Imps look to put in a repeat performance
By Nathan Jackson
November 4 2003
Deja vu as City face Chesterfield in the LDV Vans Trophy in a match that repeats the Northern Semi Final of 3 years ago which saw the Imps win 4-1 against the then Division 3 leaders. Will it be a case of deja vu or will the spirites get their revenge?
The last time the Imps had a good LDV Vans Trophy run, it involved an exact replica of this game in the Semi Finals, that night, the Imps beat Chesterfield 4-1. At the time, Chesterfield were cruising towards the Division 3 title before financial problems saw them have 9 point deducted. Ironically, it was the Imps opponents on Saturday, Brighton, who went onto win the Division 3 title.
TEAM NEWS FOR THE IMPS
I for one was suprised in the last round of the LDV when Keith fielded an almost full strength side than beat impressive Telford 3-1. Ben Martin is unavailable due to playing for Swindon in the first round. This after failing to come off the bench on Saturday. A popular choice for a call up for the match would be teenager Lee Frecklington who was arguably the star player against Telford and came close to scoring on his debut.
With a very big game coming up on Saturday, many feel that Keith will rest some of the bigger players such as Morgan in the first of 2 games against 2 Division 2 sides in the space of 4 days. Francis Green and Simon Yeo failed to finish the game on Saturday, both due to injury. Green suffered
Last Saturday's 2-0 win against struggling Carlisle saw the Imps react well to the previous week's defeat at Macclesfield. It was one of the most one sided games in recent memory and a few fans are expecting the same tomorrow night against a side who are struggling almost as much as Carlisle.
CHESTERFIELD
Chesterfield have had a mini-revival over the past few weeks. Infact, until the LDV win against Macclesfield a few weeks ago, they hadn't won at all this season and were the last team in the football league to win in the league when they beat Swindon 3-0. The spirites then lost 2 games but got a confidence booster with a win against Port Vale on Saturday.
LAST TIME
The last game between the 2 clubs resulted in the Imps last away win of the 2000/1 season when the Imps won 2-1 at Saltergate thanks to goals from Peter Gain and Justin Walker. The LDV game only a weeks before, saw the Imps cruise into the Northern Section Final after a 4-1 win thanks to goals from Gareth Grant, Paul Smith, Justin Walker and Lee Thorpe.
THE CHANCES OF AN IMPS WIN
1 loss in 13 games compared to only 3 wins all season does sound like an easy choice on paper but as many fans know, City don't like doing things by what's on paper. However, Chesterfield have lost 5 of their 8 away games this season and drawn the other 3.
LAST 5 LEAGUE RESULTS AGAINST CARLISLE
SPIRITES 1 CITY 2
CITY 4 SPIRITES 1
CITY 1 SPIRITES 1
CITY 2 SPIRITES 0
SPIRITES 3 CITY 0
PREDICTIONS
I believe that it will be a repeat of Carlisle in City winning but failing to get a scoreline that will show the dominace. At best, I'd say 3-0 but I'll go for a 2-1 win.
