By Nathan Jackson
February 22 2007

Lincoln City face their second ex-Conference side in the space of 4 days when they travel to struggling Accrington Stanley. After losing 4-1 to Hereford United on Tuesday night, the Imps are looking to get back on track and have the perfect chance to do so against a weak Accrington side.

I’d be lying if I said that Tuesday night didn’t hurt, I think that’s a sentiment that everyone involved in the club can say, whether they are fans, players, coaches, or even the programme sellers. It was a night that will live in the memory for a long time for all the wrong reasons, as it was the first time in 5 years and 8 days that City lost 4-1 at home. On the positive side though, it might be the kick up the arse that this club needs.

 

When City lose 4-1, it’s usually followed by a decent spell. Earlier this season we won 4 on the trot after Chester beat us 4-1, and last year we only lost once in eighteen games after Cheltenham spanked us 4-1. With 4 of the 6 contenders for automatic promotion seriously out of form, a decent run now for the Imps would hopefully effectively win promotion for the Imps.

 

We’ve sat back and had to watch every other club in the Top 7 go on long winning streaks. Hartlepool started their current table-topping run with a 7 game winning streak, and currently sit in the middle of a 5 game streak. Stockport have won their last 8 without conceding, Swindon won 6 in a row, Wycombe won 6 on the trot, surely it’s time that the Imps did more than win 4 in a row only to then go on a bad run.

 

Right, that’s for my optimism over for a while and time for a harsh dose or reality. Lincoln have started to throw away all the hard work that was done earlier this season, and now we’re in serious danger of falling into the playoff places, having to deal with the end of season lottery yet again. Now I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t exactly fancy the annual extra 2/3 games.

 

Unfortunately that is a reality if the Imps don’t start putting a lot of wins together because Tuesday night’s results were just a fluke, and we can’t keep relying on results to go our way every week. It’d be nice to see the return of the Lincoln that became the first, and currently only side to win at Wycombe, the same Lincoln that destroyed Barnet and Rochdale, the same Lincoln that won their first 5 away games, the same Lincoln that somehow managed to get to the top of the table.

 

It seems almost ironic that I’m talking about the return of that Lincoln just days before we go to Accrington. The game at Sincil Bank on September 1^st was one of our most dominating performances of the season, and I still reckon that Accrington are the second worst team we’ve played this season. They were lucky to come away from Sincil Bank with just a 3-1 defeat.

 

City welcome back Jamie Forrester and Lee Beevers from their respective suspensions. There are no players suspended that are capable of challenging for a place in the 16 man squad. The only likely absentee is Dany N’Guessan as he is still recovering from the injury sustained against Torquay. Other than that, the Imps have a fully fit squad to choose from.

 

John Schofield promised that there would be some changes so it’ll certainly be interesting to see if he sticks to his word, or whether he does what Keith used to do and just leave the squad exactly as it was. This “promised” change in personnel could make predicting the starting line up a bit tricky. I’d be highly surprised if Marriott doesn’t start as he couldn’t really do anything about any of the goals because the defence left him overly exposed. Speaking of the defence, that’ll probably remain the same with the exception of Beevers slotting in at left back instead of Mayo.

 

If there’s one change that I would definitely like to see, it is Hughes being dropped to the bench and Warlow being given a start in his place. Purely on the basis of giving him a rest, I’d drop Kerr to the bench and give Green a chance. Kerr has looked tired for months now and maybe a rest will help him prepare for the final quarter of the season. Then I hope the midfield will be completed by Frecklington.

 

I’d personally go for the 3 man attack. Stallard has played well recently, and I could go on for ages about SWD’s recent form (but I won’t), but you also can’t leave out Forrester, so what better what to solve the “headache” than to start all 3? It’s the same formation that ripped Accrington apart in September.

 

As for Accrington, to say they’re making it hard for themselves is a bit of an understatement. Many predicted a half-decent season for Stanley but their form has been amongst the worst in the division, and just 4 wins since the beginning of October shows exactly why they are struggling at the wrong end of the table. In that same time frame, they’ve lost 12 League games, drawing the remaining 5. It seems almost crazy that on that form, there are still 4 teams below them in the table.

 

That fact that there are teams in considerable worse form than themselves could be the thing that saves Accrington from being the first ever Conference side to be relegated straight back after relegation.

 

Looking at Accrington’s side there aren’t a lot of players that you’d have heard of to be honest. Arguably their best known player is Ian Dunbavin, the former York City goalkeeper. Former Manchester United striker David Brown has the best goals:games ratio at Stanley, he hardly gets a game though. Michael Welch also scored arguably the best League 2 goal this season, with a stunning 40 yard effort at Stockport County.

 

However, much like Hereford they can’t be underestimated. They’ve claimed some good results against current several sides in the division, including a 2-1 home win over Wycombe that came just a few weeks after Stanley had spanked Wrexham 5-0, a result which at the time left that Imps as the only unbeaten side in the Football League. However, other than Wycombe they’ve lost to every of the other Top 7 sides that they’ve faced at the Fraser Eagle Stadium.