REALITY CECH FOR LINCOLN
IT WAS their moment. Nathan Arnold knew it. Danny Cowley and Nicky Cowley knew it. The 53 coach loads carrying the bulk of Lincoln’s 9,000 fans knew it. Arsene Wenger, with his 33 years of management experience and his current troubles, knew it.
Arnold, the former Hyde United and Alfreton Town man, had just landed Laurent Koscielny, the France defender who played in the Euro 2016 final, on his backside with a quick turn and change of pace.
Thirty minutes had passed and the game was scoreless. Arnold looked up, chose his spot and shot. The ball’s trajectory was goalwards and it was Arnold’s misfortune that Petr Cech is a giant even among goalkeepers. Even then he needed to be at full stretch to tip it wide. In the technical area, those Cowley brothers gasped and held their heads.
It was a good save rather than an awful miss. But still, it was their moment. Lincoln City have had a few along the way on this adventure since it began as they laboured for a 0-0 draw against Guiseley in the FA Cup qualifiers in October. And Arnold has already played the hero, with a last-minute goal in the thirdround replay against Ipswich. So perhaps it was asking too much for just one more moment.
They will be talking about this cup run for decades in Lincolnshire, although, given the ability of the Cowleys and the financial backing of South African Clive Nates, you suspect that this joyful journey may be superseded in coming years by a rise through the leagues. League Two beckons and it seems unlikely that will be the end of their story.
For now though they can reflect on the history made this season. The first non-League team to make an FA Cup quarter-final since QPR did so in the same year the First World War broke out. They would have made Wembley had they won here. For 45 minutes they could just retain a glimmer of that fantasy. They were holding their own.
Arsenal afforded Lincoln maximum respect. And their bewitching spell was only broken as half-time approached. Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Olivier Giroud combined to tee up Theo Walcott inside the box. He struck but needed a massive deflection to score.
The Cowley brothers said they would break the match down in 10-minute chunks to make it more manageable. Well, for the first of those 10-minute periods, Arsenal struggled to get out of their half.
Lincoln had enlisted Clive Woodward and the Red Arrows, based nearby, to prepare for this game. It showed. The professionalism of their approach was beyond the expectation of many a club far above in football’s hierarchy. Of course, set-pieces and 6ft 4in Matt Rhead featured prominently. As did lining the team up on the right hand side for their initial kick-off. But they did what they had to do. And they did it rather well.
There was Bradley Wood with crucial tackles, though he would later chastise himself for allowing one of the world’s best players to skip past him for number four. There was the man mountain Sean Raggett, undeterred at the back and, but for his late challenge on Mesut Ozil at the end, staying within the bounds of acceptable physicality.
Then there was his captain Luke Waterfall alongside him, organising and cajoling. Up front, working the channels with indefatigable energy was Jack Muldoon, a former plasterer, ably supported by Rhead, who used to work for JCB diggers.
Arsenal have their own problems. That 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern meant they could not risk the kids and reserves. This was Arsenal at their strongest, other than Ozil, who started on the bench due to illness and would come on after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up a first-half injury. Yet still they were fortunate to go in a goal up at the break, though they made class tell from the restart.
In the 53rd minute, Hector Bellerin and Alexis Sanchez combined to line up Giroud for the second. It was 58 minutes when Gibbs, dashing down the line, pulled the ball back and saw Waterfall deflect it into his own net. For the fourth, Sanchez simply ran at a tired Lincoln defence, with Wood berating himself for missing his tackle, as the Chilean curled the ball home.
The fifth came 15 minutes from time, scored by Ramsey and Lincoln were done. The Gunners fans stood and applauded at the end while Lincoln hailed their heroes, who unlike Arsenal, look set to win their league. ARSENAL (4-3-3): Cech 7.5; Bellerin 7, Mustafi,6 Koscielny, 6 Gibbs 6.5; Oxlade-Chamberlain 6 (Ozil 27, 7), Xhaka 5.5 (Coquelin 60, 6), Ramsey 6; Walcott 7, Giroud 6.5 (Lucas 65), Sanchez 8. Subs (not used): Gabriel, Iwobi, Monreal, Martinez. Booked: Xhaka, Koscielny. LINCOLN CITY (4-4-2): Farman 8; Wood 6.5, Waterfall 6, Raggett 7, Habergham 6.5; Arnold, 7.5 Woodyard, 6.5 Power, 7 Hawkridge 7 (Marriott 77, 6.5); Rhead, 7.5 (Ward 68, 6) Muldoon 7.5 (Margetts 54, 6.5). Subs (not used): McMenemy, McCombe, Calder, Etheridge. Booked: Raggett, Woodyard, Margetts. Referee: Anthony Taylor. Attendance: 59,454.