Read all about our visit to Lincoln City, of the English fifth tier, for a relegation clash against Welling United at Sincil Bank Stadium, Lincoln.
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Where:
General Info:
Date of Visit: Saturday, 14.3.15, 15:00
Club Name: Lincoln City FC
Nickname: The Imps
Founded: 1884
Stadium: Sincil Bank Stadium, Lincoln, Capacity: 10,120
League and Rank: Conference Premier (5th Tier) Rank: 12/24
Official Site | Wikipedia
The Visit
We arrived in the historic city of Lincoln around midday, after a not-too-long drive from Luton Airport. We parked the car in a side street in the heart of the old city centre and drifted with the swarm of tourists and locals down the main street, with Lincoln Castle (closed to tourists) to our right and the city's famous cathedral to our left. After a brief look at what this lovely city had to offer and a quick visit to the cathedral, we drove to the stadium, Sincil Bank, to meet the club's marketing manager, Mr Russell Moore, who had set aside about a quarter of an hour for us (which is quite a lot considering it was a home match day).
Sincil Bank, true to its name, sits on the bank of one of several channels that cross the city. We drove into the car park, empty at that time (about two hours before the match), in our Toyota, after introducing ourselves as Russell's guests, with all the stewards in their hi-vis jackets ceremoniously waving us through. Opposite the club's main building, which housed the offices and the club shop, on the training area, the club's youngest juniors were rehearsing with the flags of both competing teams in final preparations for the pre-match show. We went through the club's doors, introduced ourselves to five mature ladies clucking away contentedly as they did their office work, and waited for our host.
Russell came in, equipped with a smile, a grey suit, a red tie and a stunning assistant, and before the words of honour and flattery about the hospitality had even finished, we were hurrying after him towards the heart of the stadium to start the tour and take a few official photos. In the centre of the pitch, the club's official photographer was making final arrangements for the match, and he, together with Russell and his wonderful assistant, had the honour of receiving the Cinderella project's 15th plaque from us. We looked around and saw the distinguished stadium of this fifth-tier Cinderella. It's one of the oldest stadiums still in use across all the leagues, and quite something to write home about. The stadium, with exactly 10,120 seats, was opened in 1894 and refurbished and renovated in 1999. Behind us stood proudly the Lincolnshire Echo Stand, built in 1987 – steep, covered and rather narrow – holding 2,250 mixed home and away fans.
Opposite us – bigger, lower and less steep – was the main stand, The Lincolnshire Co-operative Stand, holding 5,700 seats reserved mainly for home fans, with the seats closer to the pitch reserved for family and senior season-ticket holders. We quickly followed Russell, who skipped efficiently between aisles and seats on his way to one of the openings leading into the building. We all went into a large lounge covered in thick dark burgundy carpet, leading to a long corridor with the executive room at the end. In this room the club's senior executives were about to have lunch. Mealtime was near, since the tables were laid to the hilt and a strong smell of meat and stews filled the air. The next stop on the tour was the executive boxes, which were among the most beautiful we've seen (and we've seen a few in the lower leagues): the boxes are all called Castle View, named for the view they offer: as well as a perfect view of the action on the pitch, spectators in the box look out at Lincoln Castle, which stands out prominently against the city's low houses, spread out like a woven carpet behind the opposite stand. The view was breathtaking, and at that moment we really felt like dropping everything, emigrating and buying a lifetime membership to one of these boxes. But that didn't happen. Russell told us about one of the boxes, bought by the local Toyota dealership, which uses it to treat valued customers after a purchase and to win over potential customers before one. We asked him whether we could use the box, while showing him the keys to our rented Toyota…
We passed at least ten boxes identical to Toyota's, every one of them set with immaculate cutlery for the dinner to be served before the match. All the boxes were also fitted with raised platforms for those sitting in the inner row, so their friends in the front row wouldn't block their view. These English think of everything… The next stop was the supporters' lounge, which we reached after bumping into the Imps' chairman, who granted us a whole five minutes of honour. We exchanged a few polite words with him as Russell enthusiastically showed him the plaque he'd received from us.
We said goodbye to Russell and his golden-haired assistant – but not before he, on his own initiative, treated us to complimentary tickets, saving each of us £18. After a short and expensive visit to the club shop, we went off for a quick culinary tour of the pleasant city, which offered its visitors plenty of traditional fish and chip shops. But more than any other business, Lincoln had barbers to offer. Yes, yes – rather puzzlingly, on a short walk we passed more barbershops on the city's high street than in all the days of our lives… Really strange. Armed with a sack of steaming chips, a kilo of mayonnaise and a barrel of Sprite, we made our way back to Sincil Bank along with the rest of the fans emerging from their homes near the stadium. We did this – not before, as is our tradition, putting a few shillings on the home side at William Hill to add a bit of spice to the contest.
The match kicked off. 1,935 local fans, plus 43 who'd made their way from London, heard the kick-off whistle at 15:00 on a Saturday afternoon that was both bright and freezing. Lincoln, in 12th place and wearing their traditional red and white zebra stripes, with a theoretical ambition of squeezing into the play-offs, began the match at a rather lukewarm pace. Facing them, Welling, from 21st place, hoping to take points from this meeting to climb out of the relegation mire, wearing blue, played better and more organised. In the 20th minute the visitors scored their first through Vose, and 10 minutes later, on the break, Williams doubled the lead. As a result of the visitors' surprising lead, the Lincoln crowd began taking out their frustration on the referee, every whistle from whom earned affectionate words in Celtic. The cold during the match was almost unbearable, so at half-time we went to warm up in the cafeteria area, packed with people eating soup and pies of all kinds. Throughout the second half the hosts barely threatened the goal, while the visitors seemed to lock their box and throw the key into the sea. A boring half passed for us in a cold that grew stronger as evening fell, until in stoppage time, in the 95th minute, home player Sam Yorke was sent off – rounding off the poor match with the most interesting event since the two goals in the first half.
We said goodbye to the Cinderella of the day, wishing them success in their upcoming matches, and headed for the car park – the hundred steps to which felt like an eternity in the bitter cold.
