Forest Green Rovers v Lincoln City, 17 December 2011

Venue: The Lawn, Nailsworth

Attendance: 969

Final score: 0-2

 

In years gone by, a reference to ‘playing away at Forest’ would have meant nothing to Lincoln fans other than a jaunt down the A46 to Nottingham.  Now, of course, things have changed, and that phrase is more likely to refer to City’s latest opponents , the eco-warriors of Forest Green Rovers.

Forest Green are having a good season, sitting on the outskirts of the playoffs, and prior to this match unbeaten in 8.  The only change to the City lineup following their cup win against Colwyn Bay was the return of Farman in goal.

The Imps started brightly, with Laurent looking particularly lively, but the game quickly became mired in midfield, and with the referee’s whistle a constant sound.

City survived a scare on the 24^th minute when Matt Taylor’s header came back off the bar.  The margins of luck are slim in football, and City would see fate turn in their favour before the half ended.

In the 40^th minute, Laurent turned Turley inside the box, but slipped over.  As he scrambled to his feet, he was dragged down by the defender, who saw shown a red card for his trouble, and City had the chance to take the lead from the spot.  Alan Power duly slotted home the kick to give City a 1-0 lead at the break.

Despite being a man down, Forest Green came out fighting in the second half, with a pacy attack.  City were able to hit out on the break, however, and when Thompson found Laurent in the 73nd minute, the Frenchman was able to put a powerful shot past Bittner to score his first for the Imps, and secure the three points.

Although the red card incident ultimately decided the game, the Imps did well to secure another three points against a team having a good season.  Although it’s too early to start celebrating anything, Holdsworth’s team is certainly showing more ability and fight than Tilson’s, and it is to be hoped that, although only 5 points clear of the relegation places, City can start looking up the table to safety rather than back over their shoulders.

On a related note, following my thoughts on my 100^th blog post here, I have decided that this will be the last of my match by match reports.  It is becoming difficult to find the time to write after every single match, and of course there isn’t always much to add to what has been written elsewhere.

FOREST GREEN ROVERS
1 James Bittner
2 Jared Hodgkiss
3 Chris Stokes
5 Jamie Turley
8 Yan Klukovski
11 Kieron Forbes
14 Matt Taylor
21 Jake Thomson
22 Eddie Oshodi
23 Michael Uwezu
24 Liam Henderson

Substitutes
19 James Rowe for Uwezu 62
7 James Norwood for Klukowski 73
10 Charlie Griffin
16 Luke Graham
30 Simon Locke

LINCOLN CITY
28 Paul Farman
13 Tony Sinclair
2 Richard Hinds
5 Josh Gowling
3 John Nutter
34 Tyrone Thompson
27 Jean-Francois Christophe
8 Alan Power
12 Conal Platt
11 Francis Laurent
7 Jamie Taylor
Substitutes
32 Luke Medley for Platt 61
15 Simon Russell for Taylor 80
36 Jake Sheridan for Laurent 90
17 Nicky Nicolau
1 Joe Anyon

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Colwyn Bay v Lincoln City, 10 December 2011

Venue: Llanelian Road, Colwyn Bay

Attendance: unknown

Final score: 1-3

 

One of the most noticeable results of dropping down into non-league is the changes you see in cup competitions.  Leagues stay pretty much the same – you play everyone twice, there are relegation spots, playoff spots and automatic promotion spots – same old, same old.  But the cups are a different story - you don’t play the League Cup or Johnston’s Paint Trophy at all, you suddenly have to start qualifying to even get to the first round of the FA Cup (which of course this season City failed to do), and you start playing in the mighty FA Trophy, possibly the single least prestigious trophy in the land.

Today, City dipped their toe into the murky waters of that same competition against Colwyn Bay of the Conference North.  With City’s confidence fragile at the best of times a cup run of any sort seems optimistic, as every team out there will be seeing us as a big scalp and up for the game.  Thankfully, although pre-match talk was of fast-rising Colwyn Bay doing just that, City managed to ease past the Welshmen and into the second round.

City’s starting line-up changed slightly from the well-earned midweek draw against Luton with Anyon, Taylor and Laurent coming into the side.  Anyon because Farman was ineligible, and Taylor and Laurent because, frankly, their second half performance against Luton made it pretty hard to drop them.

The first half went City’s way, with the Imps starting brightly and, crucially, getting their noses in front early to dent the confidence of the home side.  Laurent slid the ball to Taylor in the 10^th minute, and the striker bagged his first of the season with a pinpoint finish from just inside the box.

The goal spurred Colwyn Bay into life and they duly put pressure on the Imps’ goal, until Lee McEvilly’s elbow on Laurent saw the defender pick up a straight red card and put a dent in his side’s ambitions.

The Imps continued to attack and just after the half hour mark they doubled their lead.  Power picked out Platt, who unleashed a 20 yard effort past the keeper for his second of the season.

The second half saw the Imps resume their attack, and Taylor saw what he thought was his second goal ruled out for offside.  City were pressing hard, but on the hour mark Colwyn Bay were handed a lifeline.  Anyon was adjudged to have impeded Hopley after he had shot wide and the ref gave a harsh penalty.  McLachlan dispatched the spot kick, meaning that Anyon once again failed to keep a clean sheet, and the ten men of Colwyn Bay had a chance of getting back into the cup-tie.

City brought on Russell for Laurent, and City thankfully soon restored their two goal advantage.  Taylor grabbed his second of the game with a shot into the roof of the net from the edge of the box to put the game beyond doubt, and City into the second round.

Although on paper this should always have been a City win, the combination of being away at lower league opposition with a long journey involved made this a potential banana skin.  Thankfully the Imps avoided it deftly, and we await the draw to see if this most underrated of cup competitions can turn out to be the one that City excel in.  I’m not holding my breath though…

COLWYN BAY
1 Jack Cudworth
2 Luke Denson
3 Mike Lea
4 Lee McEvilly
5 Matty Hughes
6 John Mckenna
7 Gareth Evans
8 Fraser McLachlan
9 Rob Hopley
10 Jon Newby
11 Danny Lloyd
Substitutes
12 Karl Noon for Newby 72
14 Lee Davey for Lloyd 90
15 Chris King
16 Liam Benson
17 Simon Williams

Lincoln City

1 Joe Anyon
13 Tony Sinclair
2 Richard Hinds
5 Josh Gowling
3 John Nutter
34 Tyrone Thompson
27 Jean-Francois Christophe
8 Alan Power
12 Conal Platt
11 Francis Laurent
7 Jamie Taylor
Substitutes
36 Jake Sheridan for Power 59
15 Simon Russell for Laurent 65
17 Nicky Nicolau for Platt 79
9 Kyle Perry
21 Nick Draper

 

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Lincoln City v Luton Town, 6 December 2011

Venue: Sincil Bank Stadium, Lincoln

Attendance: 2,049

Final score: 1-1

Following on from Saturday’s disappointing showing against Newport County, City needed to continue their improved home form against high flying Luton on a freezing cold night at Sincil Bank.  Thankfully, the performance was a big improvement, and City fought to claim a well deserved point.

City only had one change to the starting line-up, with Russell reclaiming his place at the expense of Laurent.  Luton brought a couple of familiar faces with them in the form of Janos Kovaks, the former Imps defender and midfielder Jamie Hand.

The match began in scrappy fashion, with both sides looking to attack, but Luton looking the more incisive on the ball.  The visitors had the ball in the net after just 9 minutes, but the linesman ruled that the ball had gone out of play before O’Connor headed it home – much to City’s relief.

Oddly, the disallowed goal seemed to spur City into life more than Luton, and the midfield were playing some nice football, often under close pressure from Luton players, who were closing down well.  Russell and Power in particular were linking up well, but with City playing 4-5-1, the service to the lone striker Perry was all important, and the big man was finding it difficult to hold the ball up.  For all of City’s possession, Pilkington was the quieter of the two keepers in the first half.

Inevitably, predictably (and any other ‘tably’ word you feel free to add here), City couldn’t hang on until the break, and Luton scored a soft goal on 36 minutes, somewhat against the run of play.  The ball was put into the box by O’Connor, and Crow reacted quickest to stab it home from close range.

Perry was lucky not to feel the referee’s wrath straight after the goal, when he clattered into Gleeson.  The referee saw it as a clash of heads but from where I was sitting, which was pretty close by, Perry was lucky not to be punished for leading with his elbow.

City therefore trailed somewhat undeservedly at the break, whilst up in the cold, cold stand I sipped my hot chocolate and tried not to break my teeth on my frozen Revels.

City made a rare halftime change, with Perry being replaced by Laurent.  Two good early City breakaways were wasted by Thompson – the midfielder first handing a pass to a defender, then blasting a wild shot high and wide.

The match changed for City with the introduction of Taylor for Russell.  Although Russell had been having a good game, Taylor immediately injected some drive into the attack, and I for one was very pleased to see him getting his chance.  With his first touch, he cut inside and flashed a low shot just wide of the post.

City now began to be in the ascendancy, with Taylor and Laurent’s movement causing problems for the Luton defence as the Imps changed to 4-4-2.

The deserved equaliser came in the 77^th minute when Platt tricked his way past his man to get to the byline, chipping a neat, deep cross to the back post.  Hinds was there to head the ball home from very close range.

City’s tails were up and the match was now wide open for either side to win.  City’s cause was helped in the 85^th minute when Lawless was shown a second yellow card for a deliberate trip on Platt.

Luton were still causing problems, though, and the prospect of City’s work being undone by a late winner was still very real.

Luton’s second red card limited their attacking options, as former Imp (and part-time thug) Jamie Hand saw his second yellow card in injury time.

Although many Imps fans seem to have left the ground vaguely disappointed that three points weren’t claimed, everyone would have gladly taken a point before the game, and Luton had enough chances themselves to also feel that they could have got more from the game.

As it is, City’s home form continues to be good, and the second half performance was as clear a steer as it is possible to get that Jamie Taylor should be replacing Kyle Perry up front, but that the Imps still need Sam Smith to get fit again as soon as possible.

LINCOLN CITY
28 Paul Farman
13 Tony Sinclair
2 Richard Hinds
5 Josh Gowling
3 John Nutter
8 Alan Power
34 Tyrone Thompson
27 Jean-Francois Christophe
15 Simon Russell
12 Conal Platt
9 Kyle Perry
Substitutes
11 Francis Laurent for Perry H/T
7 Jamie Taylor for Russell 58
36 Jake Sheridan for Christophe 81
17 Nicky Nicolau
1 Joe Anyon

LUTON TOWN
30 Kevin Pilkington
2 Dan Gleeson
6 George Pilkington
34 Janos Kovacs
15 Jake Howells
4 Keith Keane
7 Alex Lawless
28 Adam Watkins
11 Robbie Willmott
14 Aaron O'Connor
10 Danny Crow
Substitutes
27 Jamie Hand for G Pilkington H/T
19 James Dance for Willmott 77
23 Ryan Brunt for O'Connor 81
13 Stuart Fleetwood
1 Mark Tyler

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Newport County v Lincoln City, 3 December 2011

Venue: Newport Stadium, Newport

Attendance: 1,270

Final score: 1-0

The depressing life of Lincoln fans continued this afternoon, as the rather-less-than-mighty Imps succumbed to yet another away reverse, this time at the hands of Newport County - a team that before the game were three points and two places below City.

The Imp’s starting line-up saw a few changes from the defeat at York, with Laurent and Christophe starting in place of Russell and Sheridan.

I would love to know what has happened to Barraclough and Taylor – two players who showed some promise earlier in the season but who seem to have vanished off the face of the earth.  Surely they are at least worth giving a few minutes on the pitch to see if they can turn our fortunes around?

The conditions were not great for flowing football, with a heavy, muddy pitch making slick football difficult.  Luckily, the pitch wasn’t hosting two of the world’s slickest footballing teams.

Newport started the brighter of the two teams, forcing an early save from Farman, but it quickly became clear that the match was never going to be a thriller.

Sadly, predictably, City were soon to display their uncanny ability to throw away such games, and Newport were duly handed a soft goal on 24 minutes.  A freekick that wasn’t cleared led to a scramble in the box, and Yakubu prodded the ball goalwards.  The linesman flagged that the ball had crossed the line, and City had yet another mountain to climb if they were to get anything from the match.

The second half saw improved effort from the Imps, but ultimately no end product.  City have to learn that its no good only starting to play with time running out and when you’re a goal down.

Holdsworth’s comments after the game actually annoyed me a little, as he basically said that we had been undone by a defender slipping in the box, which wasn’t really even a mistake, just bad luck, and without that we would have been fine.  No, we wouldn’t.  Without that slip we may have fought out a 0-0 draw and still not tested the Newport keeper.  Is that the limit of our ambitions?  That our manager would have been happy with a bore draw against a club that has only been full-time for 6 months speaks volumes about how far this club really has fallen from grace.

With Luton coming up on Tuesday night, City face a much tougher challenge than Newport presented, and a result of some kind seems essential if the attempt to climb away from the foot of the table isn’t to stall entirely, and the fans renewed sense of optimism dissipate entirely.  You may have guessed from this post that my optimism is rather under threat itself at the moment.  Come on City, give us a reason to smile…

NEWPORT COUNTY
1 Danny Potter
4 Tom Miller
5 Gary Warren
6 Ismail Yakubu
7 Danny Rose
10 Sam Foley
16 Andrew Hughes
19 David Pipe
21 Robbie Matthews
25 Paul Rodgers
26 Elliott Buchanan

Substitutes
9 Craig McAllister for Buchanan 62
11 Darryl Knights for Foley 90+3
17 Wayne Hatswell
18 Glyn Thompson
27 Felino Jardim

LINCOLN CITY
28 Paul Farman
13 Tony Sinclair
2 Richard Hinds
5 Josh Gowling
3 John Nutter
27 Jean-Francois Christophe
34 Tyrone Thompson
8 Alan Power
12 Conal Platt
11 Francis Laurent
9 Kyle Perry
Substitutes
32 Luke Medley for Platt H/T
36 Jake Sheridan for Power 70
15 Simon Russell for Laurent 75
17 Nicky Nicolau
1 Joe Anyon

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York City v Lincoln City, 29 November 2011

Venue: Bootham Crescent, York

Attendance: 3,155

Final score: 2-0

Lincoln travelled to York in the first ‘Battle of the Minsters’ for quite a few years.  The biggest connection between the two clubs is of course Scott Kerr, the hardworking midfielder who was short-sightedly forced out of Lincoln under Steve Tilson, and is now doing very well for himself at the Minstermen.

City went into the match following two home wins on the bounce and a surge of renewed optimism.  York were a tougher prospect than Ebbsfleet, however, sitting 5^th in the league and unbeaten in 9 home games before tonight. 

The game started in frantic fashion, an unchanged City obviously buoyed by their recent resurgence in results.  In just the third minute, the Imps saw sight of goal but Platt could only put his shot over the bar.  York are no mugs, however, and were on the attack straight afterwards.  The ball broke to Danny Pilkington, whose long range shot took a wicked deflection to loop over the stranded Farman.  It was not the luck the Imps needed at the start of a tough away game – 1-0 to York after only 4 minutes.

Although City managed to create a number of half chances, and certainly kept fighting, Farman was the busier of the two keepers.  City’s best chance came from Perry, whose shot was deflected into the keeper’s arms.

Halftime saw City still in with a fighting chance of getting back into the match.

Only 10 minutes into the second half, Luke Medley replaced Kyle Perry, presumably in the hope of adding some more mobility to the attack.  To be fair, building a brick wall on the York 18 yard line would have provided more movement than Perry has recently.

Sadly, City were soon in deeper trouble when York grabbed their second on 56 minutes.  McLaughlin was given the ball by Blair, who curled a delicious left foot shot past a despairing Farman.

The second goal very much killed the game, and despite making attacking substitutions, Laurent on for Russell and Nicolau for Sheridan, City looked a beaten side going through the motions.  York, for their part, had done enough and were content to sit back and wait for the final whistle.

In some respects it was a depressing way for the match to end, especially when some 300 City fans had made the journey in poor conditions.  Getting a win was always going to be a tough ask, but perhaps the team failed to show the fight that they had shown on Saturday, or at least failed to show the quality of finishing that had put Ebbsfleet to the sword.

Although other results meant that City remain in 18^th place, Newport, City’s weekend opponents, continued their good form with another win.  City in the meantime continue to find away points very difficult to come by.

The night was finished off with the news that City will face the long, long trip to Colwyn Bay in the first round of the FA Trophy, after the Welsh side beat Halifax Town.  The long trip notwithstanding, it was particularly disappointing not to be getting reacquainted with the Shaymen, who of course used to be far more regular opponents of the Imps in happier times for both clubs.

York City

24 Michael Ingham
3 James Meredith
5 David McGurk
7 Jamie Reed
8 Scott Kerr
10 Ashley Chambers
12 Danny Pilkington
16 Jamal Fyfield
17 Matty Blair
20 Jon Challinor
26 Patrick McLaughlin

Substitutes
28 Moses Ashikodi for Pilkington 76
2 Lanre Oyebanjo for Chambers 86
4 Chris Smith
6 Daniel Parslow
18 Adriano Moke

Lincoln City

28 Paul Farman
13 Tony Sinclair
2 Richard Hinds
5 Josh Gowling
3 John Nutter
8 Alan Power
34 Tyrone Thompson
12 Conal Platt
15 Simon Russell
36 Jake Sheridan
9 Kyle Perry
Substitutes
32 Luke Medley for Perry 51
11 Francis Laurent for Russell 65
17 Nicky Nicolau for Sheridan 81
27 Jean-Francois Christophe
1 Joe Anyon

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Lincoln City v Ebbsfleet United, 26 November 2011

Venue: Sincil Bank, Lincoln

Attendance: 2,111

Final score: 3-0

Lincoln City Land is currently witnessing the blossoming of something rare and wonderful.  A glimmer of optimism has been seen hiding in the bushes after this afternoon’s win against Ebbsfleet.

In extremely windy conditions (or should that be WIN-dy conditions?  Sorry…), City continued their improved home form with a second win on the bounce – something that hasn’t happened since early 2009.

On a personal note, it feels like an age since I was last at Sincil Bank, and it was incredibly good to be back.  Because City have a new manager and a number of changes in playing staff, I confess that I felt a little like a newbie again, having to work out who was who, and who would be playing where.

Ebbsfleet are (no offence to them), one of those sides that really make it sink in that the Imps have dropped into the non-league.  This was the first ever meeting between the sides, and this is Ebbsfleet’s return to the Conference after bouncing back from the Conference South at the first attempt at the playoffs.  Oh, and they have a rather attractive purple away kit

City started with Paul Farmen in goal, despite the return of Joe Anyon from suspension, and with Perry and Sheridan up front.  New signing Tyrone Thompson started in the centre of midfield.

The match started in frantic fashion, with City almost opening the scoring in the first minute when the ball fell to Conal Platt just inside the box.  The midfielder managed to get the ball out of his feet to stab a shot goalwards, but he couldn’t get much power on it and Edwards managed to save with his feet.

The first half continued to be an even affair, with both sides showing equal desire to attack, and defences that looked far from unbreachable.

City were showing a strange unwillingness to shoot, with Perry and Russell in particular preferring to turn their backs to goal and lay off the ball to others when in positions that a shot looked to be an option.

Perry was looking poor throughout the first half – slow, lumbering, with a distinct lack of movement and very easy to knock off the ball.

Ebbsfleet were looking more than capable of cutting the Imps’ defence open, and were proving to be a hardworking and well organised team.  Although Farman didn’t have much to do in the first half, it was only because of some good last ditch tackling by the City defence, Josh Gowling in particular.

The breakthrough came in the 38^th minute, when Platt cut inside from the right on the edge of the box.  His first shot was blocked, but when the ball rebounded to him, he wasted no time in pinging a delicious curling shot into the top corner.

Ebbsfleet almost levelled before the break, but Farman pulled off a superb close range block to deny Pinney (who looked distinctly offside) and the Imps led at the break.

I expected an Ebbsfleet barrage at the start of the second half, but it was the Imps who caused the early pressure, with Perry and Nutter both denied by Edwards.  It seemed as if City had been told to be more decisive at the break, and the instruction had been listened to.

In an attempt to get back into the game, Ebbsfleet made a double substitution on the hour mark, bringing on two rather large players in Enver-Marum and Phipp.  The two combined almost immediately, and Farman was forced to tip Enver-Marum’s long range effort behind.

Minutes later, another long range shot from the lively Enver-Marum was brilliantly fingertipped onto the crossbar by Farman, and it seemed that with 20 minutes to go, the Imps would be lucky to hang on to their lead.

The fates of football can turn in an instant, however, and Lincoln doubled their lead soon after.  A Power freekick found its way to Russell at the back post, and the winger unleashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net to score his first goal in City colours.

The cushion gave the Imps a visible confidence boost, and they began to put more pressure on the Ebbsfleet goal.  On the 80^th minute, Platt put Power through behind the defence, and as he reached the edge of the box, he was bundled over by Mambo.  The big central defender was duly shown his marching orders, and although it was an easy decision for the referee, it was poor luck for the Ebbsfleet player, who had player superbly well all game, and this was the only time he’d put a foot wrong.

Football is a cruel game, and Ebbsfleet’s misery was compounded when Nutter’s freekick deflected off the wall and the ball found its way inside the far post to make it 3-0.

The introduction of Laurent and Medley at the end saw both players making energetic attempts to increase the scoreline, but the full time whistle signalled a vital home win for the Imps.

Despite some reports I have read saying how easy and deserved the victory was, the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story.  Ebbsfleet are a good side, and up until the very end, were right in the match.  In fact, with 20 minutes to go, the conversation around me was along the lines of ‘I don’t think we’re going to hang onto this lead.’  The scoreline flattered City somewhat, and in the end it was two superbly taken individual goals that made the difference in a very evenly balanced match, the third goal simply the icing on the cake.

I’m afraid I have to single Kyle Perry out for attention. I thought that, in a good overall team performance, he stood out as a weak link.  Interestingly, some Ebbsfleet players were sat behind us in the stand, and we got chatting to them.  They were quite astounded by the poor quality of Perry, and were surprised that we had such a player in the team.  His lack of strength on the ball, and constant going down under challenges particularly bemused them.

On a brighter note, I thought that new signing Tyrone Thompson had a very assured debut in midfield, and both his passing and willingness to tackle back instantly put him ahead of recent departee Ali Fuseini in my book.  Hopefully he will become an important cog in the city machine.  Equally, Luke Medley seemed almost manic in his desire to chase down the ball when he came on, and if Perry’s passing had been more assured he might have been put through on goal on two occasions.

Another thing I noticed was that we consistently left 3 players up when defending corners.  Although the intention to counter attack was obvious, at times when Ebbsfleet were applying pressure, it seemed almost suicidal, as their large strikers were finding plenty of space in the box.  I fear that against higher placed opposition, such a tactic will cost us more goals than we score on the break.

I don’t want to end on a sour note, though, as it felt so good to celebrate a win, a clean sheet, and some much needed optimism amongst players and fans.

LINCOLN CITY
28 Paul Farman
13 Tony Sinclair
2 Richard Hinds
5 Josh Gowling
3 John Nutter
8 Alan Power
34 Tyrone Thompson
12 Conal Platt
15 Simon Russell
36 Jake Sheridan
9 Kyle Perry
Substitutes
32 Luke Medley, for Sheridan 81
11 Francis Laurent, for Russell 89
16 Mitchell Nelson
17 Nicky Nicolau
1 Joe Anyon

EBBSFLEET UNITED
1 Preston Edwards
2 Craig Stone
6 Paul Lorraine
22 Yado Mambo
14 Joe Howe
8 Ram Marwa
10 Ricky Shakes
24 Neil Barrett
7 Michael West
9 Calum Willock
26 Nathaniel Pinney

Substitutes
15 Liam Enver-Marum, for Shakes 61
11 Tom Phipp, for Barrett 61
16 Ian Simpemba, for Willock 81
3 John Herd
17 Joe Welch

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