Bedlam inside the Bank as Lincoln City knock Brighton out of the FA Cup

Saturday the 28^th January 2017

FA Cup Round Four

Lincoln City 3 Brighton and Hove Albion 1

Yesterday was the day that my project caught fire. A classic FA Cup tie where the lower league upstarts battered the ‘Fancy Dans’ from further up the football food chain. Lincoln City defied the odds, defied the football league tables and defied logic when they deservedly beat Brighton and Hove Albion by 3 goals to 1 in front of a sell-out Lincolnshire crowd who were verging on hysteria in their exhortations in support of their favourites. The BBC Football Focus team were also there to see it all happen.

Breakfast means Breakfast: BBC early riser Dan Walker points the way to Wembley

Thanks again to Kevin Oliver and his nephew Alan for sorting me out with a ticket for this incredible occasion. I am very grateful to you both. This is how the day panned out.

Pre Match Communications: Following Lincoln’s win over Ipswich in the round 3 replay I joined a couple of Lincoln City facebook fans forum and the contributors have been great in signposting me towards the links between their club and Scotland. Brighton and Hove Albion fans too have been great virtual pals over the last two months. I am particularly grateful to Guy Morris and his pal Darren who were able to get me two tickets for the away end. This happened after Kev had sorted me out but it did mean that my fellow ‘Road to Wembley-er’ Peter Tissington was able to see the match. Thanks again guys. 8/10

Pre Match Pint: Lincoln City have a bar in the ground and a very welcoming hostelry it is too. I still find it difficult to think of Lincoln City as a non-league team. Whilst I was living in Lincolnshire between 1991 and 2008 they were always a league team and on the many occasions I went to Sincil Bank they oozed a league team mentality. However, maybe their unwanted spell outwith the league has seem them assimilate some of the more attractive attributes of a non-league club. These include the bar facilities being available to both home and away supporters. It was great to see the two sets of fans drinking together and chatting before the game. A real sense of ‘hail fellow well met’. Also, unlike the bars in the bigger grounds they had real ale on offer.

Drinking outside: Howie Baby and Peter Tissington - Jim Morrison (background) in typical pose

I went for the hand pulled beer from the local Lincoln Poachers Brewery and it was magnificent. It had that wonderful woody Lincolnshire bitter after-taste that lingers in your mouth. So good that the pre match pint turned out to be a few pre match pints. My only gripe (and probably unavoidable given the size of the crowd) the beer was served in plastic glasses. 8/10

Programme: In the last two rounds I have been disappointed by the match programmes produced by Charlton Athletic and Brighton. They seemed to have downsized their usual publication for their FA Cup fixtures. The Imps reversed this trend and produced a special edition for this historic match.

The 64 page glossy is a thing of beauty. All the usual stats are included but also lots of great reading. The photography is terrific and there is a great article on Lincoln City’s FA exploits from years gone by. Well done to everyone involved in producing this gem that given the result of the match is sure to become a collector’s item 9/10

Ground: The ground has not changed much since I was last there about 8 years ago. It still can be considered to be homely and fit for purpose. The stadium lay out is dominated by the large Co-op Stand that runs the full length of the pitch and must accommodate more than half of the 10000 capacity. There are two small stands behind the two goals and opposite the Co-op stand is the Main Stand.

The Main Stand at Sincil Bank: Tall, steep and narrow

The main stand is unusual in that it is narrow and steep. It does not run the full length of the pitch. It almost looks as if some giant has pushed in the stand inwards from the corner flags and squeezed the seating inwards and upwards. 7/10

Atmosphere: The atmosphere in the ground yesterday was electric. This was my first ‘full house’ on The Road to Wembley from Scotland and the ground was noisy as well as packed. The encouragement that the home team received throughout was a joy to behold. A full repertoire of songs celebrating the Imps recent achievements were essayed by young and old.

It's mayhem: Absolute bedlam in the Co-Op Stand as Imps take a 3-1 lead

The quirky feature of the air raid warning was terrific. The warning siren was played over the PA every time the Imps won a corner. The world war two aural pageant is a notification of an imminent aerial bombardment and the Lincoln City set pieces did not disappoint in this respect. When Lincoln City scored their three second half goals the goals were greeted by a mixture of hysteria and delirium that is probably best described as bedlam.  10/10

Scottishness: As with the previous round the Seagulls manager saw this match as an opportunity to ‘use the squad’ hence Glaswegian Jamie Murphy who has been in the starting line up recently began the afternoon on the subs bench. Jamie was introduced to the action after 70 minutes and made a strong contribution down the left with some direct running and good movement off the ball.

Lincoln City did not have any Scots on the pitch because the current Imps squad does not feature any jocks. However (and this is a tenuous link) they do have an honorary Scotsman in their team. The striker Theo Robinson has plied his trade in Bella Caledonia, playing for Motherwell last season

History maker: Theo Robinson celebrates the scoring THE goal

Theo never actually scored for The Well in his time at Fir Park but at Sincil Bank yesterday he scored arguably the biggest goal of his career when he ‘sealed the deal’ by notching Lincoln City’s third. 5/10

Entertainment:

There were quite a few defensive mistakes in this game, notably by Brighton, but as a spectacle it was compelling and exciting. Great entertainment. The Brighton team list showed 9 changes from their last league match and the Lincoln City line up was the same as for their cup replay against Ipswich. In short, the Seagulls tried to get away with resting key players whereas the Imps were ready to go for it by fielding their strongest side. You could argue that Brighton and Hove Albion got what they deserved.

The early exchanges favoured Brighton and prolific marksman Glenn Murray went close with a header in the first five minutes. The talented Seagulls winger Solly March then hit the bar after a great run. The Imps were struggling to contain their illustrious opponents and after 24 minutes Richie Towell opened the scoring when he latched on to Murray’s headed pass to apply a great volleyed finish from just inside the penalty box. Half Time: Imps 0 Seagulls 1

‘A game of two halves’ is an old footballing cliché but it certainly fits the bill here. The tireless, well organised, aggressive and skilful Lincoln City team dominated the second half. To quote another soccer cliché, in some ways this match was a ‘contrast in styles’ with the combative workmanlike Imps matching up to the silky lightweight Seagulls. This contrast could be seen in microcosm when comparing the two centre forwards. Lincoln City’s Matt Rhead is a bull of a man. His portly torso and his unkempt balding pate give him the look of Sunday League player who enjoys a few refreshments on a Saturday night as his pre-match ritual. Rhead will tackle anything. He also does not mind being buffeted about by defenders. In fact he quite obviously enjoys the rough and tumble and never complains when he is on the receiving end of a late tackle. At the other end of the pitch, the skilful, prolific goal scorer Murray seemed to be keen to go ground whenever he felt the slightest contact. Yesterday, Murray was always looking towards the ref for a soft free kick when a defender brushed against him. Hence it was a supreme irony that the turning point of the match was when Murray was adjudged to have fouled a Lincoln City player. A long hopeful ball was played into the Brighton box and as the Imp’s Robinson was about to challenge for the ball he was manhandled by Murray. The referee pointed to the spot. In the same incident the unbalanced Robinson collided with the Brighton keeper who had to leave the field. There was a long delay before Alan Power was able to take the spot kick.

Power-ing the Imps: Alan Power steps up to equalise from the spot

With the penalty despatched the Imps were well and truly on the front foot and five minutes later they took the lead. On loan Chelsea defender Tomori, making his debut for the Seagulls, turned a dangerous cross into his own net for a spectacular and significant own goal. Cue bedlam in the stands. Another calamitous defensive error saw the Seagulls defence give the ball away in their own half and after the Imps gained possession the ball was played to Theo Robinson who made no mistake from 14 yards out. Finally the Seagulls got their act together and laid siege to the Lincoln City goal to try to salvage something but it was too little too late and the best and most committed team won the contest. Full Time: Imps 3 Seagulls 1 10/10

Match Day Catering: The pies on offer inside Sincil Bank were all produced and supplied by Pukka Pies of Leicestershire. Four different fillings on offer and all pies priced at £3.10. I opted for the chicken and mushroom. Delicious 8/10

Value for Money: The admission price of £15 was tremendous value for an important fourth round FA Cup tie played in good surroundings. I am told that the usual walk-up price for a ticket for a league match at Sincil Bank is £18 so Lincoln City FC should be warmly applauded for keeping the cost down so that his historic match was accessible. Top marks in the value for money category. 10/10

The je ne sais quoi factor: The quirky feature of this match was seeing a relatively small club under a big national spotlight. Also, as the match was in Lincolnshire, it was great to see so many old friends at the match.

When we arrived at the ground at 1.00pm we noticed the unusual sight of the Lincoln City fans waiting outside the players’ entrance to get autographs from the Imps team as they arrived. I may be wrong but I suspect this does not happen when they are playing (say) Solihull Borough in a Vanarama National League fixture.

Sign here: Imps Sean Raggett with the autograph hunters

Another sure sign that this was no ordinary match was the presence of the BBC Football Focus team in the bar. The programme was transmitted from the club and broadcast had just been completed when we arrived. The BBC celebs were happy to stay on to get their photos taken with the fans. Never one to miss an opportunity I managed to get a pic with both Dan Walker and Dion Dublin.

Shake on it! The Road to Dublin from Scotalnd

Throughout this special day this very friendly football club were shown in a great light by the national media.

A fab feature of this blog project has been meeting up with old friends. Yesterday it was great to meet up with Howard ‘Howie Baby’ Nimmo, Peter Tissington, Jim Morrison, Gail Blanchard-Rivett and three generations of Frisbys.

Three generations of Frisbys: Fred, Rosco and Scott

It was also fantastic to meet up again with my old colleague and team mate Kevin Oliver. Meeting up at the game was good but it was a real buzz to get out for a curry with Kev, Jim and Gail on Friday night and catch up on what has been happening over the last 12 years! Inexplicably I forgot to take a snap of Kev, his nephew and his pal. Apols for that but as fortune would have it I will have another photo opportunity when I will join up again with Kevin to see Lincoln City in round 5. 8/10

Overall Road to Wembley from Scotland Rating 83/100 (highest so far)

At this point I have to bid farewell to Brighton and Hove Albion. I have been warmed by the friendship shown to me by Brighton fans on their FB forums and twitter feeds. Thanks to all the Brighton fans who have helped me with this blog. Especially those who helped me explore the links between Scotland and Brighton and Hove Albion. Good luck with your promotion campaign and now that you don’t have the unwanted distraction (?) of an FA Cup run I feel sure that you will achieve your goal.

So, Lincoln are now my team on the Road to Wembley from Scotland. For the Imps the FA Cup run is very much a ‘wanted distraction’. The management are loving it, the players are loving and the fans are lapping it up. The Imps have now equalled their best ever run in the FA Cup and the last time they reached this stage of the competition was in 1902. Who will they get in the next round? Will it be Man United, Arsenal, Man City, Spurs, Chelsea or Oxford United away? You will have to come back here on Tuesday to find out! Keep reading ….

Miles on the clock for this match (inc overnight stay in Boston) 630

Total Miles on the Road to Wembley from Scotland so far 6501