Lincoln City v Aldershot Town, 7 May 2011

Venue: Sincil Bank, Lincoln

Attendance: 7,932

Final score: 0-3

 

 

Well, there it is.  The horrible inevitability of relegation has been confirmed.  An absolutely appalling run of results at the end of the season has seen City slip from a position of relative safety to the dreaded second to bottom spot, failing to pick up more than a single point in the final 11 matches of the season.  The feelings are, to be honest, worse than I thought they’d be.  Although I foretold relegation a few weeks ago (I hate it when I’m right), to be honest most City fans went into today’s game with at least a little chunk of optimism.  No matter how poor City were, Barnet still needed to get a result in their match to survive.  Sadly, of course, Barnet beat Port Vale 1-0 with a penalty at the start of the second half to secure their place in League 2, showing a desire and resilience that, quite frankly, City players could have learned a lot from.

I want to keep my thoughts on the season as a whole, the players, board, fans and manager out of this post if I can, as I intend to do an end of season review post.  That, however, will only be when I can view things with a tad more objectivity than I am able to at the moment.

This is the second relegation I have experienced as a Lincoln fan, but to be honest the first one hardly seems to count.  It was the relegation back to the basement division after our single season foray in the league above.  Needless to say, despite that season going to the final game too, the feelings then were nothing compared to what I and probably you are feeling now.  Listening to Radio 5 this evening, hearing fans describing their agony at being relegated from the Championship made me think that they should really swap places with Lincoln or Stockport fans.  Being demoted to officially being a ‘non-league’ club carries a blow to the pride that I don’t think any other relegation can deliver.

So what happened this afternoon?  City had played Aldershot as recently as February, fighting out a well earned 2-2 draw and with the ‘Shots having nothing to play for, City saw a win as a not unrealistic possibility.

City’s starting lineup had to be changed from the defeat against Oxford, due to the suspension of Danny Hone.  Paul Green moved to the centre of defence, Cian Hughton dropped back to fullback, and Jamie Clapham returned to the side after a long absence in central midfield.

The good folk of Lincoln had turned out in force, die-hard fan and casual supporter alike, to try and cheer the team on to victory, and the noise was impressive as the Imps kicked off.

The Imps started brightly enough, with McCallum getting a long range shot on target early on, and the team generally knocking the ball around well.  Some nerves were visible however, particularly when Aldershot had the ball.

Despite Aldershot causing a few jitters in the Imps’ defence from set pieces, the away side offered little threat in the opening period, and it was the Imps who could have taken the lead on a number of occasions.

City were causing more trouble from corners than they had done all season, and Grimes twice came close to opening the scoring either side of the half hour mark.  His first shot was deflected wide and his second put over the bar.

The best chance of the half fell to Aldershot a few minutes before the break.  Parrish did well to rush out and tackle Hylton but the loose ball fell to Vincenti, whose shot was blocked at close range.  The ball again ran loose, and this time found its way to McGlashan, who had a clear sight at goal with Parrish still trying to scramble back into position.  Thankfully for the Imps, Clapham was there to block what seemed a certain goal.  Clapham’s first half performance was ironically one of his best in a City shirt, the veteran player showing commitment, intelligence and some nice passing.

City had given the large home contingent cause for hope as the halftime whistle sounded, and with Barnet also drawing 0-0, the Imps were still a league side.

The second half had barely kicked off when news filtered around the ground that Barnet had taken the lead against Port Vale through a penalty.  The pressure was now on City to get a result, or to hope that Port Vale could muster an equalizer.

Aldershot had obviously been spoken to at half time and began the half on the front foot.  Green had to header a looping shot off the line after a few minutes, before a controversial incident almost single-handedly doomed City.

McGlashan cut inside Anderson and into the area, but the ball bounced away from him.  As Clapham came across to clear the ball McGlashan went down, and the referee pointed to the spot.  It seemed a soft penalty to give in such an important match, and the tension and disbelief in the crowd were palpable.  The fans behind the goal did their best to distract Hylton, but they couldn’t stop the Aldershot man putting the ball past Parrish.  As if the goal weren’t enough, Hylton further endeared himself to the City fans by goading them with his celebration in front of them, grinning when he was met by a chorus of boos.  Charming.

Sadly for City, the season now seemed to be slipping away, as scoring one when the score was 0-0 was still possible, scoring 2 was not something City had proved good at at Sincil Bank.  It was looking more and more like Port Vale would have to be the Imps’ saviours.

It was obvious to all that the City players’ confidence had taken a major knock, and Aldershot were now full of self belief.  On 69 minutes Gutteridge was allowed an embarrassing amount of time and space, and duly fired home from the edge of the box.

The game was now effectively dead as a contest, as City could only muster the occasional foray into the opposing half, with increasingly lacklustre play.

When the third goal came, on 86 minutes, it hardly made any difference.  Connolly collected a long ball on the right wing, and fed Gutteridge, who had made an unmarked run to the edge of the box.  He fired a clinical first time finish into the bottom corner.

When the final whistle sounded there was still time to play at Barnet, but few fans held out hope.  As the crowd filtered out the final confirmation came through, and it seems that City’s faith in Port Vale had been misplaced.  Having had a massive win last week and needing another one to have a chance of making the playoffs, City hoped that Vale would be hungry.  It seems, however, that once Barnet had taken the leas, Vale had ceased to put up a fight, leaving Barnet to stroll to victory.

Although many City fans and commentators are criticising the way in which City went down without a fight, I would have people remember that City played well in the first half and that the harsh penalty turned the game.  Had City taken one of the first half chances they created then they had every chance of holding out for the win, making Barnet’s result meaningless.

Ultimately, I have to say congratulations to Barnet.  The points they picked up towards the end of the season, and the fight they obviously showed right to the death leaves me unable to shake the feeling that they deserved to stay up.  Rather than blaming misfortune, or pressure from the Lincoln fans, the City players (wherever they next show their faces) would do well to learn from Barnet’s example.

As I said at the start, watch this space for my thoughts on the season as a whole at some point in the next week or so.

LINCOLN CITY
24 Elliott Parish
25 Cian Hughton
2 Paul Green
4 Adam Watts
3 Joe Anderson
8 Clark Keltie
19 Jamie Clapham
31 Ali Fuseini
15 Luke Howell
9 Gavin McCallum
29 Ashley Grimes
Substitutes:
27 Ben Hutchinson for Fuseini (71)
10 Drewe Broughton
14 Josh O'Keefe
26 Tom Kilbey
39 Scott Spencer
40 Patrick Kanyuka
1 Joe Anyon

ALDERSHOT TOWN
1 Jamie Young
2 Ben Herd
15 Aaron Morris
6 Anthony Charles
21 John Halls
17 Jermaine McGlashan
4 Luke Guttridge
11 Anthony Straker
12 Danny Hylton
9 Damian Spencer
23 Peter Vincenti
Substitutes:
19 Reece Connolly for Spencer (71)
8 Ben Harding
16 Clayton Fortune
24 Doug Bergqvist
25 Tim Sills
35 Adam Mekki
31 Jordan Clement

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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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