A truly fantastic Lincolnshire Derby, for let us hope it was not the last for some time, saw Lincoln and Grimsby play out the full theatre of the peoples game in from of a bumper crowd. The script most certainly did not disappoint with the travelling faithful and Pearce and Kerr driving the young Imps onward in the face of a Derby that saw Peacock play beauty and the beast breaking Imp hearts not to mention the leg of Adam Watts. Despite requiring oxygen as he was carried from the field this still failed to convince many Mariners. They of course desperately wanted to see their side break an unwanted record now stretching to 23 winless games and their club lurching towards a tragic Blue Square holiday. Master of Ceremonies and referee ‘Homer` Hayward would have a shocker but all in all you had to feel a draw was a deserved outcome, albeit down to two shocking decisions that ensured that a 3-1 victory to the mighty Imps will go down in history as a 2-2 draw.
But to the plot my fellow fans for this was a game of football where artisans and industry proved the people`s game will live forever ???
The Imps got off to a dream start as an end to end game exploded into life from the off. Trapdoor Broughton further loosened his nickname with a sweet knockdown and Herd, the Aussie assassin flicked over Colgan to shake the Osmond stand to what`s left of its rusty foundations. The Cod were gutted but unbowed and took the game to the Imps with Watts and Pearce in particular standing firm early doors with a crunching tackle on Peacock who was clearly up for it in the centre of midfield. Kerr was fantastic as was Anderson, hang it every Imp stood tall yesterday earning valuable experience the hard way. Coulson, Devitt and Peacock were at their best for the Mariners with the former denied thanks to the Brilliant Burch. In the 20th minute a fabulous run and cross from Herd saw Broughton flash narrowly passed the right hand upright. Widdowson then went straight up the other end and crossed for Wright who saw his pile driver again saved by Burch.
The Imps have this frustrating style that invites sides on with the Mariners edging the shot count despite Kerr and Herd getting stuck in. Indeed numerous challenges amid passages of play not for the faint hearted saw Herd booked for a challenge on Hudson where Peacock and a couple of other cods were getting away Scot free. Lennon was denied by Colgan as the Imps themselves threatened to put the game beyond doubt. Hayward`s black and white blind spot would however really come to the fore in the 38th minute leading to a goal, a caution for Hughton and close to bedlam elsewhere in the stadium. Kerr was initially penalised for a fifty fifty on the less than saintly Sinclair. The impressive Devitt drove an intelligent free kick into a packed penalty box with more going on than a Texas bar room brawl. The ball cannoned off an Imp high into the air diverting attention from Burch who was being sat on and Hughton who was struggling to break from a half Nelson. The boots flew and Peacock forced home whilst the Imps screamed at the two injustices compounded by the fact that the ball had arguably not crossed the line.
As Hughton was booked the fans in the Findus lower surged towards the sanitised area between the home fans and the away. Fortunately there was no getting through the two sets of fencing with the sight of 300 fans looking far worse than it was with and their barks fortunately being far worse than their bites. The stewards calmed the situation with the Humberside Police not being called into action, indeed on the way home many appeared to be part of a major effort at a charm offensive. A very poor refereeing decision and handbags at the ensuing flashpoint should not therefore steal the headlines from what promised to be a fabulous second half of grit and determination on the pitch backed by vociferous and partisan support.
Neither side made changes during the break with the Mariners kicking off and taking the lead less than a minute in. Cool as a cucumber Coulson roasted Anderson and Gilmour before sending in a superb cross and the advancing Peacock does not miss those, chesting down before blasting beyond Burch. The Imp supporters upped the decibels. Nothing helps a young side more than fans bellowing belief from the sidelines with Wright helping to up the noise level further by making our blood boil. His horrific challenge on Herd – Hayward actually played on with our man prone -should have been a straight red and a 3 match ban but the homer saw no evil let alone saw or Herd. He did have a long chat with Kerr however and you could see the steam rising from Pearce`s nostrils from the other end of the pitch.
It appeared to work when a 59th minute Hayward halleluiah moment saw him give a penalty after Atkinson had practically raped young Gilmour for the umpteenth time, and this time in the penalty box. I bet he nearly choked on the black and white pea he appears to have in his whistle a foull count of 9-18 and yellows of 1-4 indeed. Gilmour struck a poor penalty that was parried but instinctively followed up to scramble home a deserved equaliser. He strode to meet his adoring public as 900 pairs of hands reached for the skies. The Dambuster flight had not even abated when Broughton crossed a loop and stoop that Herd headed home. Naturally whilst all but actual bodily assault would have been played on the other way Herd touched the keeper after heading a legitimate winner.
Incredulously he would also do an Arsene Wenger in the 70th minute gesturing a corner after Peacock broke Watts` leg in a crunching goalmouth challenge. These challenges happen to be fair and Pearce`s immediate reaction was to gesture for Tom Wait and a stretcher. As with all breaks (helps the healing) precautionary oxygen was also in attendance though the Grimsby fans hardly covered themselves in glory suggesting he was feigning injury. The Pontoon would perhaps obtain swift rough justice of sorts in the 85th minute when Peacock went down in a tangle with substitute Swaibu, for what seemed a justified penalty. They do say referees even things up.
All in all a draw did the game justice. Yes Grimsby are our bitter rivals, but who in all honesty would want to miss two days like this each season? Onwards and upwards we are not safe ourselves yet and it`s Port Vale Tuesday snow permitting.
Grimsby Town 2-2 Lincoln City (HT 1-1)
Scorers
GT Peacock 38 & 46
LC Herd 4 Gilmore 60
Grimsby
1 Colgan 3 Widdowson 5 Lancashire 25 Atkinson 4 Sinclair 14 Bore 24 Devitt 32 Hudson 21 Coulson 36 Wright (Fletcher 85) 37 Peacock
Goals Peacock 38 & 46
Yellow card Devitt
Substitutes
35 Overton, 13 Hegarty, 16 Linwood, 19 Leary, 9 Proudlock, 23 Fletcher, 26 Akpa Akpro
Lincoln City
1 Burch 13 Pearce 22 Adam Watts (Swaibu 69) 38 Anderson 11 Kerr 16 Lennon 25 Hughton 34 Herd 35 Gilmore (John-Lewis 75) 39 Saunders
15 Broughton
Goals Herd 4 Gilmore 60
Yellows Hughton, Herd, Kerr, Broughton
Substitutes
20 Musselwhite, 5 Swaibu, 6 Hone, 7 Oakes, 19 Clarke, 23 Keltie, 14 John-Lewis
Ref: Haywood
Crowd 6,395 (936 of Imp descent)
Match Stats
Possession Grimsby 51% Lincoln City 49%
Shots on target Grimsby 7 Lincoln City 6
Shots off Grimsby 9 Lincoln City 4
Corners Grimsby 11 Lincoln City 2
Fouls Grimsby 9 Lincoln City 18
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