Ten years ago today, Matt Rhead hooked in a stoppage-time equaliser against Aldershot Town while Idris Kanu was still down on the turf at Sincil Bank.
It finished 3-3 in front of 3,461, and you could make a case for feeling both relieved and frustrated. We’d led at half-time, looked like losing with seconds to go and ended the afternoon still second in the National League. When I sat down to write about it that evening, the word I settled on was character.
Two from Nathan Arnold
Danny Cowley kept the same starting XI for a third successive game. We’d gone nine unbeaten in all competitions, and Gary Waddock’s Aldershot arrived in sixth after losing to a stoppage-time goal at Forest Green Rovers the previous Saturday. They’d equalised in the 89th minute at the New Lawn and still come away empty-handed.
Harry Anderson and Theo Robinson combined early on, with Anderson’s deflected delivery just clearing Rhead in front of goal. We’d had the better of the opening ten minutes, only for the Shots to break and send in a cross for Scott Rendell. Paul Farman saved his header superbly, but the rebound sat up for Kanu to fire into the top corner from six yards. It was his first league goal and, at 16, it made him the youngest league scorer in Aldershot Town’s history.
Anderson was giving Aldershot trouble: he’d already opened them up once for Robinson, who was flagged offside, when he chipped the ball over the back line for Nathan Arnold in the 21st minute. Arnold lifted it over the advancing Jake Cole to level, then reached another ball over the top on the half-hour and drove it first time across Cole for 2-1.
There was a chance to get a third before half-time. A stray pass in the Aldershot defence let Robinson in, but Cole came out to narrow the angle and the shot went over. Even after that miss, I went into the break thinking we’d carry on in much the same way. It took six minutes of the second half to show how much I knew.
Aldershot turn it around
Anderson had taken a couple of knocks in the first half and was replaced by Jack Muldoon. A minute later we failed to clear our lines and Cheye Alexander curled a left-footed shot in from just inside the box. The composure we’d shown after going behind in the first half deserted us, and Aldershot began to look like one of the better sides we’d seen at the Bank that season.
In the 72nd minute, a loose ball fell to Rendell in our box and he put the Shots back in front. Terry Hawkridge sent in a cross that Rhead knocked back across goal, but Aldershot scrambled it behind. Tranmere were winning, the minutes were going by and it felt as though we’d let the game get away from us.
Six minutes of stoppage time were signalled. As they ticked away, Kanu went down, apparently with cramp, and referee Martin Coy waved play on. Farman sent the ball long, Robinson got it to Rhead and the big man hooked it home. Robinson had spent much of the second half looking like the man I’d be writing about for his miss just before the break. He ended up having a hand in the goal that saved us.
A point to take to Forest Green
Aldershot were furious that play had carried on, and the players clashed around halfway before the game finally finished. My view that night was that the visitors had spent much of the closing stages trying to run down the clock, something we’d have done ourselves in their position. They’d played well enough after the break to be within seconds of winning it.
We’d now gone ten unbeaten and were still second. What struck me at the time was how often I’d seen a Lincoln side lose a game like that. We’d defended poorly, squandered a chance to go 3-1 up and spent long spells of the second half looking like we’d run out of ideas. We still found a goal.
“Successful teams don’t know when they’re beat, and they play until the very last kick of the game.”
Forest Green were nine points clear of us and we were going to their place a week later. I wrote that I expected us to get a result. The rest is history.
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