Lincoln v Grimsby Preview

Who are they?

Our not so illustrious Lincolnshire neighbours were formed in 1884, and have played at Sincil Bank since 1895. Years of to-ing and fro-ing between the old Division’s Three and Four have been the story of Lincoln’s more recent history. But they haven't been able to win promotion from the current League Two since 1998 when they were relegated straight back down in the following season. A number of unsuccessful play-off campaigns have seen Lincoln fans endure an annual heartbreak around May of each year, most notably when they lost finals at Cardiff in 2003 and 2005. The 2003 final was an incredible achievement, as when Keith Alexander took over from Alan Buckley in the early part of the season Lincoln were relegation fodder. Alexander turned the Imps into a strong team at this level, playing football that wasn't pretty but was certainly effective. Town fans will remember Lincoln’s 2006 play-off semi-final which was against the Mariners, which ended in a 3-1 aggregate win for Grimsby. The unsuccessful management regimes of John Schofield and Peter Jackson led the way for ex-Blackburn and Chelsea striker Chris Sutton to become one of the youngest managers in football at the grand old age of 36. This season has been a mass of inconsistency; wins against promotion chasing Bradford and Barnet have coincided with losses against Accrington, Burton and Northampton, leaving Imps fans terribly frustrated.

Although Graham Taylor also turned out for the Mariners, he is also fondly remembered by Lincoln fans for his 150 appearances at full back between 1968 and 1972. Taylor went on to manage Watford, Aston Villa and England in a hugely successful career. Although Taylor failed to win a major trophy in his playing or management career, he took Watford from the Football League’s basement division to the top division in just five seasons, a feat yet to be repeated by any manager in this country.

Grimsby 5-1 Lincoln (Saturday, 7 March 2009)

A massive Lincolnshire derby for Grimsby saw them go into the game staring relegation in the face, beginning the day second from bottom in League Two. A ferocious start saw chances for both sides before Town took the lead on the stroke of half time, Adam Proudlock deftly chipping the ball over Imps keeper Rob Burch after good work down the right hand side. Lincoln scored the equaliser on 60 minutes from the penalty spot after Tom Newey handled in the box. Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro put Town back ahead on 78 minutes to begin a dramatic last 12 minutes, and Adam Proudlock added another just moments later. Proudlock soon added his third from close range to collect the match ball and make it 4-1, before Akpro raced through to fire home a fifth and send a packed Pontoon End into dreamland. The result saw the Mariners leap to third-bottom of League Two.

Rene Howe. 23-year-old striker Howe seems to spend all of his time out on loan from Peterborough, but he certainly knows how to score goals at this level. In 2007 Peterborough snapped him up from non-league Kettering after being prolific at non-league level, scoring nearly 70 goals in four years. He spent the following season on loan at Rochdale where they reached the play-off final, scoring nine goals in 20 appearances. He was then loaned to Morecambe for the whole of last season where he bagged a further 10 goals. This season he finds himself on loan at Lincoln, where he has scored five goals in his first 15 games for the Imps.

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Head to Head

Grimsby comfortably lead overall and have only lost 1 out of the last 9.

The Mariners have by far the better recent record of the two clubs against each other, winning three of the last four and only losing one of the last nine meetings. The overall history sees Town winning 48 of the 106 meetings to Lincoln’s 30. Lincoln fans will fondly remember a 5-0 thrashing of the Mariners in 2006, but Town got their revenge in the play-offs in the same campaign.

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Head-to-Head (14th on The Opposition Ladder)

Last Meeting

Grimsby 5 Lincoln 1 (Tue 07th Mar 2009)

A resounding victory just when Town needed it most.

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