Gainsborough Trinity 0-1 Harrogate Town

Roll up Roll up!

Over the past few seasons i don't think i have ever seen Gainsborough Trinity play well. This time however i was optimistic that i would end my run of seeing poor performances. The Blues are having their best season for a long, long time and with a new stadium on the horizon things are really looking up for the Blues. Brian Little left the club after a handful of games and since then the club hasn't looked back. Little's assistant Steve Housham took the reigns and the club has spent most of the season in or around the playoff positions. Hyde United, helped by the cash Manchester City have pumped into the club in return for playing their reserve games at Hyde are running away with the championship but the playoff positions are very much up for grabs. Gainsborough themselves have spent a fair bit of cash, something that is making the fenland muppets from Boston United rather jealous and long may it continue. It wasn't so long ago that Boston were splashing cash left, right, and centre. The difference between the two clubs is the fact that Gainsborough's cash is real. Know your role Boston, know your role. Jealousy is a terrible thing chaps.

Trinity do have plans for a new 4,000 stadium, but have beefed up the segregation at the Northholme to Blue Square Premier standard although i think its only been used twice this season when Halifax and Boston visited. There is a very real possibility that Gainsborough could lock horns with Lincoln next year (at either step 1 or step 2) If it did happen then it would be a great atmosphere. Gainsborough were a football league club up until the 1920s and the chairman has plans to for the club to return to that lofty height. Whether they can return to the league is debatable but they can certainly become an establish BSP club.  We arrived in good time and spent the pre match time in the excellent blues club which was doing a roaring trade. Chelsea's latest struggle was on the TV screens as they scrapped to a 1-1 draw with Championship side Birmingham City at home in the FA Cup.  As i was "offline" at the time i had no idea what colours Harrogate play in. In any case i wore my black and gold Pittsburgh Steelers scarf and woolly hat set. Harrogate's colours? Yep black and gold. Nice one Adam. While in the club bar we bagged the programme for £2.50 and it was a vast improvement for previous years efforts.

Today was also a bit of an ex Imps reunion. The visitors are managed by former City defender Simon Weaver who was a key component of City's defence in the 2002/03 playoff season. In the Harrogate squad is former City squad player Matt Bloomer; a player who always did a steady job for City when called upon (bar one home game against Wycombe)
Trinity normally have a former Imp or two on their books but they seem to have surpassed themselves this time around as they have Kevin Sandwith, Lee Ridley, Leon Mettam, Paul Conner, Adam Watts, and Baz's all time favourite Imp Shane Clarke at the club.

This will be one of the shortest match reports that i write this season. Trinty hadn't had a game for two weeks and it showed. The only goal of the game came just after half time when Harrogate took advantage of some slack defending and scored through Rob Youhill when he beat the keeper at the near post. There was very little goal mouth action from either side and when either side looked as if they might just be getting into their stride the ref ruined it by being way too whistle happy for my liking.

FT Gainsborough Trinity 0-1 Harrogate Town

So my search to witness a decent Gainsborough performance continues. Despite this setback the mid to long term future looks bright for the club. We have decided that should Trinity make the playoffs (and they should) we will try to take in both games. Lets just hope i am not some kind of jinx on them or something.
Elsewhere Lincoln conceded a 93rd minute equaliser away at Kidderminster Harriers; 1-1 being the final score. I would have snapped your hand off if you had offered me a point before the game so i am not too unhappy with the point. It would nice for us to score a last minute winner again sometime though. Well any winning Imps goal would be good right now.

Sad fact of the day
I have now witnessed league matches at every step of the pyramid this season right the way through from Step 7 to Step 1. Its some kind of achievement i suppose.