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Next Up: Sincil Bank
Next Up: Sincil Bank

Lincoln Preview

By: Richard Hubbert
Date: 24/03/2006

WITH the League Two promotion race hotting up, Town make the short trip to Sincil Bank to face Lincoln City on Saturday afternoon. With both sides needing points to advance their promotion charge, it augurs to be a competitive derby game.

Home > 2005-2006 Season > Previews > Lincoln (a)

The Opposition

Overview
Since the turn of the year, the Imps have risen from mid table mediocrity to genuine promotion contenders. Manager Keith Alexander was bizarrely suspended by the City board and promptly re-instated. The truth to the reason for this is still unclear, yet what is clear is that since the fiasco the Imps have improved their form. In those eleven games since Alexander regained the hotseat, they have lost just once - that defeat coming last week when they lost to a last gasp goal at Boston. They currently sit in 8th place in the table, three points away from the last play-off spot, currently occupied by Peterborough. Therefore they will be desperate for a win to try and keep up with the chasing pack.

Their Squad
The Imps' squad has undergone many changes over the last year, but one man who still remains is 'keeper Alan Marriott. The 27 year old has now made nearly 300 appearances for the Imps since his move to Sincil Bank in 1999. In front of him in defence will be ex Scarborough stopper Colin Cryan, who was linked with a move to Blundell Park when Russell Slade took over as manager in May 2004. Ex-Scunthorpe defender Jamie McCombe is a handful in the air, standing at 6 foot 5. He has netted some vital goals this season, and has scored three in his last five outings. In midfield is former Huddersfield man Nat Brown who has netted 8 goals this season, along with another ex Scarborough man, Scott Kerr. In attack, Keith Alexander can call upon the likes of Marvin Robinson who had a trial with Town in the summer of 2004. Gary Birch (left) is their top goalscorer with ten goals, whilst Martin Gritton is of course a player Town know very well. The ex-Torquay man left Town this January after a little over a year at Blundell Park when he scored six times in 29 starts for the Mariners.

Key Player
Jamie Forrester. Signed on Thursday on a months loan from Bristol Rovers to cover for the injury to Simon Yeo. Forrester is of course a former Mariner. He initially signed for Town over 10 years ago, in March 1995. Having only netted twice this season for Bristol Rovers, you just know that Forrester is as likely as any other Imp to hit the net against the Mariners. Despite his small figure Forrester is still a tricky customer, so Messrs Futcher and Whittle will have to keep their eye on him.

Recent Form

TownLincoln
DRochdale(a)2-2
WBury(h)2-1
WBarnet(h)3-0
DRushden(a)1-1
WChester(h)1-0
Currently 2nd in League Two.
LBoston(a)1-2
DRushden(h)2-2
WNotts Co(h)2-1
DMacclesfield(a)1-1
WBarnet(a)3-2
Currently 8th in League Two.

Top Scorers

TownLincoln
Michael Reddy13
Gary Jones12
Birch10
M Robinson8
Brown8

Team News

TownLincoln

  • The Mariners have some fresh injury problems to contend with as they prepare for the derby clash.

  • Gary Cohen has a shin injury, Paul Bolland has pulled his hamstring, whilst Justin Whittle sustained a calf strain in the draw at Rochdale on Tuesday. All missed training on Thursday.

  • Curtis Woodhouse missed out through a hip injury on Tuesday night and also missed training on Thursday on paternity leave. However, the ex-Birmingham man is expected to be restored to the squad, especially if Bolland fails to make it. This could mean the continued presence of JP Kalala in the centre of midfield.

  • All this means that Rob Jones is on standby to replace Whittle at the heart of defence. He will partner Ben Futcher who is of course facing the side he left last summer to controversially join Boston United.

  • If Cohen fails to make the game, then Russell Slade can call upon Marc Goodfellow, Junior Mendes and Andy Parkinson to play down the flank. Parkinson is most likely to be given the nod.

  • Simon Yeo is almost certainly out for the remainder of the season following partially tearing his medial knee ligaments in the defeat at Boston last weekend.

  • Consequently, Jamie Forrester has been signed on loan from Bristol Rovers to cover his absence and goes straight into the squad. This means that Forrester will have played for four Lincolnshire clubs - the Mariners, Hull City, Scunthorpe and soon, Lincoln City. Alexander will have to decide whether to start Forrester, Marvin Robinson or Martin Gritton as a replacement for Yeo.

  • The Imps have added Gainsborough midfielder Jamie Sherlock to their squad in a season long loan deal until the end of the season. The 22 year old could take a place on the Imps bench.

  • Midfielder Lee Frecklington is pushing for a recall in midfield after an impressive performance coming on as a half time substitute last weekend. Alexander could opt for him ahead of Steve Robinson for a starting berth.

  • Defender Gareth McAuley remains sidelined with a hernia strain. He is not expected to return for another week at least.

    • Probable Teams

    TownLincoln
    1Steve Mildenhall
    2John McDermott
    3Tom Newey
    4Ben Futcher
    6Justin Whittle
    11Andy Parkinson
    32Curtis Woodhouse
    8Paul Bolland
    18Ciaran Toner
    19Gary Jones
    9Michael Reddy
    1Alan Marriott
    17Colin Cryan
    6Jamie McCombe
    2Lee Beevers
    3Paul Mayo
    23Nat Brown
    15Steve Robinson
    11Scott Kerr
    9Francis Green
    8Gary Birch
    22Jamie Forrester

    Subs

    TownLincoln
    7JPK Kalala
    10Marc Goodfellow
    31Junior Mendes
    20Gary Croft
    12Rob Jones
    16Martin Gritton
    26Marvin Robinson
    19Lee Frecklington
    12Jude Sterling
    25Tom Wilkinson

    Head to Head

    After 96 meetings between Grimsby and Lincoln, it is certainly the Mariners who have enjoyed the most wins. Town have beaten the Imps 43 times, with the Imps beating the Mariners 28 times. However, Town will not be comforted by the fact that they have not recorded a victory at Sincil Bank since 1958 when they ran out 4-1 winners. In the 12 games since then, Town have lost seven of them. Russell Slade and his men will certainly be hoping this bad form at the Bank ends on Saturday afternoon.

    P 92 W 43 D 25 L 28 F 188 A 138

    Lincoln Head-to-Head (15th on The Opposition Ladder)

    Last Meeting

    The Mariners will certainly be hoping for a repeat of the last time they met Lincoln. Back in December, Town defeated the Imps 3-0 on a snowy night at Blundell Park. Town had the game wrapped up by half time. Ciaran Toner got his first for the club against his former employers and has since gone on to add three more to his name. Michael Reddy struck after 25 minutes before Andy Parkinson netted a cracking goal just before half time.

    Grimsby Team: Mildenhall ,Croft (Ramsden ,85 ) ,Whittle ,Robert Jones ,Newey ,Cohen ,Toner ,Bolland ,Parkinson ,Reddy (Hegarty ,88 ) ,Gary Jones
    Subs (not used): Downey,Gritton,Kamudimba

    Lincoln Team: Marriott ,McAuley ,McCombe ,Cryan ,Beevers (Bloomer ,33 ) ,Mayo ,Kerr ,Foster ,Asamoah (Marvin Robinson ,45 ) ,Logan ,Brown
    Subs: (not used) Birch,Frecklington,Hughes

    Attendance: 6,056    Report

    Prediction

    2-1 to the Mariners

    Recent Predictions

    GamePredictionScorePoints
    Rochdale2-22-23
    Bury1-02-11
    Barnet1-03-01
    Rushden2-11-10
    Mansfield3-11-20
    Boston1-01-03
    Notts Co2-11-01
    Mansfield3-02-11
    Carlisle0-01-20
    Wrexham0-02-10
    		 Reader's POMs

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