P.S: LINCOLN WON 4-0 AND PLAY ARSENAL ON SATURDAY IN THE FA CUP
As the scoreline came in from Arsenal and Lincoln secured a 4-0 lead, the chant rang out: ‘Arsene Wenger, we’re coming for you.’
The Imps could hardly have had a better send- off into their FA Cup quarter-final than this eventual romp over struggling Braintree Town, even though three of their goals were scored by loan signing Lee Angol, who will be cup-tied.
It surely will not be like this on saturday at the Emirates, not least because the venue will be easier to find than the homely Ironmongery Direct stadium.
Luckily the FA Cup heroes had former Braintree Town boss Danny Cowley on board as they visited there last night in their guise as leaders of the Vanarama National League. While their opponents in four days’ time were being trampled by Bayern Munich, Lincoln were in the outreaches of Essex consolidating their position.
An assured win always seemed likely once Angol, signed from Peterborough, scored twice in the opening 22 minutes. Cowley said: ‘We wanted to earn the right to look forward to playing Arsenal and now we can do that. Tomorrow will be a fantastic day and we can start thinking about it.
‘We aren’t going there for a day out — if you want a day out you go to a zoo or a theme park. It’s a shame Lee can’t play, but he’s already had his FA Cup against Chelsea (for Peterborough in the third round).’
The Ironmongery Direct stadium, with a capacity 15 times smaller than the Emirates, is a place best approached by satNav, with the only direction a signpost that they share with the local tennis club.
There are no statues here of a Herbert Chapman or Thierry Henry, with the only monument to be found a rusting, redundant old turnstile in front of a traditional clubhouse. No sparkling superstore either, just a converted cargo container selling their replica kits.
But there is a warmth and no Alexis sanchez- size ego about a club punching above their weight on a shoestring budget. Lincoln, by contrast, have already made £2.5million from their Cup run.
That has been largely down to the work done last season by the returning Cowley and his assistant, brother Nicky. When they left Braintree for Lincoln, the former PE
teachers took with them two players who have proved to be among the Imps’ best this season: left back Sam Habergham and midfielder Alex Woodyard, both of whom will have been noted by Arsenal’s scouts.
Angol going straight into the team meant a place on the bench for the hulking Matt Rhead, who is expected to start on Saturday. Cowley has signed former Tottenham youngster Angol for the promotion run-in and it was not hard to see why, as he provided the cutting edge for hard-working Lincoln against a team just above the relegation zone.
Described by the manager as ‘an iPhone 7, because he can do a bit of everything’, Angol could have already had three by half-time.
If there was a blemish for Lincoln it came in the form of several bouts of indecision at the back — such as leaving centre back Manny Parry twice with free headers on goal — for which they would surely be punished by Arsenal.
Despite pressing hard in the third quarter Braintree’s Sam Beasant, son of Wimbledon legend Dave, was overall the busier of the two keepers in the second half, with centre backs Luke Waterfall and Sean Raggett showing what a threat they can be from set-pieces.
Rhead was brought on for a run-out with 20 minutes to go. He gained the late penalty for Angol to complete his hat-trick, before Nathan Arnold rubbed it in with a fourth.