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FA CUP – ROUND 1
Saturday 9th November 2019 – 15:00
Portman Road
![Image](http://www.stadiumguide.com/wp-content/gallery/portmanroad/portmanroad5.jpg)
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
Seven Up !!!!!!!!
Tuesday Nights Narrow 1-0 victory away to Rochdale saw Town chalk up their Seventh victory on the road already this season and in doing so returned to the top of League one once more. Vintage it wasn't but once again it was good enough to get the job done against a team who despite showing some real spirit in the first half were clearly lacking the quality Town are fortunate to have within our squad. After starting the game really well we seemed to lose our way as the home side had plenty of the play without really getting a sight of Will Norris' goal, we are getting used to having these so called lesser teams raising their game when we are in town and it looked to be another of those occasions, thankfully the interval came with honours even and Town in fact ending the half on top having hit the frame of the goal twice through Woolfenden & Garbutt.
Whatever was said at half time had the desired effect as Town pretty much dominated the second period and after grabbing the lead we continued to look the more likely with other efforts keeping their keeper busy, Garbutt, Woolfenden, Judge & Jackson all coming close to getting the elusive second goal which we so often find hard to achieve, but grinding out these crucial solitary goal wins is an art, something that haunted me as a youngster with Liverpool time and time again being the masters of it and in doing so depriving the Town of more honours, so as long as we can keep these narrow wins coming I will be happy, it wins League titles after all.
I must admit I was not overly happy when the team news filtered through to the bar before the game, a back Four with Gwion Edwards at Right back made little sense to me, especially as we had Woolfy at CB and James Wilson on the bench, I get this rotation policy to a degree but not when it starts to mean Square pegs in round holes, but I guess it goes to show why Paul Lambert is a manager and I never will be, add to that I would have had Danny Rowe off at HT as for me he was finding it tough to get any joy against his marker and all too often came of second best, thankfully Lambert did it his way and switching the Two wide men (Judge & Rowe) definitely made a big improvement, not to mention Rowe getting the crucial winning goal with what was his first for the club so who am I to question the boss !!
A Case For The Defence......
It's really rather strange how as fans we all see things from time to time and one view that quite a few Town fans have had this season is that the defence at times is a bit shaky, in fact I said it Tuesday night at half time against Rochdale, and yet here we are sitting back on top of the pile with a game in hand on Wycombe, Oxford, Fleetwood etc and Two on the mighty Peterborough who's gobshite of a manager has worked wonders for his own team since he came out with his cocky remarks, keep it up lard arse.
On closer inspection I think our defence needs to be accredited with a bit more positivity, Eight clean sheets in Fifteen games, only Ten goals conceded is by far the best in the division too so we must be doing something right, if we carry on in that way it will be hard for any team to catch us. We now have a Five point gap to the Third place team too, yes it's the mighty Peterborough Utd again !! We won't mention the Two games in hand so as not to jinx it but that gap coud just be double figures by the time our fixture backlog evens out, and now we have ended the ridiculous myth that we never win after a blank weekend (Rochdale) we can go into these games with confidence and hopefully a fresher squad than our opposition too seeing as we are getting a rest or two when others aren't, Lambert said we would reap the benefit of this later in the season and I think he is spot on. So many reasons to be cheerful, honestly, come on, look for them.
We're The famous Ipswich Town And We're Off To Wember-ley.... Wember-ley....Wember-ley....
Our next action see's the Tractor Boys begin their journey to Wembley stadium with a visit from Lincoln City in the first round of what is regarded as the greatest cup competition in the world, the FA Cup. It feels pretty odd to be involved at such an early stage but I am really hoping we can at the very least end or torrid run of poor cup results and actually win One to progress to round Two, I am sure someone has the exact date and stats as to when we last won a cup game but I refuse to look for it !!!
Being at home should help us achieve a win but as we know we are very successful on the road right now so maybe away would have been equally acceptable, that said if we can draw a decent size crowd and get behind the boys this is a tie we can win, although it has to be said Paul Lambert has already stated some players who didn't play at Rochdale will be playing in this one and by that I hope he means the likes of Downes, Holy, Huws, El Mizouni & Georgiou etc etc because that would still be a pretty strong team for the Imps to contend with.
Lincoln City are still adjusting to life post "The Cowleys" and at present are sitting in Seventeenth place in the league one table, inconsistency seems to be the name of the game down Sincil Bank way with no Two consecutive results alike, add to that scoring goals has been a bit of an issue for them with only Eighteen scored in their Sixteen League games to date so coming up against a Town side who don't concede that many looks a tough test for them. Clearly we have no idea how Lincoln will approach the game and if they will play their strongest side but either way Town have to approach it in the right manner or we may just get turned over again, as we all know we have some unfinished business with the Imps following our embarrassing defeat at their place not long back, I was there on that night and to say we let ourselves down was an understatement so while revenge is not a word that needs to be used in Football it would be sweet if we can turn the tables on them and get our name into that hat for round Two, I think we will, 2-1 Town win for me. COYB'S
The Opposition – Lincoln City
![Image](https://freebetting.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Lincoln-FC.jpg)
Having formed officially as an amateur association in 1884 after the disbanding of Lincoln Rovers (formerly Lincoln Recreation).
Lincoln soon helped to form what was then the Second Division in 1892–93 season, as an increasing number of clubs wished to join the Football League. The first game at Sincil Bank was in 1895, after moving from the John O'Gaunts Ground, was a friendly draw with local rivals, Gainsborough Trinity.
Up until the 1920s Lincoln spent most of their time swinging between the Second Division and the more localised leagues, the Midland and also the Central league. After then, however, in the 1921–22 season, Lincoln, along with several other clubs from the Central and Midland leagues, founded the Third Division (North). The newly founded league and the Second Division would take turns in becoming Lincoln's home up until the early 1960s where they would drop a further division to the Fourth Division in the 1962–63 season.
Their championship honours include three Division 3 (North) championships in 1931–32, 1947–48 and 1951–52, a Division 4 (now League Two) championship in 1975–76 (when they were managed by future England manager Graham Taylor).
It was the 1975–76 season where the club broke the record for most points for a whole season when 2 instead of 3 points were awarded for a win with 74 points in total (this was and still is the record amount of points achieved under the 2-point system); the record of winning the most games (32) and losing the fewest (4), was also set. City also become the first club in nearly a decade to score over 100 league goals (111 in total). They also won 21 out of 23 home league games in this season (the other 2 were drawn) and also won 11 games away from home, another impressive bout from the club. It was the season where, Graham Taylor recalls, "teams were petrified of coming to Sincil Bank".
In 1982 and again in 1983, Lincoln narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division. In 1985, Lincoln were the opposition at Bradford City when the Bradford City stadium fire claimed the lives of 56 spectators – two of them, Bill Stacey and Jim West, were Lincoln fans, and subsequently these fans had the Stacey West stand named after them.
Lincoln were relegated on the last day of the following season, and the year after that they became the first team to suffer automatic relegation from the Football League. This was a dramatic decline for a club who had almost reached the Second Division four years earlier and has been linked to the trauma arising from the disaster. This marked the fourth occasion on which Lincoln were demoted from the Football League, a record that still stands.
They regained their Football League place automatically via promotion as champions of the Conference (beforehand it was done by re-election) at the first attempt with a long ball game devised by eccentric manager Colin Murphy and held on to it until the end of season 2010–11. On 8 September 1990, Lincoln were the opposition when David Longhurst suffered a fatal heart attack during the first half of a game against York City at Bootham Crescent.
On 3 May 2002 Lincoln successfully petitioned to go into administrationbut the financial crisis would leave the first team squad bereft of players as the day saw five senior players –released at the end of their contracts with a sixth, departing for Leyton Orient. A hectic day finished with confirmation of Keith Alexander's official appointment as team manager.
In 2002–03, Alexander was given the task of keeping the team in the football league, he proved the many pundits and fans who believed that Lincoln would be relegated and sent out of business due to financial irregularities wrong. With a team made up of cheap ex-non-league players and the lower paid members of the previous season's squad he managed to take them to the play-off final which they lost to Bournemouth. The team were rewarded with a civil reception in Lincoln, and an open-top bus ride through Lincoln, an event usually preserved for the winners of such competitions, but was awarded to the team because of the massive achievement.
In 2003–04 Alexander again confounded the critics by coaching the Imps to another play-off position, this time losing to eventual winners Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals. Alexander, one of the very few black managers in the Football League, had a very serious brain injury (a cerebral aneurysm) halfway through the season, but made a full recovery. In the 2004–05 season they again qualified for the play-offs, for a third year running, and in the semi-finals Lincoln beat Macclesfield Town 2–1 on aggregate over two legs but lost in the final against Southend United 2–0 after extra time.
In the 2005–06 season finished 7th in League 2 after only losing 3 games since the new year. Lincoln were to face local neighbours Grimsby Town in the play-offs, a side they had beaten 5–0 at Sincil Bank earlier in the season. However, once again it was not to be, as Lincoln lost 3–1 on aggregate to become the first team ever to lose four consecutive play-off competitions.
Keith Alexander left his position as manager of Lincoln City by mutual consent on 24 May 2006 stating that he could take the club no further, and shortly after on 15 June John Schofield was appointed his successor. For the fifth year in a row, under a different manager, however, Lincoln City reached the League Two play-offs after finishing 5th in the league (the highest position that they have qualified for the play-offs in). Once again, however, they lost, this time to Bristol Rovers in the semi-finals courtesy of a 2–1 defeat away and a 3–5 defeat at home. The failure to succeed in five successive Play-off competitions is a record for any club.
After a run of nine losses and a draw in the final ten games, Lincoln City were relegated from League Two on the last day of the end of the 2010–2011 season, finishing in 23rd Place.
Following relegation to the Conference Premier, Tilson released all but three members of the squad, telling them they had no future at Sincil Bank. By early October, Lincoln were one point above the relegation zone and the management were coming under fire after a run of one win in four; Tilson was sacked as manager on 10 October 2011 and Grant Brown was put in temporary charge.
Brown remained in charge for four games, winning the first but none of the subsequent three, before former Mansfield Town manager David Holdsworth was confirmed as manager. Holdsworth managed the Imps to safety but only by 8 points.
On 17 February 2013, David Holdsworth left the club by mutual consent following twelve games without a win. On 27 February 2013, Gary Simpson, a former assistant of Keith Alexander during his time at the club, was appointed manager until the end of the season. Safety was secured on the final day with an away win against Hyde.
After a good start to the 2013–14 season, Lincoln went on a run of just two wins in seventeen games, which saw the Imps embroiled in relegation trouble once more. From the start of February to the end of the season, Lincoln lost just three games, and finished 14th in the league, their best placing since relegation.
Gary Simpson was placed on gardening leave on 3 November 2014. Assistant manager Chris Moyses was placed in temporary charge and then appointed permanently on 8 December 2014. Lincoln finished 15th that season. 2015–16 would prove to be largely a season of mid-table stability, eventually culminating in a 13th-place finish. Just before the season ended, Moyses announced that he would leave the club in order to focus on his business interests outside of football, and was subsequently replaced by Braintree Town manager Danny Cowley.
City started the 2016–17 season with mixed form, winning two and losing two of their opening four games. This was followed by a run of victories that resulted in the Imps sitting top of the table after a victory at Tranmere. The good form continued into the New Year as the Imps gradually started to pull clear of the group. Despite a bit of a dip of form in March, Cowley would go on to lead the Imps to a National League title and a return to League Two for the first time since their relegation six years earlier.
In the 2016–17 FA Cup, Lincoln beat Championship side Ipswich Town, in a replay, before defeating Championship leaders Brighton and Hove Albion at Sincil Bank to make the fifth round of the FA cup for the first time since the end of the Victorian era. On 18 February, Lincoln went on to beat top flight side Burnley 1–0 to historically go through to the FA Cup quarter final, the first time a non-league club had progressed to the last eight since 1914. In the quarter finals, they were defeated 5–0 at Arsenal.
In the 2017–18 season, on 6 February 2018, Lincoln beat Chelsea U21s in the semi-final of the 2017–18 EFL Trophy, taking them to Wembley Stadium for the first time in the 134 years of the club. They went on to win the final against Shrewsbury Town on 8 April 2018. They also qualified for the semi-finals of the League 2 playoffs, but were knocked out by Exeter over the two legs.
Lincoln won League Two, on 22 April 2019, after a 0–0 draw against Tranmere Rovers, having been top of the table since 25 August 2018.
The Manager – Michael Appleton
![Image](https://i2-prod.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/incoming/article3339466.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_appletonnewJPG.jpg)
Marko's Caption Contest – THE DON CUP
Rest assured, the scores are taken exactly how they’re presented and with them assholes being largely funny sick bstds (like Derick) means a whopping 16 point haul this week for Deeko. Looks like chuckle humour is out the window. Looking for gloves off laugh out loud humour. Maybe a few have dropped off because of that but for me, I’m loving the humour....... and very apt for it being THE DON CUP..... that dude had a wicked sense of humour. (RIP)
Keep it going guys. And not to take anything away from Deeko’s haul, my own personal scoring to AylesburyBlue past couple weeks was 18, (two 5’s, two 4’s) but it’s the collective results that count. Like Nicscreamer for the majority of last season, I think Aylesbury is definitely the one to be gunning for.
And speaking of Nicscreamer...... no one wanted his name on The Don Cup more than me, (top 3 in all the five years of the thing) and I assume he’s just said, “FK IT!!!!” I do understand that.
And using Nics again as an example...... ten point leads can be clawed back....... its only November. Plenty captions left including Christmas / New Year double picture rounds. Keep it going.
Accrington Stanley scores:
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DerickIpsw (cap 1) 5pts
AylesburyBlue (cap 2) & Watership Down 4pts
DerickIpsw (cap 2) & Number 9 (cap 2) 3pts
AylesburyBlue (cap 1) & Bluemike (cap 1) 2pts
Southend scores:
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DerickIpsw (cap 1) 5pts
Ando (cap 2) & AylesburyBlue (cap 1) 4pts
Ando (cap 1), AylesburyBlue (cap 2) & DerickIpsw (cap 2) 3pts
Blueblood (cap 1), Bluemike (cap 2) & Blue Wilf (cap 2) 2pts
LEAGUE TABLE
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AylesburyBlue 49
Bluemike 39
DerickIpsw 39
Blue Wilf 27
Number 9 25
Ando 24
Blueblood 19
Tangfastic 19
Johnny B 16
Shed on Tour 15
Frosty 12
Kerry Blue 11
Watership Down 10
Quasar 10
Barmy Billy 7
Todd66 6
Nicscreamer 4
Charnwood 3
IpswichTownNO1 2
AshfordBlue 1
Lucy 1
MasseyFerguson 1
This weeks Caption:
![Image](https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1598187/lincoln-city-fc.jpg?w=736)
Match referee – Kevin Johnson
![Image](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/01/19/44E4A9C300000578-4938846-image-a-2_1506883384983.jpg)
IPSWICH TOWN 1 LINCOLN CITY 0