Lincoln City 0-1 Hayes and Yeading

A few weeks ago this game looked like it was a must win. A 'winner survives' kind of game if you will. Over the past three months or so Bath, Kettering, and Darlington have become adrift at the bottom of the table thus taking up three of the four relegation places. Although Hayes and Yeading have spent much of the season in the bottom four they have clung onto the coat tails of the likes of Telford, Newport, Stockport, Alfreton, and Lincoln. At one stage Lincoln and Hayes were separated only on goal difference but since then City have shown their best form of the season with four wins in the last seven games giving us clear breathing space between ourselves and the dropzone. The club's Blue Square Premier status was confirmed after last weekends round of games with City's point at Champions Fleetwood Town, and Hayes and Yeading's defeat at home to Mansfield Town giving the Imps a eight point advantage over Hayes (in the last relegation place) with only six points left to play for.

 Although this was the Imps last home match of the season it really didn't feel like it. Partly this was due to the fact that we are used to the season finishing in May and partly due to the weather, which has been shit all week. This was the first time that all four of us had made a game since the away match at Grimsby. Doesn't time fly when you are having fun. Since then much has happened. Baz has been to Legoland, Felice has added another half dozen teams or so to his teams that he "looks out for their results" and Lee is all loved up, bless. As it was the last home match of the season we intended to go to our normal fish and chip shop on the highstreet. But just as we aproached Sincil Bank and got parked up, the heavens opened which meant there was no way were were getting out of the car, so we tuned into BBC Radio Lincolnshire. After about ten minutes or so the rain eased off so we made a dash for the Back of the Net chippy next door to the ground. The fare was reasonable and did the job. The clubshop was having its normal end of season sale with home shirts being flogged of for £10 given some of the performances this season, the club should be paying the fans £10 to wear them. We got into the ground at about 20 past two and was promptly greeted by a rumble of thunder. As it was the final home fixture it was time to present the players awards for the season, which were as follows:

 Young player of the season 

 as chosen by the manager

 Sam Smith

 Away player of the season 

chosen by the fans on the official coach's

 Joe Anyon

 Player of the season 

(voted by the fans)

 1st Joe Anyon 

2nd Josh Gowling

 3rd Alan Power

For those interested my vote went to Jean Arnaud. Congratulations to all the winners. The fact that the our Keeper Joe Anyon picked up two awards kind of tells you where most of the action in City games had been this season.

After the awards we had the normal crappy pre match announcements with the only real interesting news being that the club has arranged a home friendly with championship side Leicester City to be played on Saturday the 4th of August. Over the tannoy the DJ belted out Depeche modes 1981 hit  I just can't get enough . This brought a smile to Baz's face as it was one of the favourite tunes to strut his stuff to back in his heyday in the Porterhouse nightclub in Retford. Personally i much prefer the Saturdays version. And the video is pretty decent as well. 

 
Not totally sure that the song was fitting for the occasion though. After the home performances against the likes of Alfreton, Carshalton, Telford, and Kettering etc this season, i am pretty sure most Lincoln fans had had more than enough of the 2011/12 season. I know i bloody well have anyway.
Although Hayes and Yeading weren't technically down it wasn't looking good for them. Before kick off they were 6 points adrift of Newport County (who had a game in hand on them) Furthermore Newport's goal difference stood at -10 with Hayes and Yeading on -32. All this meant that they had to win both of their remaining games, hope that Newport lost all three of their matches, and overturn a 22 goal deficit. In short their staying up was pretty much a non starter. So remote was the chance in fact that even Felice wouldn't back it to happen.

Hayes' situation didnt put of their hard core of supporters from making the long journey up north to follow their side however. A hardy group of 44 fans did make the trip with many of them dressed in fancy dress from our view in the Stacey West we could see a ghost buster and Father Christmas in amongst the fans. This was great to say and i tip my hat to them. Real football supporters. 44 fans doesn't seem alot but its not bad when you consider the fact that they normally only get 300 odd for the "home" matches its actually quite decent.

Hayes army!

The match had a real end of season feel to it. I expected Hayes and Yeading to come out all guns blazing but they didn't. The visitors gave as good as they got in the first game between the two sides just a few weeks ago. The Imps triumphed 2-1 that night and it was was a turning point of the season. Lincoln looked the better side in the first half and strung together a few decent moves. As we are now safe and with an eye on next season David Holdsworth is experimenting with the line up a tad and gave on loan Nottingham Forest winger/striker Nialle Rodney a chance up front alongside Jefferson Louis. He hasn't had much football since joining us on loan and struggled a tad today. Plenty of effort there, that can not be faulted but for me he just looked a bit rusty. Joe Anyon in the Lincoln goal had very little to do bar the odd goal kick here and there. Steve Arnold in the Hayes and Yeading goal had a nightmare in the first game as it was his poor clearance that lead to the Imps first goal. Today though he had a much better day and pulled off a Gordan Banks style save from Jefferson Louis. As the game went on the chances dried up an the entertainment level nose dived. Pretty much all the crowd were happy when the HT whistle went. Newport County were 1-0 on Alfreton Town meaning that Hayes odds on staying up were even longer than they had been at 3 o clock.

As the game hadn't been the best it gave two of our group plenty of time to use there phones. Baz was sweating on the scores involving Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United, while Lee was busy firing off about 20 texts to somebody (Young love eh?) Barry was quite happy that the Owls had the lead and the Blades were losing.
The cue for halftime was also the cue for it to piss it down once again. At halftime the youth team did a lap of the ground proudly showing of the Midland Youth Cup that they had won last week when the beat Chesterfield 3-0 on their own turf. Take a bow lads. Its not often we get to see a trophy paraded around Sincil Bank.

The second half was from a Lincoln perspective, dire. We did make most of the running but got hit with a sucker punch on 60 minutes when Piero Mingolia prodded the ball home with Hayes first real attack of the game.
City had a couple of youth team players on the bench today and not long after the Hayes goal they were trusted into action. Conner Robinson replaced Rodney and Frazer Cob replaced  Danny Lloyd who had taken a knock on the ankle. Cob slotting into midfield and Robinson going up front. Both lads looked very lively and gave the team some much needed impetus. It was Robinson who looked the most dangerous player on the pitch and he created a couple of decent chances for himself. Hayes and Yeading were in full gamesmanship mode now and falling down all over the place and rolling around as if they had been pole axed.
Another ray of light appeared when Sam Smith came off the bench to play the last 13 minutes or so. We have badly missed Sam (in my opinion anyway) since he was injured against Southport back in January. Its safe to say that Baz isn't totally convinced of Smith's ability and isn't his biggest fan. Me being me decided to offer him a bet of £5 that if he is still here next season he will bag 20 goals for the Imps in 2012/13. He agreed to this bet. And thus hopefully by this time next season i will have £5 off him.

Get your money ready mate!

As the game wore on it looked more and more remote that the Imps would get back into the match. In a way this 90 minutes summed up Lincoln City's 2011/12 season: glimpses of quality to raise our hopes, but quickly crushed and ultimately disappointment. The only real moment of excitement came when former City midfielder Jamie Hand decided he had had enough of Robinson making him look a total twat and took it upon himself to boot the young lad up in the air. It was one of the worse challenges seen at the Bank this season and it was no surprise to everybody in the stadium (bar Hand himself) that the ref brandished the red card. This was Jamie Hand's second red card of the season at Sincil Bank as he also saw red when he played for Luton Town here just before Christmas. A player getting sent of for two different teams at Sincil Bank in a season. That can't have happened many time before, if at all.

In times gone by, good season or bad season, the fans have normally always tried to come onto the pitch after the last game of the season. But today nothing. Defeat was simply meet with a shrug of the shoulders and a sigh from the Imps fans still left in the ground. The past few years have been incredibly difficult for Lincoln City fans and i got the impression that the fans just wanted to leave the ground and consign the 2011/12 campaign to the history books. Without doubt this was the quietest end to a season i have witnessed in my years of watching City.

Elsewhere in the football world....

While the men's team where failing yet again Lincoln Ladies gained their first win of the WSL season with a great 1-0 away win at Bristol Academy. Carla Cantrell grabbing the goal just after halftime. Gainsborough Trinity need just a point form their last game of the season next week to secure a playoff spot in the Blue Square North playoffs. Retford United's home match was called off due to a waterlogged pitch thus meaning that the Badgers will have to play league games this Tuesday and Thursday before the big winner takes all showdown at Bridlington Town next Saturday. A game we will be at to hopefully see Retford win the League Championship.