On The Road
LINCOLN ENJOY THE PARTY ... EVENTUALLY!
After doing their sums, Imps are promoted to League One
DANNY COWLEY perhaps described Saturday’s antics best when he said ‘it was like someone had turned up to a party but forgot to bring the alcohol’.
As promotions go, this was all rather bizarre. Lincoln knew a win would be enough to confirm promotion to League one. There was so much focus on winning the game that any other permutation was seemingly forgotten.
When Cheltenham’s George Lloyd equalised with 17 minutes left, the 9,820 inside Sincil Bank fell silent.
A scoreline of 1- 1 appeared to spell disappointment for most, including Cowley. Thoughts drifted to making things right at Carlisle on Good Friday. But MK Dons’ defeat at Tranmere meant Lincoln had, after all, won promotion.
The table shows Mansfield and MK Dons 11 and 12 points behind Lincoln with four games to play, but they play each other on the final day of the season, meaning both cannot overtake Lincoln.
Cowley needed his best friend and the club’s medical consultant Ross Poynton to tell him that promotion had been confirmed.
By then, many had left Sincil Bank before stadium announcer Alan Long could say the words supporters had been waiting to hear all season: ‘Lincoln City are promoted to League one.’
The Imps can clinch the title by winning at Carlisle on Friday.
To better understand what Cowley and his brother and assistant manager, nicky, have achieved over the past three seasons, it’s important to go back to Saturday May 7, 2011. That day, a 3-0 defeat at home to Aldershot relegated Lincoln to the national League. Two years later, the club had a scrap to avoid falling into the national League north.
It was the same season Concord Rangers, managed by Cowley, were promoted to the national League South after winning the Isthmian Premier play-offs. Little did Lincoln fans, bereft of hope and glory, know the fortunes of their club would soon change.
From that famous FA Cup run to the quarter-finals in 2017 to promotion back to the Football League the same year, to the club’s first appearance and win at Wembley in the Checkatrade Trophy last year, and now, only Lincoln’s seventh promotion in 106 seasons as a Football League club.
Some journey. A word, too, for chairman Clive nates, who came on board in 2016. one of his first moves had been to appoint Cowley as manager. nates has engaged with supporters and brought stability while matching Cowley’s ambition to reach the highest level.
‘When you look at Bournemouth, they took eight years to get from the fourth tier to the first tier and it wasn’t in a straight line for them,’ said nates. ‘We’re a long way from being in a position to even think about that.’
But fans can dream and Luton’s surge to the top of League one this season after promotion is one of the reasons why talk of Lincoln being in the Championship in 2020 isn’t cheap.
Jason Shackell, who joined the Imps last summer on a one-year deal, has played most of his 16- year career in England’s second tier. ‘It already feels like a Championship club here,’ he said. ‘From the infrastructure, the new training ground and Danny and nicky, it’s got a lot of potential and players want to come here.’
At 35, Shackell will be offered a chance to stay.
For Cowley, this was a fifth promotion in 12 seasons. no doubt he has developed as a manager but he is still driven by the same values that he held dear when balancing his time as a PE teacher and managing part-time Braintree only three years ago.
‘For me, I love people,’ the 40-year- old said. ‘I love being a teacher and I love the opportunity to work with young people, I love the opportunity to help young players to be the best that they can be and I know what football can do. It’s a phenomenon and I know how much it means to people.’
And what about another promotion next season? ‘you can’t talk about a division that you’re two divisions away from because that’s pie in the sky,’ Cowley said, smiling. ‘ But now, ultimately, that’ll be the one above us, which sounds pretty good.’