In hindsight, few days at Sincil Bank encapsulate the chaos, character and creeping optimism of the Tilson era quite like these.
The creeping optimism was misplaced, but this game was perhaps the moment it reached a peak, the moment Tilson’s side looked like they might even edge into the play-off race. With off-field wrangling, returning faces, and a late winner under the Stacey West stand – it was all there.
It began, as too many stories do in League Two, with courtroom headlines. Southend winger Ryan Hall, one of their brighter lights, had seen a custodial sentence for affray downgraded just days before the game. Simultaneously, Steve Tilson was embroiled in legal wrangles of his own. Still owed wages and severance by the club he’d taken to the Championship, Tilson was nevertheless preparing to face them in the opposite dugout. Football, eh?
Before the game, City were 11 points clear of the bottom two, and 11 shy of the top seven. Southend had enjoyed promotion joy under Tilson, and there was an emotional undercurrent to the day, particularly in the Co-op Stand where two near-full away sections paid tribute to his legacy. But sentiment was left at the turnstile. Tilson shuffled his pack for this one, handing Jamie Clapham a central role and reinstating Facey and Hutchinson. It proved inspiring.
Southend came to play. With Corr bullying the back line and Ferdinand anchoring midfield, they showed flashes of why they were considered play-off hopefuls. But City had the spark. Ben Hutchinson was unusually lively early on, bustling and hassling, while Grimes—as he so often did that season—lurched from quiet to clinical in a heartbeat.
The first real threat came via Blair Sturrock’s effort, but Trevor Carson was equal to it. Clapham, rolling back the years, began to exert control, winning second balls and threading passes. Carayol, meanwhile, danced down the flank, his trickery drawing gasps and half-chances.
It was a tight affair, finely poised until the 38th minute. A tidy throw, a knockdown from Facey, and suddenly the ball was at Grimes’ feet after Evans spilled a venomous Carayol effort. You know the rest. Number 15 of the season, tucked away like clockwork.
City went in one up, deservedly so, but Southend were far from out of it. Barker had been outstanding at the back for the visitors, and as the second half wore on, the pendulum swung.
Tilson resisted changes at the break, but Paul Sturrock blinked first, introducing Grant—a player who would change the tone of the game. He was immediately involved, a menace down the right. A high boot from Grimes went unpunished, a forearm from Grant was oddly waved away, and the mood grew fractious.
Still, Lincoln looked the more likely to extend the lead. Clapham, superb all game, played an inch-perfect ball to Facey who found Hutchinson, only for Barker to deny a goal with a clearance off the line that drew a collective gasp from the home crowd.
And then, of course, came the sucker punch.
A Barker free-kick from deep, a flick-on from Corr, and a spell of aerial ping pong in the box ended with Sturrock Jr volleying in the equaliser. It was the type of goal that drains belief, and for a moment it looked like Lincoln might falter.
But this side had character. On 79 minutes, a hopeful clearance from Carson found Grimes in acres down the left. One touch to kill it, a drop of the shoulder to beat Coughlan, and a thunderous finish off the underside of the bar. The Stacey West erupted. It was a goal worthy of winning any match.
The game wasn’t quite done. Southend pushed. Spencer replaced Grimes, and though his cameo was short, it was lively—a backheel here, a shot there, a chased-down corner for good measure. He looked like a lad with a point to prove. In the final minutes, desperate for his goal, Spencer went through one-on-one, but fluffed his lines.
The final whistle brought a mixture of relief and elation. The stats were even, but the points stayed in Lincolnshire. With five more needed to reach the magic 50, the Imps had taken a huge step towards what was seen as safety. I even got paid out £10 on a bet I had that we wouldn’t go down. 11 points was still the gap to the bottom two, but just ten between us and the top seven.
We couldn’t trouble the top seven, could we (no, in case you don’t know). We’d taken 27 points from a possible 42, eight from 14. It felt like Tilson and Brush weren’t just stabilising a club in turmoil, they were building something.
What happened next? Two points from a possible 33, and a complete collapse of whatever this game promised as we walked out the ground. Instead of League One, we dropped out of the Football League. Grimes didn’t score again from open play. Having scored six goals in four matches, we managed five in the next 11, and headed for Braintree the following season.
Still, at least we won this one, right?
Imps: Trevor Carson, Julian Kelly, Danny Hone, Adam Watts, Steven Hunt, Josh O’Keefe, Jamie Clapham, Mustapha Carayol, Delroy Facey, Ben Hutchinson, Ashley Grimes (replaced by Scott Spencer) Subs not used: Paul Musselwhite, Paul Green, Patrick Kanyuka, Cian Hughton, Ali Fuseini, Gavin McCallum. Att: 3,560 (1,016 away)