A harsh red card and a controversial free kick combined to deny Lincoln City a result against promotion favourites Wigan Athletic in September 1996.
Under John Beck, City were having a good season. We’d beaten Manchester City a couple of days before, 4-1, and only had to hold them to a 2-0 defeat or better to get into the next round of the Coca-Cola Cup. They were halycon days, but many forget in between those two matches, there was a league game.
What a league game it was. Not because of anything exciting that happened, but for incident and controversy. How does a red card inside 11 minutes, a controversial goal and the manager not even going to the game sound? Madness? Welcome to the world of John Beck.
The Fugees topped the charts with Ready or Not, Independence Day was blowing everything away at the cinema, and City fans thought they were living the dream, having beaten Man City. Wigan were second, we were 15th and probably expected to get a bit of a pounding. Instead, City turned in a performance built on resilience and defensive organisation, but two moments of officiating proved decisive.
A trip to Springfield Park was always going to be a stern test. Wigan were among the leading promotion contenders and were averaging close to three goals per game at home in the league. City arrived knowing they would need discipline, structure and a slice of fortune to come away with anything. Instead, their task was made significantly harder inside the opening quarter of an hour.
Midfielder Mark Hone, operating as one of the two central players in City’s 4-2-4 system, was sent off after just 13 minutes. It was his second dismissal in senior football, his second booking of the game, and it effectively stripped us of any realistic attacking ambition. After only five minutes he committed a clumsy challenge on David Lowe, sparking ugly scenes which saw a couple of players booked. Seven minutes later he was late again, this time on Kevin Sharp, and off he went. From that point on, survival became the priority.
There was no barking anger from John Beck, though – he was off watching a player and left management in the hands of his assistant John Still, which seems madness now. City reshuffled and dug in, adopting a smash-and-grab approach that relied on concentration and hard running. For long spells, it worked. The first half was scrappy and fractious, with the referee frequently at the centre of proceedings.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Lincoln defended with real resolve. Incisive football was rare, although former Imps goalkeeper Lee Butler had to be alert to keep out Jae Martin’s flick from a Gareth Ainsworth cross. At the other end, Wayne Biggins, another former Lincoln player, came closest for the home side with a long-range effort that skimmed the post.
The decisive moment arrived seven minutes after half-time, and it was deeply contentious. Wigan were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. As referee Scott Matheison paced out the wall, the ball was rolled sideways to Gavin Johnson, whose low shot struck the post and rebounded perfectly for Greame Lancashire to score. The whistle had not been blown to signal the restart, but the goal was allowed to stand.
It was a cruel end to what had been an outstanding rearguard effort. Barry Richardson produced three fine saves, while the defence held firm under sustained pressure. Tony Dennis was introduced at half-time to reinforce midfield, and although Wigan pressed for a second goal, their failure to kill the game left Lincoln with a late chance.
Ainsworth’s delivery offered hope. Dennis headed narrowly wide from one cross, while substitute Jason Minett just failed to connect with another as City threatened an unlikely equaliser. Grant Brown was City’s standout performer, forming a formidable partnership with Kevin Austin at the heart of the defence. Together, they frustrated a home side accustomed to scoring freely, but didn’t score again, and we lost 1-0.
Lincoln City lined up with Barry Richardson, Steve Holmes, Jon Whitney, Mark Hone, Grant Brown, Kevin Austin, Gareth Ainsworth, Terry Fleming, Gijs Bos, Jae Martin and Colin Alcide, with Tony Dennis and Jason Minett introduced from the bench. Steve Brown was the unused substitute in front of a crowd of 3,394.
Assistant manager John Still, reflected that it was always difficult to go down to 10 men so early, but felt the display served as valuable preparation ahead of the upcoming game against Manchester City.
“It’s always difficult when you go a man down so early on. What we had to do was continue to battle and hang on in there to give ourselves a chance of snatching a goal.”
Of course, a few days later, Bos grabbed a famous goal at Maine Road, Beck was obviously there for the big game, and this little slice of history was largely forgotten. Unitl now.