Scott Dann came on for the hosts at half time but it did little to dampen the Imps spirit. Frecklington’s whipped corner was spilled by Ince, and Lee Beevers headed goalwards, only for a defender to clear off the line. Mark Stallard then fired a shot at goal which was deflected up and over Ince, but he scrambled back just in time. Anyone watching the game couldn’t have spotted who was top and at home, such was City’s dominance.
Walsall then turned to the dark arts to disrupt City’s flow. Jeff Hughes was first to take a blow, he went down injured just after the hour mark. Another heavy challenge from the hosts saw Lee Beevers receive treatment, before finally Mark Stallard was hacked. Typically, he shrugged it off as City looked to see out the game.
As the seconds ticked away, youngster Owain Warlow replaced Spencer Weir-Daley. The on loan Forest striker was clapped off by several Walsall fans, a true testament to his impact. He’d not been the difference between the two sides, but he’d been a major catalyst. The whole team had produced a great performance, but he’d come up with the goals. In the absence of leading scorer Jamie Forrester, City had still come away to the top side and won.
The result left City second, albeit for a few hours before the round of matches on Saturday. After the game John Schofield was full of praise for the match winning forward; “Spencer took his chances very well and his finishes were excellent. He’s taken his chance (in the team) well and his overall contribution was magnificent. He stretched their defence and contested every ball and made sure we had a platform to play from.”
Hopes were high that a top three place could be achieved, such was the confidence in the Imps performance. Next up, 13th placed Hereford at home, before a trip to 19th placed Accrington and a visit from 15th placed Mansfield What could go wrong?
As we know, everything went wrong. Steve Guinan scored a hat trick as Hereford thumped us 4-1, Leon Mettam ending his Imps career by being sent off ten minutes after coming on as a sub. City won just two of the remaining 13 league games, still enough to make the play offs, but strangely never looking like hitting the heights of that crazy night at the Bescot.
Spencer Weir-Daley ended up with five goals from four starts, but left us just four games later to join Bradford on loan. In the modern game he couldn’t have even joined us, let alone move again as he’d already played for Forest and Macclesfield. Junior Mendes was brought in from Notts County to replace him, he finished with no goals from nine outings.
Weir-Daley even scored on his Bradford debut in League One and later appeared for Forest in their own League One play-off match against Yeovil. He seemingly had the world at his feet and, even though we wanted him back, he was surely destined for greater things.
Sadly, it didn’t happen that way for him. The following season earned a permanent move to Notts County, but the goals dried up. He scored just three times before dropping into non-league with Boston, Corby, Telford and Buxton. despite that swagger and confidence, he never getting another shot at league football.
I’ll never know how he didn’t at least make a regular League One player, the grace and poise he showed to kill off a strong Walsall that night suggested he had so much more to achieve. The whole team performance suggested we had much more to achieve, but after that chilly night in the West Midlands, it was never the same again.