It wasn’t pretty at times, but three points in this league cannot be underestimated. Lincoln beat Crewe last Saturday by one goal to nil in a hard-fought win which keeps us at the summit of the League Two Table.
My matchday experience started much earlier than usual as we arrived at Sincil Bank for 12 O’clock as we were to be Match Sponsors, a massive privilege that I would like to thank everyone at Lincoln for. There was 15 of us, my family which included my brother, sister, mum, and dad as well as some close friends.
Once we had settled, I had begun watching the Brentford vs Leeds game live on Sky Sports in the Legends Lounge before we made our way over to the Selenity Stand to hear from Danny Cowley before the game. You can never fault this man’s professionalism talking about the day’s opponents in Crewe. He once again re-iterated his point about the last meeting with Crewe (which ended 4-1 to the Railwaymen) and how he had woken up in the middle of the night with nightmares about the defeat. He mentioned how Crewe were a good footballing side, unlike what other managers in this division can say about ourselves. He also thought we should be wary of the attacking threat which had already been backed as Alex won 6-0 on the opening day over Morecambe. Although it’s fair to point out they were on the wrong end of that score-line against Colchester already this season.
Once we had listened to Danny speak, we headed back across to the Legends Lounge where we enjoyed an excellent two course meal. I settled into watching Leeds vs Brentford once again where the Bees where awarded a dubious spot-kick which Maupay dispatched. To my dissatisfaction, being born in Manchester, Leeds equalised late on to ensure the spoils were shared. By the end of the game, I was greeted with pre-match hype where I made my prediction, a narrow 2-1 win with Akinde to end his goal drought and Andrade to score, although others around thought the scoring was to be higher.
Kick-off came around quickly and before I knew it, we were heading towards the Selenity Stand to do the match photo, part of being the days main sponsor. I’d spoke to my dad before the game how the conditions could play a part on the game and walking out onto the pitch did nothing but back up my view, the ground was very wet, and the weather continued to look bleak. The atmosphere, although unusually quiet during the game, was at its peak before and I will never tire of seeing the 617 squadron on their feet. After completing the photos, we made our way across the field before walking back to Upper 2 in the Co-op stand where I was to sit today. And with that, the game was underway.
As I had mentioned before, it wasn’t a pretty encounter although the opening exchanges provided a positive start for the Imps as Jon Akinde went close from a Bruno Andrade cross. But as the game progressed, that produced a wrongful interpretation of how the remainder of the half was to pan out with The Alex getting more than a foothold in proceedings. Chances were limited for both sides as the half petered out into a goalless first half.
The second period was improved right from the off, but it was in the direction of the technical areas where the first moves were made. Changes are so very important in games when two sides cannot be separated and Pett, surprisingly left out of the starting XI, replaced Anderson.
His impact was immediate, Akinde flicked the ball onto the head of Frecklington and the second knockdown fell at the feet of Pett who smashed home for the opener. Garratt got a hand to it, but couldn’t prevent it going in. It was enough to get the Imps rallying on the pitch and on the terraces and soon enough the home faithful were on their feet. Andrade then beat Kevin O’Connor inside the penalty area and the Portuguese man was hauled down. It gave Frecklington a chance to double the Imps lead from twelve yards, but his effort was unfortunately rather tame, and Garratt saved. Thankfully, it didn’t come back to haunt Lincoln though as they remain top at the close of the day’s action.
I went to meet the players after the game in the VIP Lounge which was great, but it was Danny Cowley and Clive Nates who impressed me thoroughly with two acts. Firstly, we had gone over to the trophy cabinet to have a glance at a few of the awards won by the club. Danny came over and asked us all which one we liked and we answered with the National League Winners medal, he then went and asked for the keys and on his return he unlocked the cabinet and got out the medal and put it round all of our necks. A touch of class which I bet you wouldn’t see at many clubs around the country. Clive Nates also came over to me and spoke about my writing and how he was impressed by it, especially for a thirteen year-old. Again, you don’t get many chairmen at EFL clubs that would remember me, my name and my writing.
While this club is truly going places, it’s great to see that its down to earth and run by fantastic people. It was a fantastic day that will live long in our memories. Up the Imps!!