Lincoln 2-1 Macclesfield – April 22nd 2017

This is it. This was my moment of the decade. Sure, it’s not the last on my list because of going chronologically, but it is the one day that stands out above all else. Redemption Day.

I will never forget how that afternoon felt, the joy and relief on so many faces that had previously been etched with pain or indifference. This was the day our club was reborn, the moment that we had strived for, ever since that awful afternoon in 2011. For a while, I felt it would never come and you only have to look at Darlington, Halifax, Wrexham and Stockport to know that was possible. We could have been gobbled up and forgotten about, but then this magical season ended with a trophy and our Football League status.

The hero of the afternoon was Terry Hawkridge, a man who had been in and out of the side for a while. I can remember bits of the game, I remember them scoring and I remember jumping over a steward’s shoulders with five minutes to go to get down near the front. I prowled the front of the stand, not watching as they almost levelled, not wanting to believe we’d be undone. When the whistle went, the flood of joy that washed over me was indescribable in truth. I get goosebumps thinking about it now, just saying the words ‘Lincoln City are back’.

We were back. My lord, what a night that was. What a season. What a memory.