Point poached from cowpat
corner
Lincoln 1 Burnley 1, 30th January 1999
Tim Quelch
There was a time when this was bomber
country. Each night, squadrons of Lancasters would drone off to the Ruhr and targets
beyond. They called it ‘reaping the whirlwind’. Of course, God then ordained our
weapons of mass destruction. The Cathedral’s stained glass window proves this. You
might say, ‘If this air assault was so bleeding moral, what about Dresden?’
Well, I think God’s lapses of attention over the penalty shoot-outs more than evens
that score.
In Lincoln the past is clearly important. There
are crumbly walls, gargoyles and cobbled streets aplenty. They’re big on relics, too.
So why not resurrect an air raid siren for home games? Actually, this isn’t a
rhetorical question. It was a bloody pain in the arse. Irritatingly, the siren would wail
at every corner or threatening free kick. The message was clear: ‘We do mean air
raids.’ They did, too. The Davis-Reid partnership had its severest aerial challenge,
today. Burnley did well to salvage a point.
I’m sure that Stan hadn’t
underestimated the opposition. Apparently, Lincoln had much the better part of the game at
Turf Moor. They had also won their last four matches and had bumped off both Man City and
Bournemouth. You could see how they had acquired a new formidability at home. Their pitch
was a farmtrack. It was boggy on the flanks, tussocky in the middle, furrowed length-wise
with what looked like silage trails following the route of the plough. Only the heavily
sanded goalmouth made any concession to football. The place was called Sincil Bank. It was
obviously the Imps’ Agincourt. Small wonder, then, that Burnley’s swift
counter-attacking strategy became stuck in the mud.
Mind you, Burnley had first shout. Branch’s
astute through ball, allowed Cooke to set up Payton. Unfortunately, Payton couldn’t
balance himself and shot weakly wide of the keeper’s right hand post. Payton had a
further chance a little later, but badly miscued his volley. By this time, Lincoln had
settled to their game plan. Pressing Burnley hard in midfield and challenging hard for
each loose ball, they had most of the possession. Lincoln used their greater possession
well. Swinging long balls from one flank to the other, they severely stretched
Burnley’s back four. Their lofted balls forward also troubled Reid and Davis, who
struggled to turn in the heavy conditions. Armstrong and Mellon tried hard to spread the
play but had difficulty in controlling the ball on the unpredictable surface. They also
seemed out-gunned in the centre, with Little and Branch playing the flanks. Having said
that, Branch offered our best attacking option. Unfortunately, he kept running into
cul-de-sacs. Several of his goal attempts were blocked and when he did manage one clear
sight of goal, he shot tamely at Vaughan.
For much of the first half, Lincoln looked more
likely to score. While Burnley appeared ponderous and indecisive, Lincoln pumped the ball
around with conviction and speed. One such combination opened a huge breach in the Burnley
back line, leaving a Lincoln forward one-on-one with Crichton. Only our keeper’s
brave dive then averted disaster. It looked as if Crichton had managed to save us again on
the half-hour, when Battersby’s right wing cross set up Gordon at the far post.
Although Crichton used his legs brilliantly to stop Gordon’s point blank shot, the
ball ran loose for the powerful black striker to score his third league goal of the
season.
The Lincoln crowd had good reason to celebrate
at half time. Their team looked well on their way to a fifth successive win. Relegation
was no longer inevitable. Although there was around 2,000 from Burnley, we were generally
out-shouted and out-sung by the homers who had a drummer to rouse their tribal passions.
So, while we endured the break in a glum mood, the Imps’ mascot (a fluffy gargoyle)
could jig around to the ‘Lincolnshire Poacher’. Just when you think that there
is no where else for tackiness to go, a new dimension suddenly opens up.
After the interval, the Burnley defenders
employed a more direct approach, hitting more lofted balls to either wing, trying to bring
Little and Branch into the game earlier. Regrettably, this was not one of Little’s
best games. He still managed some amazing feats of skill on this terrible surface, but was
generally well shackled by the best left back I’ve seen all season. His name is
Stuart Bimson. He was strong in the tackle, powerful going forward and his distribution
was excellent. He deservedly won the Lincoln nomination of ‘man of the match’.
Stan, mark this man’s name.
Although the longer ball approach was more miss
than hit, Burnley managed to create a few good openings, helped, too, by their greater
industry. The best of these fell to Cooke, but he failed to make contact, after a left
wing cross fell to his feet, with only Vaughan to beat. Payton also blasted an opportunity
into the side netting. But just as we were resigning ourselves to a barren away day of
old, Burnley equalised. On 66 minutes, Burnley won a left wing corner. Mellon drove it
across and Reid, placed centrally, made perfect contact with his forehead, sending the
ball flashing past Vaughan’s upstretched arms.
The goal inspired both sides, opening up the
game at each end. Gordon missed badly, when a defensive error allowed him a free sight of
goal on the right hand edge of Crichton’s goal area. Further indecision in
Burnley’s defence also allowed Lincoln to smack a drive against the cross bar.
Bimson’s corners were a constant threat, causing Crichton huge difficulties, as he
struggled to punch clear in the heaving goalmouth. But Burnley had their moments, too,
pressurising Lincoln with their hard running on the flanks and a series of dangerous
crosses. When Maylett substituted for Payton, Burnley’s wing play became even more
threatening. This boy is one hell of a prospect. He’s fast, determined and skilful. I
just hope he doesn’t bomb like Paul Smith.
In some ways, the point poached here is as much
a testament of Burnley’s progress as their brilliant wins at Millwall and Bristol
Rovers where they were nearer the top of their game. Here, they weren’t. But they
still gained a valuable point. The defence coped, just. Moore did well again. OK he
miscued at times. But so did everyone. He looks likely to hold the right back position
now. Morgan did some good things. The timing of his tackling has improved no end. But he
was more prone to error today, nearly gifting Lincoln the points. Reid and Davis both had
a hell of a struggle, but they came through. They were not as impressive as at Millwall
but Battersby and Gordon were more of a threat to them and with the ball running so
uncertainly, confidence was in short supply.
I was unsure why Stan played two wide men today,
when trench warfare was called for. This tactic doesn’t give Armstrong and Mellon
enough support, when placed under so much pressure. Sometimes this formation looks more
like 4-2-4. I think he needs another battling central midfielder for games like this and
neither Ford nor Robertson quite meets this requirement. Anyway, what do I know? No
question, this was a good result.
Team: Crichton, Moore,
Morgan, Mellon, Davis, Reid, Little (Robertson 87), Armstrong, Cooke, Payton (Maylett 76),
Branch. SNU: Swan.
Links - Firmo's report and the home match
