The Imp-possible dream is still alive and Barton is no Matt-ch for Rhead

Saturday the 18^th February 2017

FA Cup Round Five

Burnley 0 Lincoln City 1

Yesterday I saw a new chapter in the history of football written right in front of my eyes. Lincoln City of the Vanarama National League knocked Burnley of the Premier League out of the FA Cup. Lincoln City are in the quarter finals and have become the first non-league side to reach this stage of the competition for 103 years. It is the first time in their long and not so illustrious history that the Imps have reached the last eight. The Imp-possible dream has become a reality. A hard working and determined Lincoln City team out-muscled their famous hosts. The match was epitomised by the contest between Matt Rhead of Lincoln City and Burnley’s Joey Barton where the former JCB worker Rhead got the better of the Clarets’ talisman.

Are you alright darling? The Big Man shows concern for the stricken Barton

It was fantastic to share the day with some old friends and also get the chance to meet up with Cliff Vagnioli the grandson of Joe McGhie, the Scottish Brighton and Hove Albion full back from their 1910 Charity Shield winning team. This is how the day panned out.

Pre Match Communications: I joined a couple of Lincoln City facebook fans forums soon after the Imps became my current team on the ‘Road’. The contributors to these pages have been very generous in keeping me up to date with developments at their club. In truth I did not contact Burnley direct but I have been impressed by their twitter feed and web site 7/10

Pre Match Pint: Burnley FC seem to have an agreement with Burnley Cricket Club where the BCC club facilities are made available to visiting supporters. A great idea and it ensured that although the match kicked off at 1230 it was still possible to catch a pre match pint.

Drinking at 10.45 am - I love it. Imps fans enjoying pre match refreshment

The Cricket Club opened three bars and despite the fact that all three were absolutely rammed and queuing at the bar was a problem I still managed to knock down two pints of Guinness. A pre-match libation also gave me the chance to meet up with some old pals from Lincolnshire Jim Morrison, Gail Rivett, Kevin Oliver and Kev’s nephew Alan.

Jim and Gail - over from Lincs for the Big Match

Kev and nephew Alan in the bar at Burnley CC

Kevin and Alan were also featured on the TV coverage later

A face in the crowd: Kevin Oliver, Alan and Lincoln City faithful

No hand pulled beer but the Guinness was acceptable although inevitably it was served in a plastic glass. 8/10

Programme: The programme is a wee gem. 64 pages full of interesting stuff. Good coverage of the Lincoln City squad and some great articles including a blow by blow account of the events of the 9^th May 1987 when Lincoln City were relegated out of the football league and Burnley only just survived. I particularly like the cover design too.

As well as having loads of well written articles the programme also features high quality photography. My only slight tiny wee grumble is that there is not much that is FA Cup specific. Given that Burnley are former winners of the most famous football competition in the world this is a surprising oversight. That aside, my congratulations to everyone involved in producing this mag. Given the result of the match it is sure to become a collector’s item 9/10

Ground: The ground is a decent Premier League ground. It has a capacity of just over 21000 and although this is small by Premier League standards it is probably just about right for the club as Burnley is a relatively small town. Peter Tissington and I were in the James Hargreaves stand and had a great view of the action

Peter Tissington (fellow 'Road to Wembley-er') in the James Hargreaves stand

The James Hargreaves stand is the biggest of the four stands and as we were in the upper tier the wind whipped in towards us from the Penines. A real February football-watching experience.  7/10

Atmosphere: I have a feeling that had we been in the Lincoln City end I would be reporting full marks for atmosphere. Certainly the David Fishwick stand where the Imps fans were housed seemed to be bouncing up and down. The vocal encouragement that Lincoln City received from their travelling support was fantastic. Song after song was belted out with great gusto. When Lincoln City scored the late winner the joyous celebration seemed to be tinged with a sense of total disbelief.

Meanwhile back in the David Hargreaves stand, the atmosphere was a lot more subdued. Not much singing and prolific use of the phrase “give over ref” from the local fans. When the ball crossed the line for the only goal of the match the Burnley fans got up and left en masse. The match was very close to being a total sell out with 19185 in attendance 8/10

Scottishness: Unfortunately Lincoln City do not have any Scots in their current squad. Clutching at the tiniest of Caledonian straws I can report that they brought on a player with a very Scottish name. Jamie McCombe was introduced from the bench for the final minutes of the game.

Burnley have Scots international George Boyd and Scott Arfield from West Lothian in their ranks. Both featured yesterday but neither set the heather alight. Indeed, Arfield in particular was off form and probably should have been substituted. Ex Glasgow Rangers midfielder Joey Barton also played and much more about him later. 5/10

Entertainment:

In my final post before the match with tongue firmly in cheek I asked rhetorically ‘will Matt Rhead flatten Joey Barton?’. I figured this was improbable with centre forward Rhead and midfielder Barton likely to occupy different areas of the pitch. However, I did not have to wait long for it to happen. After only 8 minutes the raging bullock Rhead and the confrontational Barton went up for a loose ball. There was only ever going to be one winner.

One for the ladies! Matt tantalisingly reveals a glimpse of his rippling torso

A split second after the above still was captured Joey Barton was lying stricken on the ground having felt the full force of the usual ‘firm but fair’ Matt Rhead challenge.

Flattened! Barton in the aftermath of a Matt Rhead challenge

The spat between the Big Man and the Marmite Man was to last all afternoon and their contest was the football match in microcosm. Time after time the silky Barton tried his luck with agricultural Rhead and time after time the Burnley midfield man came off second best. Rhead had a very good game and Barton had a frustrating and ultimately disappointing afternoon.

Job done! The Big Man allows himself a wry smile as Barton is prostrate on the grass

In the wider context the skillful Burnley footballers tried to find a way past the dogged, belligerent Lincoln City players and consistently they failed to do so. Imps manager Danny Cowley must have acknowledged in his preparations that if the Imps tried to match Burnley pass for pass and flick for flick then inevitably Burnley would win. Hence Lincoln adopted a more attritional style and it worked a treat. As the match wore on Burnley and their fans became increasingly frustrated. Things boiled over in the 62^nd minute when the experienced Barton, who really should know better, tried a disgraceful trick to try to get the Big Man sent off. Firstly he petulantly stood on Rhead’s foot and then ran deliberately into Rhead’s outstretched arm and fell over as if he had been shot by a sniper. Thankfully the referee was not conned by this outrageous gamesmanship.

Later Barton was booked for a separate event when he pathetically clutched at the face of Imps’ Hawkridge. In the final minutes Matt Rhead was given a standing ovation from the Lincoln City fans when he was substituted. These two incidents sum up how the contest panned out for the Burnley and Lincoln City teams.

In the 89^th minute the well organised and disciplined Lincoln City team won the match with a goal straight off the training ground. From an Imps corner Captain Waterfall peeled off to the back post and found himself in splendid isolation. He carefully nodded the ball back across the six yard line. His centre back partner Raggott then met the headed cross with a well placed header of his own. The Burnley keeper tried to keep the ball out but goal line technology confirmed that the ball had crossed the line. Burnley 0 Lincoln City 1 and football history was being written.

This morning as I write this post Joey Barton is being pilloried for his indiscipline and Matt Rhead has become a media darling and an international superstar.

Matt Rhead striker supreme - needs to work on that hair style

Just one work of advice for the lion hearted Rhead. It is time to admit that you are going bald and drop the 1960s Bobby Charlton comb-over arrangement. The Lincoln City fans will still love you! Entertainment value 9/10

Match Day Catering: The pies on offer inside Turf Moor were all produced and supplied by Holland’s pies of Lancashire. Four different fillings on offer and all pies priced at £3.00. I opted for the peppered steak pie and I can safely say this is the best pie I have had on ‘The Road’ since Dunston. It was absolutely delicious. The pie is described as ‘chunks of tender diced steak slowly cooked in a rich dark creamy peppercorn sauce wrapped in Hollands unique shortcrust pastry’. A description that I can now endorse. Superb.  9/10

Value for Money: The admission price of £10 was tremendous value for an important fifth round FA Cup tie played in good surroundings. A great pricing gesture from the home club. Burnley should be lauded 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: As regular readers know I always try to find a link with Scotland to the match I am attending. Back in December I found out I was heading for Brighton. I then discovered that when Brighton and Hove Albion won the FA Charity Shield in 1910 they had a Scottish left back – Joe McGhie. By the wonders of the internet and a useful signpost from my friend William Yaris I was able to contact Joe’s grandson Cliff Vagnioli now living in Lancashire. Cliff and I are now friends on facebook. Yesterday I was able to meet up with Cliff at the Burnley Cricket Club just before the match.

Your blogger with the memorabilia pack from Cliff Vagnioli (right) at Turf Moor

It was all a bit rushed but it was great to hear that Cliff too had been a more than useful footballer and that he played non league for Vauxhall Motors. He is rightly proud of his Scottish ancestry and very proud of his grandfather’s achievements. Cliff very generously donated some fantastic memorabilia to this project and much of this will be used when this blog becomes a book in the summer. One of the photos Cliff gave me was a lovely snap of Joe in his later years with his wife by his side.

Joe McGhie and Cliff's Gran and the Charity Shield medal as a bracelet

The bracelet that Cliff’s grandmother is wearing on her right hand contains Joe’s Charity Shield medal! I now have a sneaky wee hope that Lincoln City will be drawn away to the winners of the Manchester United v Blackburn tie so that I can return to Lancashire and continue the chat with Cliff. Thanks again Cliff for all of your help and all of the memorabilia.  9/10

Overall Road to Wembley from Scotland Rating 79/100

At this point I have to bid farewell to Burnley. In truth I never really got to know Burnley as a football club but I enjoyed the visit to Turf Moor and to the town … and your pies are outstanding! Good luck with the remainder of the league season in the Premier Division.

So, Lincoln City amazingly continue to be my team on the Road to Wembley from Scotland. For the Imps the FA Cup run has been a chance to put their club on the map. They have certainly done that and the whole world seems to be talking about the manager Danny Cowley and the swashbuckling centre forward Matt Rhead. The Lincoln Loco rumbles on and the question must now be asked – could Lincoln City possibly reach the semi final of the FA Cup? Keep reading ….

Miles on the clock for this match 402

Total Miles on the Road to Wembley from Scotland so far 6903