December 2013: Alan Power (12) Halifax Town, 1-5
The trip to The Shay turned on Alan Power’s attempt to stop Matt Pearson after just 12 minutes. What appeared to be a well-timed block brought a very different verdict from Anthony Backhouse, who awarded Halifax a penalty and showed the Imps captain a straight red. Dan Gardner converted the spot-kick, leaving City both a goal and a man down.
It was the closing stages which turned this defeat into a hiding. Ben Tomlinson briefly restored hope by rounding Matt Glennon to equalise, only for Lee Gregory to put Halifax back ahead two minutes later. The ten men kept the deficit at 2-1 until the 80th minute, when former Imp Adam Smith struck. Further goals from Jon Worthington and Reese Gray completed a miserable 5-1 reverse.
January 2014: Bohan Dixon (24) Grimsby Town, 1-1
With Alan Power still suspended after Halifax, City lost another midfielder early in the very next game. Bohan Dixon collected two bookings in six minutes, the first for a mistimed tackle on Paul Bignot and the second following another collision with the same player. That second decision left the Imps furious, with Dixon having been pushed in the back before his momentum carried him into Bignot, but Darren Handley sent him off after just 24 minutes.
An Aswad Thomas own goal had put us ahead before the dismissal, with Craig Disley equalising in the 38th minute. Grimsby also finished with ten men after former Imp Lenell John-Lewis received two quick bookings for late challenges on Todd Jordan and Paul Farman. There were chances at both ends, but Farman’s late save from Alex Rodman and Luke Foster’s clearance off the line helped preserve a hard-earned 1-1 draw.
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