Well, it was a typically unemphatic last day performance, with a 1-1 home draw against nothing-to-play-for Rochdale, but that was enough: Lincoln City are in the 3rd Division (or League 2, if you prefer) play-offs for the fourth season running. The climax was less fraught than in previous seasons, with fewer variables affecting the play-off positions, but you just never know… Lincoln have shown a remarkable ability to self-destruct at crucial moments all season.
But anyway, Lincoln City’s season is elongated once again by three extra matches, starting this time with a visit to local rivals Grimsby Town. For about 16 minutes today, it looked like Grimsby would snatch the third automatic promotion position, leaving Lincoln to face Leyton Orient (with their impressive away form) in the play-offs, but late goals changed that. In the run of normal matches this season, Lincoln lost 3-0 at Grimsby (admittedly during a particularly inconsistent period at the end of 2005) but won 5-0 at home in March. I suspect there may be a few goals in the next two matches…
And dare I think about potential opponents for the final? Lincoln lost both home and away to Cheltenham, but again, this was in the dodgy pre-2006 period. The home defeat to Wycombe came around the same time whereas last month’s virtuoso 3-0 away win was far more typical of the Imps’ post-Christmas form. It’s all idle speculation, though. As I’ve seen in the play-offs over the last three seasons, it’s all about “peaking” at the right time. This time round, I’m tempted to bury my head, ostrich style, until it’s all over.
Oh, and here’s to Swindon Town fans everywhere (such as Neil McIntosh and my own Ms Spaghetti) who can at least wind down for the summer in the knowledge that every cloud of relegation disappointment has a chink of silver lining ;-)