Now Fulham realised they needed to up their game, as the referee blew for the start of extra time, they looked hungry. These players didn’t want to be humbled in their own back yard, especially not having been beaten by West Ham at home just four days before. They wanted the win and very quickly, they restored their two-goal lead.
They were quickly ahead after an early goalmouth scramble saw yet another a shot saved by the excellent Marriott. Paul Mayo cleared the ball but only as far as Liam Rosenior, the defender headed the ball back across the goal and into the net. Having fought back from 2-0 down, City had lost the lead. Heads dropped and Fulham smelled blood, Canadian international Radzinski, a £1.75m capture from Everton, went one-on-one with Marriott. His delicate chip evaded our hero and dropped neatly into the back of the net. 95 minutes on the clock, the Cottagers had another two-goal lead. Surely it was going to be a coast from here?
Six minutes later the fighting spirit of Keith Alexander’s side showed through yet again. During his Lincoln career of nearly 250 appearances, Scott Kerr scored eight goals. When City got a free kick around 30 yards out, even the die-hard rose-tinted brigade couldn’t have speculated we might score from it. Dean Keates had gone off on eighty minutes and we didn’t have a decent set piece specialist on the field, did we?
Scott Kerr, from out of nowhere, sent a shot in towards goal with Roberto Carlos levels of bend and swerve on it. Batista did get a hand on the ball but it wasn’t enough and arguably the best goal of the night belonged to a man who simply didn’t score goals. It was now 4-3 and maybe, just maybe we could grab another.
Half time of extra time came and went, Fulham defended stoutly and attacked rarely, not wanting to give us a chance and happy perhaps to defend their one-goal lead. We’d made all our changes so it was just a matter of finding something, anything to stun the West London side.
With five minutes to go, City levelled again. A corner found its way to big Gareth McAuley at the back stick. He hit a shot to the back post but Fulham hacked it clear for another corner. Relentless Imps pressure finally paid dividends as the next corner caused havoc amongst the Fulham defence and Marvin Robinson smashed his way through to nod in the fourth goal of the evening for City. Surely it was now going to penalties?
Sadly, it was not to be. The brave resistance was ended with little more than sixty seconds on the clock, Brian McBride finally killing off the brave Imps with a headed winner. Even after that, City could have had a chance, Derek Asamoah breaking at pace down the flank, but he was cruelly halted not by a defender, but by a Fulham fan throwing a ball onto the pitch. From the resulting drop ball the home side refused to give it back to Lincoln, instead playing out a defensive move for the win. It was a bitter end to a vibrant and thrilling game, but perhaps indicative of the fear they had at conceding yet again to Fourth Division minnows. Many remembering this game will forget that moment, but not me. In fact, Fulham only redeemed themselves in 2009/10 when they started lending us the likes of Matt Saunders. Anyway…
Did the win spark a run in our own division? Did the hero Alan Marriott go on to keep a plethora of clean sheets? Not in the immediate future, no. In fact, he was sent off along with Lee Beevers and Paul Morgan as we lost 2-1 at Torquay. City did come good, Marvin Robinson proving to be a source of goals, finishing with eleven, Gary Birch on ten. It wasn’t a classic Imps side and it proved to be Keith’s last season in charge, but we made it to the play offs, beating Grimsby 5-0 along the way.
I remember that game clearly, but for the heroics at Fulham I rely on second-hand reports and rave reviews, because I was drinking wine in the warm Tuscany sun, soaking up the culture of the Piazzo del Campo in Siena. I long to go back there one day, but one that particular night I wish I’d been in West London drinking bad tea watching brave footballers represent my club with dignity and pride.
