Our happy band of travellers set off for the flatlands of Lincoln to see if the Nailers could keep up their terrific league form. A midweek defeat in the Presidents Cup didn’t really leave anyone crying in their beer – we are happy to concentrate on the league and closing the gap on the (three) teams above us.
Ashby Avenue was another new ground on the list for me having never made the trip before. Scribbler arrived at the allotted time of 12:30 and my first question ‘do we need the sat-nav’ was met with the his usual response of ‘no I know where we are going’ – my heart sank and I remember thinking I wish I’d got some Kendal mint cake in for the trip.
We collected Ian on the way and we set off along the A38 looking for the turning to take us towards the A46 – we missed the turning and had to make a detour via the Kings Mill Hospitals ground (doing a u-turn just next to the ‘no u-turn’ sign ! I think the problem with Scribblers directions is that he seems to recall the roads as they ‘used to be’ as he tells us the way he previously got to places. Having said that my sense of direction is terrible anyway so I’ve no room to talk, infact only Ian seems to know his way around by car but he has a tendency to fall asleep at the crucial moment – more of that later.
After the initial short detour we made it to Lincoln
without a problem and arrived just after 2pm – plenty of time for a cup of tea and a stroll round the ground. The chap on the turnstile saw my camera bag and said that I needed written permission to take photographs in the ground, which seemed odd. We found the boardroom and had a refreshing drink and a biscuit before trying to find who I needed this permission from. As it turned out there was no requirement for this, previous photographers had asked if they could stand on top of the dugouts !!Ashby Avenue is a very pleasant ground with stands on three sides and
the changing rooms behind the goal at the cricket ground end. We elected to watch the game from the stand past the dugouts as the low winter sun made it difficult to see if you took advantage of the slight warmth that it was giving off by standing in it. It did mean we were slightly sheltered from the bitter wind that was heading in from Siberia allegedly.A flase start to the game when the ref spotted a gap in the net under the crossbar. A quick fix with tape initially failed and a 'piggy-back' approach was required to get the game restarted. The first half was quite end to end. Although Belper had the upper hand Lincoln looked dangerous on the break. This proved a correct observation as their red hot striker Sean Cann fired past Dave Clarke in the 35th minute to give them the lead. A minute later the Dark Destroyer headed Belper level and the scores were level at half time.
Hobbo almost saw red for a deliberate handball on half-time 
but the ref saw it as only a yellow - much ot the consternation of th locals who were definitely seeing it as a staright red.
but the ref saw it as only a yellow - much ot the consternation of th locals who were definitely seeing it as a staright red.The boardroom was quite packed at the break – the food was nice but included an odd combination which must be a Lincolnshire delicacy. Some sort of malt loaf with a square of cheese on the top – only Robbo was brave enough to try it – he advised it wasn’t something he would be doing again.
Second half started with a flurry as Ryan Hindley (Massive) scored after just 2 minutes, then the keeper had to be replaced by Andy Carney. Sean Cann fired in his 7th in 6 games to level the scores after 69 minutes. Massive was subbed by Rush and was warming down infront of where we were standing. We all thought it and Massive said it, ‘we’re going to lose this’ as Lincoln pressed for a third. Instead Belper took over as Ben had a great chance to score when he robbed the full back and chipped wide of an open goal with the keep in no-mans-land. Then another Belper attack saw the ball drop to Willo who rolled the ball into an empty net for 3-2.
After that (81st minute) the remaining 9 minutes plus 5 minutes stoppage time (‘it’s only a minimum of 5’ as Ian Wright likes to point out) was like the Alamo as the Nailers hung on for another memorable victory. As it turned out all the top sides won so it was a VITAL 3 points.
We set off back along the A46 but somehow Scribbler missed a turning (about the same time that Robbo was nodding in the back) and we headed towards Leicester. There was an element of panic of panic in the drivers side of the car as we passed signs for places none of us had ever heard of. I reassured him that there were a lot of lights ahead that looked like a town of some sort. Eventually we saw a sign that said Nottingham A52 and we all breathed a sigh of relief – and the desire for mint cake abated.
So a detour via Trent Bridge and the Nottingham ring road saw us home at 6:40 pm safe and sound.
Next Up: Willenhall UniBond Division 1 South
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