1: Sunderland 3-1 (A) 8.25

Isn’t it odd, that the best performance of 2022 in your eyes features one of its biggest villains? Chris Maguire will not go down in history as a big player for us – he never turned up for the big matches, strutted around like he owned the place and argued with supporters on more than one occasion. I’ve heard stories of him lounging in a cafe with his feet on the stools on an afternoon we played away in pre-season, and giving surly answers to supporters when out and about in town. In essence, he came across as a dislikable man who didn’t want to be here, and when he was suspended, then released following charges of betting impropriety, nobody was upset. Not even him, at a guess.

However, we’ll always have Sunderland away. This was the second win in a row at the start of the year, and shockingly the final game of three from a period of just 13 days to make it into the top ten. Maguire gave us the lead with a stunner, prompting him to run to the dugouts and taunt then-Mackems boss Lee Johnson. In the second half, Carl Winchester earned a red card and the Imps bagged a second, before the hosts pulled one back. As we soaked up pressure, Maguire completed his hat trick on the break, and for a moment, everyone was looking up the table and wondering, ‘what if’.