Jacko Bemoans Referee

5th November 2007

Lincoln City were all out of luck on Friday when a controversial penalty cost them a deserved point.

The match at home to Chester City will be remembered, but not for the reasons that everyone had hoped. The match was Peter Jackson's first in charge of Lincoln City FC and Imps' fans were eager to see how the team fared under new leadership. However, they had a long wait, as Chester failed to reach Sincil Bank until 8.20pm due to traffic congestion. The match kicked-off at 8.45pm but this was too late for some supporters who could not stay out until match's schedule end of 10.30pm!

The side that Jackson fielded was pretty much the same as the one that has been fielded all season. Although injuries to various players will probably mean that Jackson will select a slightly different starting eleven when he can. Unfortunately, he definitely will not be able to field his first choice starting eleven for at least six weeks because Imps' defender Lee Beevers has dislocated his shoulder. The should dislocation occurred midway through the first half of the Chester City game.

One positive that came from this negative was the performance of substitute Danny Hone, who is the son of former Imps' defender Mark Hone. Still on youth team terms, Hone showed that he is one for the future with a measured performance as Lincoln's players tried to protect Alan Marriott's goal. Alas, it was a controversial penalty that breached Marriott's goal. The penalty was awarded by the referee who believed that he saw Paul Green handle inside the penalty area. It was a tough decision as even on replays, it is not obvious whether Green handles the ball or not.

The major problem, as has been the case all season, is Lincoln's inability to create and score goals. Friday was no exception, despite Louis Dodds playing upfront. Hopefully, Jackson will have worked on this aspect of their game during a vigourous Sunday training session.

Next up for Lincoln is a home game against Chesterfield on Tuesday evening. This will be another tough test for Lincoln, who are joint bottom of League Two. Certainly, Jackson will have wished for two easier fixtures to commence his reign. However, should Lincoln continue to show improvement that they have shown for the past three matches, then there is no reason why Lincoln cannot take at least a point from this encounter.

Up The Imps!!

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