Aldershot Town v Lincoln City, 15 February 2011

Venue: Recreation Ground, Aldershot

Attendance:1,847

Final score: 2-2

 

 

It was a military encounter at the Recreation Ground as the RAF City of Lincoln came up against the Army town of Aldershot.  The Imps were looking to continue their recent run of good form (6 wins out of 7).

With Kelly ruled out through injury, the Imps’ starting lineup saw the return of the versatile Paul Green.

The Imps started brightly, with first McCallum getting in an early long range shot, then Green seeing Shot’s keeper Young palming away his deep corner.  Aldershot were not going to lie down, however, and soon launched forays of their own.  In the 16^th minute, a ball into the City box saw referee Philips award a penalty to the home side for a handball by O’Keefe.  It looked a harsh decision against the City midfielder, who seemed to be bundled in the back as the ball came in.  Despite Carson going the right way, the penalty was neatly tucked away by Anthony Charles.

The game turned scrappier after the goal, with both sides creating half chances but neither able to turn the screw.  Apart from Grimes nearly latching on to a short backpass, the first half passed without much incident, and Aldershot took a 1-0 lead into the break.

Imps fans were hoping that their team would come out firing after the break and grab an early equalizer.  Unfortunately, after just 3 minutes Aldershot doubled their lead.  The slippery Wade Small created space for himself and fed Rodman, who fired the ball home.  The balance of play so far suggested that the scoreline was unfair on City, but Aldershot now had their tails up with Rodman firing just over from range and winning a succession of corners.

The game’s controversial moment came after about an hour.  Grimes broke free on the left and played in a cross that clearly hit Jones on the arm.  Having given one penalty, the referee was not moved to give another, and the City players’ frustrations were as clear to see as the handball had been.

A sense of injustice can do strange things to a football team, though, and this was the turning point for City.  First Grimes saw a curling shot clip a defender, then a Howell cross nearly found Facey.

On 65 minutes, City grabbed a lifeline.  Clapham’s cross was placed perfectly onto the head of O’Keefe, who atoned for his penalty (if he needed to) by planting his header firmly past Young.

The Imps brought on Mustafa Carayol to run at the tiring Aldershot defence, but it was defender Green who next tested Young with a drive from just inside the box which the Shot’s keeper athletically tipped over the bar.

On the 85^th minute, City completed their comeback.  A corner by McCallum was played back to him and he played the ball in again.  It hit Danny Hone before falling nicely to Grimes, who blasted it home.

The Imps now looked the more likely to win the game, and Grimes nearly had his second in injury time, but his flicked header crept agonizingly wide of the post.

The final whistle ended the match in a draw which was probably a fair result.  It was certainly the Imps’ fans who went home happiest, the fight shown by the team earning them another crucial point in their progress towards safety.

ALDERSHOT TOWN
1. Jamie Young
2. Ben Herd
4. Luke Guttridge
5. Darren Jones
6. Anthony Charles
8. Ben Harding
12. Danny Hylton
20. Wade Small
23. Peter Vincenti
33. Alex Rodman
37. Simon Grand

Substitutes:
21. John Halls for Vincenti (69)
25. Tim Sills for Hylton (69)
17. Jermaine Mcglashan for Grand (89)
14. Manny Panther
16. Clayton Fortune
19. Reece Connolly
26. Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz

LINCOLN CITY
24. Trevor Carson
2. Paul Green
4. Adam Watts
6. Danny Hone
19. Jamie Clapham
14. Josh O'Keefe
31. Ali Fuseini
15. Luke Howell
9. Gavin McCallum
18. Delroy Facey
29. Ashley Grimes
Substitutes:
7. Mustapha Carayol for Fuseini (67)
27. Ben Hutchinson for Facey (80)
25. Cian Hughton for Green (83)
17. Albert Jarrett
39. Scott Spencer
40. Patrick Kanyuka
1. Joe Anyon

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