Can City improve on a history of poor first day results?


By Nathan Jackson
August 9 2011

Lincoln City will be hoping to get off to the best possible start to non-league life with a win at Southport, but it would require a rare opening day win for the Imps. Even rarer than a first day win for the Imps is a first day away win, with only one in the last fifteen years.

OPENING DAY SCORES OF THE LAST 10 SEASONS
SeasonOpponentsScore
   
2001/02Halifax Town (home)1-2
2002/03Kidderminster Harriers (a)1-1
2003/04Oxford United (home)0-1
2004/05Shrewsbury (away)1-0
2005/06Northampton Town (home)1-1
2006/07Notts County (home)1-1
2007/08Shrewsbury (home)0-4
2008/09Rotherham (away)0-1
2009/10Barnet (home)1-0
2010/11Rotherham (away)1-2

Last season was the start of things to come as the Imps lost at Rotherham United on the opening day of the season. The result was made even more frustrating given that Lincoln had dominated the game and the winning goal came because of one of the poorest examples of Lincoln City defending ever seen.

It was 1-1 going into the final few minutes when Moses Swaibu decided to abandon his position to run out to the wing to help defend there, leaving Ian Pearce to deal with five attackers all by himself in the box.

It was just another fine example of Lincoln failing to win on the opening day away from home. You'd have to go back to 2004 to find the last time the Imps secured all three points on the road on the opening day when Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored the winning goal midway through the second half at Shrewsbury.

To find an away win on the opening day before that you'd have to go all the way back to 1995/6, City winning 2-1 at Preston North End.

Since then fruitless opening days have been the order of things, not just away from home either. Only three times since that day at Preston have the Imps won on the first day, with victory at Rotherham in 1999, the aforementioned Shrewsbury victory and an undeserved win over Barnet in 2009, a game where the Bees dominated and yet Janos Kovacs got the win for the Imps in what turned out to be Peter Jackson's penultimate home game as Lincoln manager.

 

Can City improve on a history of poor first day results?
Posted by: theimps.ka (IP Logged)
Date: 09/08/2011 11:40

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Re: Can City improve on a history of poor first day results?
Posted by: maxfox44 (IP Logged)
Date: 09/08/2011 13:38

Well Southport were poor last year and only saved by R&D dropping out. Every chance of a good result I'd say.

Re: Can City improve on a history of poor first day results?
Posted by: F1imp (IP Logged)
Date: 09/08/2011 18:11

Well the bookies have us as slight favourites and they usually know what they're talking about. Being favourites in a bookies, away from home too, is generally a positive sign.

I'm going for a Lincoln win, 2-1.

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