Romanian side Otelul Galati handed Lincoln City a continental lesson in their final pre-season clash before the 1991/92 campaign.
With the Football League opener at Cardiff just days away, Steve Thompson’s men were offered a sobering reality check at Sincil Bank. However, it proved to be useful, with the Bluebirds defeated on the opening day.
The match, held on Friday 9th August 1991, was never likely to shape the season to come, at least not in terms of scoreline. As Thompson had rightly said ahead of kick-off, “the result is secondary,” with organisation, match fitness, and squad cohesion the real priorities.
City had come through a mixed pre-season, beating Burton Albion, King’s Lynn and Gainsborough Trinity, while drawing with Ipswich and Luton. The only defeat before this fixture had been against local rivals Grimsby Town in the semi-final of the Lincolnshire Senior Cup.
With several injuries and suspensions complicating matters, Thompson’s hand was forced. Tony Lormor was hospital-bound with a fractured cheekbone, Graham Bressington and Shane Nicholson both suspended, and Paul Dobson along with Paul Ward carrying knocks. That handed starts to the likes of Kevin Finney and David Clarke, players seemingly being primed for early season action.
The visitors, Otelul Galati were newly promoted to the Romanian First Division and boasted recent UEFA Cup pedigree, having faced Juventus just two seasons earlier. Despite suffering a bruising 4–0 defeat at Norwich prior to arriving in Lincoln, they brought a 20-man squad that included two full internationals, as well as six Romanian underage internationals.
From the off, their continental pedigree was apparent. They were technically slick and tactically organised, offering a challenge wholly unlike anything City would face in Division Four that season.
Malep gave the visitors the lead on 20 minutes with a low left-footed effort that split the defence, leaving Matt Dickens rooted. But the Imps responded admirably. Jason Lee, always a handful, latched on to David Puttnam’s pass and thundered a finish beyond the Galati keeper just past the half-hour mark.
However, what had begun as a useful final runout soon descended into something more aggressive. Lee saw yellow early on, while a Galati man picked one up for cynically hacking down Dobson in the centre circle. Heated exchanges between Puttnam and Gelu Popescu also showed the undercurrent bubbling just beneath the surface.
Shortly after the break, Galati grabbed what proved to be the winner. Malep again was at the heart of it, finding acres of space on the right and slotting past Ian Bowling, who had replaced Dickens at half-time.
Chances thereafter were scarce. John Schofield did draw a fine save on 58 minutes, but that was as close as Lincoln came to restoring parity.
City’s XI that day read: Dickens; Paul Smith, David Clark, Dean West, Matt Carmichael (captain); Grant Brown, Kevin Finney, Neil Smith; Jason Lee, Paul Dobson, David Puttnam. Substitutes used: Ian Bowling (for Dickens), John Schofield (for Neil Smith), Keith Alexander (for Lee), and Shane Nicholson (for Dobson).
Looking back, this was an odd but intriguing footnote to Lincoln’s early ’90s journey. Otelul Galati were a club few had heard of, but their UEFA Cup outing against Juventus meant they arrived with a certain pedigree. While City never looked truly out of their depth, the gap in tactical sharpness and technical fluidity was evident.