MATCH 19 : City get a false dawn at Mansfield Town

Lincoln City fans could have been excused for thinking that a 3-1 win at Mansfield last season would have kick-started our season. An excellent display at Field Mill was the last time we won on the road for over 3 months and it was one of the few bright spots of John Schofield's 2007.

City have generally had the better of Mansfield over the last 5 years. 3 of our games against the Stags in that time have made this Top 20 and the first came just under a year ago. City headed to Mansfield in the third match of the season having conceded eight goals in the previous 2. The season was already looking like it was going to be a struggle, but 90 minutes later and the Imps suddenly had hope.

City started the game off in their new white away strip and it didn't take long for the Imps to make a brilliant start to the game. Marriott kicked upfield and Frecklington grabbed the ball, he quickly played a through-ball to on-loan Louis Dodds and the attacking midfielder out-ran the defenders to slot into the net and City were off to an uncharacteristic good start.

Mansfield were quick to respond with lanky McAliskey caused Moses to concede a corner, but Nat Brown rose highest to head the ball away. McIntosh failed to test Marriott from long range before Boulding headed straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. Boulding would become a transfer target for the Imps later on in the season and it certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd be troubling the Imps during the season.

Both sides were playing their part in a good first half and both were having decent chances. Mansfield suddenly gained a way back into the game when Boulding went down under a challenge from Paul Green. Boulding himself stepped up for the penalty, the fourth penalty that Mansfield had had against the Imps during the last 5 years, and he slotted it neatly to a statuesque Marriott's right. I will always remember that someone near me at the time said "We'll go on and lose this game now!"

However, that pessimism lasted less than a minute. N'Guessan picked the ball up pretty much straight from the kick off and ran down the left wing. He sent a ball into the box and all of a sudden it was in the net. Several deflections had taken it into the net and City dominated from that point onwards.

It was now all City as the Mansfield players were clearly shaken by this topsy-turvy spell of the match and City came close to making it 3-1 at Forrester's header was taken wide. Forrester then found Stallard on the right but before the striker could shoot he was flagged offside and the first half ended with City winning 2-1.

The second half started pretty much the same with N'Guessan picking out Dodds, he lobbed it to Forrester but his attempted chip over White landed on the top of the net. The former Bristol Rovers striker was again involved 8 minutes into the second half when he played a very clever through ball to Stallard and the former Shrewsbury men bent in a shot towards the back pos, it hit the woodwork and deflected into the net. He and virtually the rest of the squad ran towards the City fans and now it just seemed a question of how many the Imps would get against a very weak and breakable Mansfield side.

Forrester again tried to chip White but the ball landed on the roof of the net again. A rare Mansfield attack saw Marriott tip a long range Boulding effort over the net. Paul Green thought he had made it four when his shot went passed White but Buxton was covering and cleared the chance off the line. The rare sight of Amoo in the box almost resulted in his first goal since the game at Peterborough the previous season, but his shot hit the side netting.

Warlow was the next to be frustrated as his shot took a deflection off a defender and from the corner, Frecklington shot over from 25 yards. City continued to dominate but failed to score again and it ended with a 3-1 wins. Most fans thought it was the end of our bad start to the season and that we would continue to progress. A win in the following week backed up these thoughts. Little did we know at that point that we wouldn't win for another 3 months.

Mansfield's season wouldn't get any better and they spent virtually the entire season in the bottom two, eventually getting relegated in the final week of the season. City were in the battle with them for most of the season, only a late run saw the Imps settle for a safe midtable position.