On 12 November 1999, Lee Thorpe headed Lincoln City in front against York City, pulled off his shirt and ran towards the supporters who had spent the evening giving him stick.
The Imps won 4-2 at Sincil Bank that Friday night, with Paul Smith scoring twice and Terry Fleming adding a penalty. There was plenty to enjoy in the second half, but it was Thorpe’s celebration in front of the Simons Stand, and what he said about the treatment of two teammates the following Monday, that told you most about the mood around the club.
A point to prove after Mansfield
Six days earlier, Lincoln had lost 5-2 to Mansfield Town at Field Mill. Peterborough United had ended an eight-match unbeaten run at Sincil Bank, then came a second defeat at Mansfield. Thorpe had been booed as he was substituted, while Phil Stant’s verdict, as relayed by Stuart Bimson in the Lincolnshire Echo, was that too many players hadn’t performed.
Bimson had made his first appearance in five weeks at Mansfield after injuring his calf in the win over Exeter City. He admitted to feeling sluggish in the second half and would have preferred a couple of reserve outings before coming back, but there hadn’t been a game the previous week. Having got through another 70 minutes for the reserves on Tuesday, he felt closer to match fitness and was clear about what was expected on Friday.
“We let ourselves down and everyone knows that but this is where professional pride comes in and it’s up to us to get things back on track with a good performance.”
For all the frustration, Lincoln were only four points off the Division Three play-off places. York, under player-manager Neil Thompson, were two places below the Imps. They had won four of their last six league games and their last three away from home without conceding. With Bobby Mimms in goal, Chris Fairclough in defence and former Imp Mark Sertori also in the side, they had the experience to make a difficult evening of it for a team short of confidence.
There was a link between the two clubs in the news that week, too. Lincoln had confirmed the departure of director of youth football Derek Bell, a former Imps striker who had joined earlier that year after five years at York. He had been given a four-year deal to run the youth programme and had also taken charge of the reserves.
John Reames had problems at the back. Steve Welsh, Grant Brown and Steve Holmes were facing spells out, and the search for an experienced centre-half had come to nothing. A loan signing would have been unavailable for the following Friday’s FA Cup tie at Luton Town anyway, so Reames turned to 20-year-old Anthony Henry, who had just been given a four-week extension to his initial three-month deal. He had impressed on the left side of central defence for the reserves at Rotherham and was given his first Lincoln start alongside Dave Barnett.
Further forward, Lee Philpott had been playing well, by Reames’ own admission, but Peter Gain had done enough in the reserves to earn a chance on the left. Reames wanted competition for places and hoped giving the youngsters a go might shake some complacency out of the team. Fleming was back from the injury that kept him out at Mansfield, while John Finnigan played despite missing training with a bad back.
From a goal down to four
For the first half-hour, there was little to suggest Lincoln were about to put four past anybody. Henry took time to settle, Gain saw little of the ball and the Imps struggled to put passes together. When Gain made a mistake in the 35th minute, former Lincoln midfielder Kevin Hulme ran through unchallenged and fired past an exposed Barry Richardson. Typical.
There was already frustration in the stands, and both Gain and Henry came in for stick from a section of the 2,956 crowd. Lincoln needed something before the break and got it from Bimson, whose inswinging corner was headed in by Smith. York’s run of away clean sheets was over and the Imps went in level after a first half in which they had rarely looked like scoring.
The second half started to turn when Finnigan forced Mimms into a full-length save. From Fleming’s resulting corner, Thorpe rose above a static defence just inside the six-yard box and headed Lincoln in front. It was his seventh goal of the season and he knew exactly where he was going to celebrate it. Off came the shirt and towards the Simons Stand he went, where some of the same supporters who had been on his back from the start now had to watch him enjoy putting City ahead.
Henry grew into the game with Bimson and Barnett alongside him, and Gain began to get at York down the left. He beat two men and crossed to the near post, where Smith finished for his second of the evening and his fourth in seven games. There was time for Gain to drive into the box again, this time drawing a foul from Scott Jordan. Fleming scored his third goal of the season from the spot to make it 4-1.
York did get one back from the spot after Gavin Gordon was adjudged to have pushed Fairclough, a decision the Echo‘s Stuart Austen felt was harsh. Substitute Marc Williams just beat Richardson with his penalty, but Lincoln had done enough to get back into the top half, sitting 12th in the table printed the following morning. It was their seventh win in ten games in all competitions. The Echo picked Bimson as its man of the match, ahead of Smith and Fleming, six days after he had made his return at Field Mill.
Thorpe has his say
Reames thought his front two, Thorpe and Gordon, were back to their best after a disappointing afternoon at Mansfield, but he was particularly pleased with Gain and Henry. The centre-half had put the ball into the stand a few times, and Gain had held his hand up for York’s opener, but the manager felt both had played well once they settled.
“He is a class above Third Division football and I thought he was terrific.”
The manager took issue with the supporters who had got on the players’ backs early on. He was happy for them to have a go at him, but felt they had to show more patience with a young centre-half playing his first full game. Henry had been asked to step into an injury-hit defence on a night when everyone wanted an immediate response to Mansfield. By the end, he had helped Lincoln find one.
Thorpe also had his say in Monday’s Echo. He admitted he had been awful at Mansfield and said the criticism made him try that bit harder to get on the scoresheet. He also explained why he had gone straight to the Simons Stand after scoring.
“It was just my way of letting them know how much the goal meant and that the booing had not affected me.”
“I love the Imps fans and it’s only a minority of supporters who dish out the abuse, but what does make me angry is when they take it out on the younger players.”
Thorpe was already looking ahead to Luton, believing the win had put the Imps in good spirits for a cup tie away to a side from the division above. Then came Brighton at the Withdean on 23 November, a trip Bimson had singled out after the Seagulls beat league leaders Peterborough 3-0 in an FA Cup replay.
On Friday night, Thorpe had run straight towards the Simons Stand with his shirt in his hand. By Monday, he was talking about what it meant to play as a team. Everyone was in it together, he said, “and that includes the crowd”.
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