The Imps on the up!

Lincoln City 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Sky Bet League Two
Saturday 13th April 2019

A day of more success for the resurgent Imps at a sell-out Sincil Bank... but one of the weirdest post-match atmospheres that I've ever experienced.

When it comes to genuine 'success stories' amongst lower league clubs, nobody in the past few decades can match the achievements/resurgence of Lincoln City.

Just three years prior to this meeting with Cheltenham in front of what was yet another capacity-crowd at Sincil Bank, the Imps were languishing mid-table in the National League - seemingly an age away from a return to the Football League. They'd shown glimpses of promise under then-boss Chris Moyses and had one or two decent players though the 2015/16 campaign had petered out into mediocrity.

That summer, whilst the football spotlight focused on events across at Euro 2016, Danny and Nicky Cowley took charge at Sincil Bank and began plotting success, though the eventual script probably exceeded even their wildest dreams. The pair instantly delivered promotion back to the Football League as well as grabbing headlines with their conquests in the FA Cup - reaching the Quarter-Finals. Then, the following year saw EFL Trophy success at Wembley, before 2018/19 resulted in another promotion push - this time in League Two! Attendances tripled during the process and Lincoln were quite clearly a club which had been transformed from one in tepid obscurity to a highly-respected, progressing outfit under their stewardship.

As someone who witnessed the era when Doncaster Rovers went from non-league to the Championship in just a five-year period, nobody had come close to matching those exploits in the years afterwards until Lincoln's undisputed transformation. If nothing else, the Imps were (and still are) a genuine beacon of hope for every smaller club in the pyramid and proof that if you sort your sh*t out and get everyone pulling in the same direction then the possibilities are endless.

Heading into this game, it promised to be yet another red-letter day and Sincil Bank was packed to the rafters with everyone knowing three points would seal promotion to the third tier for the first time in almost 20 years. There was even an outside possibility that a win, coupled with some favourable results elsewhere, would also seal the League Two title. Even if the game ended in a worst case scenario of defeat, given there was still plenty of remaining matches then in reality it was just a case of 'when' and not 'if' the Imps would mathematically confirm their promotion to League One - a feat which had eluded the late, great, Keith Alexander during his spell in charge in the mid-2000s despite regularly reaching the play-offs.

I did well to get a ticket - purchasing it straight after the final whistle the previous Saturday where I'd been up at St James' Park watching Newcastle slump to a defeat to Crystal Palace, once it was known what the potential of this game was.

The excitement was tangible around the ground and the weather couldn't have been more perfect with pleasant sunshine and no rain. Temperatures inside Sincil Bank were sizzling as the two teams emerged for kick-off to rapturous noise and passion - everyone clear in the knowledge this could be a day when those in red and white shirts write another little piece of folklore.

Things were going to plan from a Lincoln perspective and it took just over a quarter-of-an-hour to establish an advantage with Shay McCartan finding the target with a speculative long-range attempt which bounced just infront of visiting 'keeper Scott Flinders.

Cheltenham, whose fans were tucked away in a small corner of the ground and numbered probably not even a couple of hundred, to their credit made a real fist of it from this point onward. Whether nerves crept in and affected the Imps' performance, who knows? Nevertheless, the visitors, donning an all-yellow strip, plugged away and kept things tight when needed before eventually levelling from George Lloyd's glancing header from Chris Hussey's inch-perfect left-wing cross.

Though languishing in 16th position at the time, there was actually enough in Cheltenham's display; also taking into consideration some of the experienced personnel they had at their disposal, to suggest they would have a good season in 2019/20 and it wasn't any surprise in the slightest to see them 'kick on' and reach the play-offs under Michael Duff - even if it did ultimately end in heartbreak!

However, this day wasn't about the Robins. It was Lincoln's occasion and following some tense closing exchanges, the final whistle after what seemed a prolonged period of stoppage-time, was met by silence - simply because nobody was quite sure if a point would be good enough!

Whilst many in the stands checked their iPhones to see the latest scores, it seemed to take an age for news to filter through to the PA announcer, who eventually confirmed that the Imps were going up to League One - at which point the celebrations could begin. The delay, at least, prevented the customary pitch invasion which happens at so many places when a team celebrates promotion.

Having worked with Matt Rhead at Mansfield, even though he was recognised at Field Mill as a hard-working target man, it was good to see him finally receiving the 'cult hero' status he deserved, and his name was chanted frequently by the Lincoln fans. It was a good day for him and, coincidentally, it was our old employers' failure to beat Northampton (coupled with MK Dons' loss at Tranmere) which confirmed the Imps success. If they'd won, then it wouldn't have quite been good enough for the title as Bury beat Colchester to enhance their grip on a top three position.

In the months afterwards, it's a shame that certain things have panned out in the way they did.

Danny and Nicky Cowley, rightly or wrongly, opted to quit Sincil Bank for Huddersfield Town just a matter of weeks into the League One season. They might have felt they'd taken the Imps as far as they could or the offer to manage in the Championship was too good to resist, but it's unlikely they'll ever replicate anything close to what they achieved at Lincoln - such was the magnitude in how they helped to transform the club. Matt Rhead, an undoubted much-loved 'cult hero', departed for the circus that was Billericay Town - though that turned sour due to Glenn Tamplin's persistent interference. Finally, Bury, who went on to win promotion, never actually got to play at a higher due to their financial problems.

What wasn't a shame was to see Mansfield f**k things up in the dying stages of the season, fail to win promotion on the final day, then lose in the play-offs to Newport.

Nevertheless, this will always be a period when Lincoln City ruled supreme and it'll be a very long time before any other club gets close to matching their feats during this period.