A sense of long-awaited relief swept through Sincil Bank on February 19th, 1994, as Lincoln City finally recorded their first win of the year.
It came at the expense of Hereford United, 3–1 in a match that offered both a much-needed morale boost and a glimpse of potential for the remainder of the season. We had only won once all year, a 1-0 Autoglass Trophy win against Chester. In the league, we’d only won once since the beginning of December, that being a fine 2-0 victory in front of 6,000 against Scunthorpe. The football was pretty, but points were becoming an issue.
Although we were 12 points clear of bottom side Northampton, a 1-0 reverse against fellow strugglers Wigan had seen Keith come in for some stick, and he reacted in a way only Keith would. He was always happy to address a complaining fan, and in his programme notes for the Hereford match,he spoke of doing just that:
“Most of you will be aware that immediately after last Saturday’s inept performance against Wigan, I was ‘accosted’ by supporters as I left the dugout who rightly wanted to voice their opinion (…) My own view is one that I have always held and that is that I am always available for comment when the time is right.”
Keith got the tonic he required – Neil Matthews led the way with a brace, while David Campbell, who was part of Northern Ireland’s 1986 World Cup squad, opened the scoring early, helping the home side to a convincing and much-celebrated victory.
David Campbell
David Campbell, scorer of the first goal, came to Lincoln after his World Cup appearance in 1986. He was on Forest’s books, and his form for Clough’s side saw Billy Bingham call him up for a warm-up match against Morocco. He only appeared in one game at the tournament, playing 71 minutes of the final group game against Brazil. To be fair, Northern Ireland had a tough group, with Spain and Algeria the other two teams.
He had a somewhat nomadic career after that, turning out for his country until 1988 before filtering down the divisions with the likes of Rotherham and Burnley. He joined us in 1994 from the Clarets and played four games on loan, but picked up an injury after this game and made two more appearances as a sub before leaving.
It took just two minutes for Lincoln to strike. Campbell pounced on a deflected shot from debutant Tony Daws and coolly chipped the ball over Hereford goalkeeper Alan Judge. The goal was a perfect tonic for a side under increasing pressure, easing nerves that had been fraying for weeks.
The hosts continued to press and were rarely troubled by a Hereford team that lacked invention and cohesion. Matthews made it 2–0 just before the break, slotting home a low cross from David Johnson. His third came eleven minutes into the second half, reacting quickest after Daws’ effort was parried by Judge.
The win was made sweeter by encouraging debuts from Tony Daws up front and Alan Johnson at centre-half. Daws was lively and creative alongside Matthews, while Johnson was a commanding presence in defence, strong in the tackle and composed under pressure.
The return from injury of club captain John Schofield appeared to galvanise the side, with his influence in midfield giving Lincoln the steel they’ve so often lacked this season. Alongside him, Campbell and David Hill contributed to a dominant midfield display, completely overpowering a limp Hereford engine room.
Despite the feel-good factor, manager Keith Alexander will be all too aware that one win doesn’t erase the struggles of recent months. The victory must be seen as a starting point rather than a turning point. But there were encouraging signs: effort, energy, and flashes of the slick passing game that had previously been absent.
Even Hereford’s consolation goal, coming when the Imps were 2-0 up, didn’t affect the flow of the game. It was a smart 12-yard strike from Ade Akinbiyi after a rare breakaway, but it did little to dampen spirits, as Lincoln maintained control throughout. Akinbiyi, who later played for Leicester and Wolves in multi-million pound moves, was scoring one of his two Hereford goals during a four-game loan spell.
With confidence finally restored, City headed into the next weekend’s clash with Preston North End with renewed belief. Preston, themselves sliding down the table, were thought to offer stiffer opposition than Hereford, but Alexander will be wary of complacency. The Imps lost, 2-0.
After the defeat at Preston, we beat Shrewsbury 2-1 the week after to move onto 37 points from 29 games. They didn’t know it at the time, but come May, Northampton would finish bottom on just 38 points, meaning the two wins virtually assured City safety. As luck would have it, Kidderminster were refused their earned Football League status as their ground wasn’t up to scratch, so the Cobblers were reprieved as well.
As for Keith, after guiding City to 18th of 22, he left the club in the summer. As we know he still had a major role to play for Lincoln City a decade later, but at the time it seemed as if a good man had simply failed to make the grade.
Lincoln City Team: Mike Pollitt, Paul Smith, Ian Baraclough, David Hill, Grant Brown, Alan Johnson, David Campbell, Neil Matthews, Tony Daws, John Schofield, David Johnson.
Substitutes: Tony Loughlan, Peter Costello.
Attendance: 2,277.