By Kate Jackson
August 15 2013

Lincoln City have started the season with 4 points from the opening two games, the best return since the 2006/7 thanks to ex-Manchester United man Danny Rowe's first goal for the club on Tuesday night.

Although it's still early stages, fans are optimistic of a positive season following two decent results against sides who flirted with the Playoffs at brief periods last season. A draw at Woking and a win at Macclesfield is a fine return for the opening two games, and it is the best start since the 2006/7 season.

It is highly unlikely that the current crop of Imps will match what many people regard as the best footballing team that the Imps have had in the club's history, however, there's nothing wrong with optimism.

City's start to the 2006/7 season is the best in the club's history, not losing in any of the opening eight games, including two club records being set in the process.

The 2-2 draw at Walsall became the 6th consecutive home draw for the Imps, but more impressively, 8 games unbeaten had never been matched and left us, at the time, as the only unbeaten side left in the Football League, although that run did end soon afterwards with a controversial 3-2 defeat at home to Milton Keynes Dons.

It had started with a home game against Notts County. Adie Moses hit the net early on in his debut before Jeff Hughes scored an own goal during the second half. A few days later the Imps battered Hereford in their first home game since promotion from the non-league, taking a comfortable 2-0 lead through a Mark Stallard double. Numerous occasions of hitting the post and great saves followed before Hereford pulled one back, and the 2-1 scoreline did not reflect City's dominance.

The unbeaten run almost came to an abrupt end against Torquay United. The Gulls were undefeated at the time and had taken the lead midway through the second half. Paul Mayo's first ever penalty miss for the Imps seemed to be costly before a rare Paul Morgan goal in the 92nd minute gave the Imps an equaliser....however, the drama didn't end there as in the 95th minute, Martin Gritton, a former Torquay player, hit the net despite being in an offside position, to give the Imps a winner.

The Imps were loving life under new manager John Schofield (left).

A confident display against Walsall saw goals from Kerr and Frecklington, but that was ruined by two late goals from the visitors, and a week later Jamie Forrester proved his goalscoring abilities as he hit four as Mansfield before two late goals made the win again look less dominant than it actually was.

Accrington Stanley's first ever visit to Sincil Bank (they are NOT the same club that existed in the early 1960s) was a humbling experience for John Coleman's men as goals from Gritton and a double from Stallard gave City a good lead before yet again the opposition scored an undeserved scoreline of only losing by 2 goals. Accrington were also reduced to 9 men during that game.

Despite winning at Shrewsbury, the Imps were far from their best. Frecklington's goal gave the Imps a fourth straight win away at Shrewsbury, but the hosts did dominate the game and even missed a penalty.

The final game in the run was a 2-1 win over winless Macclesfield, with Kerr and Beevers getting the goals. This game broke the club record for the best start to a season, and also left the Imps as the only team in the Football League without defeat.

The run ended in the next game as MK Dons won 3-2 at Sincil Bank, but the Imps would still have 50 points by the New Year, but only gaining 24 points in the second half of the season cost the Imps automatic promotion and we lost in the Playoffs.

Since then our starts to the season have been far less impressive.

The year after started with a humbling 4-0 home drugging by Shrewsbury before a 3-1 win at Mansfield. Two opening defeats came for Peter Jackson's "envy of League Two side" at Rotherham and at home to Dagenham. A win on the opening day of 2009/10 against Barnet was followed by the club's first ever defeat to Accrington.

City were bottom after 2 games of the 2010/11 season due to defeats to Rotherham and Torquay. Our first year in the Conference started with a draw at Southport before a defeat to Kidderminster, a result which the Imps revenged at the start of last season before losing at Cambridge. 

Imps off to best start in 7 years thanks

Discussion started by theimps.ka (IP Logged), 15/08/2013 13:51

theimps.ka
15/08/2013 13:51

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