Things Are Looking Up

19th April 2008

Last week we began by saying that Lincoln City FC were safe from relegation. Now, after beating Brentford 3-1 at Sincil Bank, it is now a case of Lincoln not finishing any lower than 16th - a remarkable achievement considering where we were in October!

With safety assured, both teams could be forgiven for thinking that today's game could be a leisurely end of season affair. Perhaps, for Brentford it was, as Lincoln were definitely the side who wanted to win the most. This could perhaps be attributed to several of their players playing for their futures by either requiring a new contract or youth abundance eager to impress.

Both goalkeepers made early saves, with Imps' goalkeeper Ayden Duffy looking comfortable in his full debut. However, it will be Brentford's ex-Lincoln keeper Simon Brown who will be forever associated with his match, as his dreadful error saw youngster Gary King open the scoring in the 38th minute. If you get the chance to see tv replays of the incident, it will be worth watching, as it is a mystery how the goal happened! Regardless of Brown's error, it is doubtful that King will forgo his first senior goal.

Lincoln held the lead for six minutes, until Adie Moses conceded a free-kick. The free-kick was blocked by Lincoln's defence but the ball found its way to Nathan Elder, who headed past Duffy for 1-1.

The Imps won their own free-kick in the 65th minute when Jamie Forrester was brought down just outside the area. The Brentford defender was probably fortunate to escape a red card for his actions. Happily, Forrester made Brentford pay when he scored direct from the free-kick - not a bad way to try and win a new contract!

Dogged defending was restricting Brentford to mere speculative shots that were leaving Duffy untroubled. The match was put beyond Brentford's reach when Lee Frecklington headed home Paul Green's 82nd minute cross.

One other piece of good news is that youngsters Gary King and Martin Pembleton - who both started the match - have agreed one-year professional contracts.

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