of their opening five league games, but three successive defeats had followed, with ten goals conceded in those losses. The most recent had been particularly painful: a 4-3 lead at Plymouth with ten minutes remaining had somehow become a 6-4 defeat.

There was an opportunity here, provided City could make something of it. Phil Turner and Shipley duly took control of midfield, giving the attacking players a platform from which to go at a vulnerable defence.

The opening exchanges brought further injury trouble for both sides. Preston captain Tommy Booth suffered a head injury in a collision with Fashanu in the fifth minute, continuing until half-time with blood staining his yellow shirt before having to come off. Simmonite lasted only 12 minutes before a knee injury ended his afternoon, with Neil Redfearn replacing him at right-back.

Preston goalkeeper Peter Litchfield was already busy before City made the breakthrough. He produced impressive saves to deny Turner and Shipley, but in the 18th minute Fashanu gave us the lead.

The returning striker seized a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area, nudged it forward and beat Litchfield with his left foot. After the uncertainty surrounding his availability earlier in the week, it was a particularly welcome contribution.

Shipley broke through a minute later but fired well wide, offering Preston a brief reprieve. Ten minutes after the opener, however, McGinley delivered a low cross towards the near post, and Jack flicked it past Litchfield, with the visiting defence occupied by Fashanu’s forward run.

Then came McGinley’s own moment. Redfearn stopped winger Houston and played the ball forward to the trialist, who collected it unmarked around halfway. From there, he ran some 40 yards, shrugged off two late challenges and finished with a left-footed shot for his first City goal.

It was quite an introduction on his first start. Within half an hour, McGinley had helped create one goal and scored another, while a team which had been unable to fulfil its midweek fixture was three goals clear.

Preston made their enforced change at the break, introducing Greenwood for Booth. The substitute helped bring some energy to their attacking play alongside Houston, but any hopes of a recovery were extinguished in the 62nd minute.

Shipley struck a superb drive from 25 yards to make it 4-0. With the points secure, City could relax and play with the freedom that had been missing from the results, even when earlier performances had offered encouragement.

Four goals did not flatter City. Turner twice found his way through and might have scored, while Twentyman cleared a Fashanu header off the line. Litchfield’s work had helped prevent an even heavier defeat.

At the other end, Alan Walker also made a goal-line clearance, but Dave Felgate had relatively little to do. Preston’s clearest opportunity came in the final minute, when Wilkins put the ball wide of an empty goal from five yards after Felgate had saved from Houston and was left on the ground.

Turner was picked as City’s man of the match, recognition of the midfield work underpinning the goals. His report also highlighted an improved display from Walker at centre-half, another encouraging feature of an afternoon on which several things finally came together.

There was still Simmonite’s knee injury to assess, and the longer absences of Thomas and Hobson were not going to disappear because City had won a game. Preston, meanwhile, had suffered a fourth consecutive defeat and had now conceded 17 times in five matches.

Still, after a week dominated by illness, injuries and uncertainty, we had a result worth remembering. Fashanu returned with a goal, Jack made the most of his opportunity, McGinley announced himself in style and Shipley supplied the finishing touch. The wait for a win was over, and City had ended it emphatically.

Lincoln City: Felgate, Simmonite (Redfearn, 12), Neale, Shipley, Walker, Thompson, McGinley, Turner, Fashanu, Jack, Mair.

Goals: Fashanu 18, Jack 28, McGinley 31, Shipley 62. Attendance: 1,906.