Founded: 1884
Nickname: The Imps
Honours: Division Three North: 1931/32, 1947/48 & 1951/52. League Two: 1975/76. Conference: 1987/88 & 2016/17. Football League Trophy: 2017/18

The club formed in 1884 and took the nickname the Imps after the legend of the Lincoln Imp.

The Imps had to wait almost half a decade before the first major title success which came in 1932, but did enjoy their highest-ever finish of fifth-placed in the Second Division in 1902.

Lincoln peaked in 1976 after winning the Third Division – then League Two – but it’s in very recent years that the club have enjoyed for the first time in almost thirty years.

In 2017, they won the Conference and had their finest FA Cup run in their history after reaching the quarter-finals before bowing out to Arsenal. A year later and the club had added a Football League Trophy to their growing trophy list.

12/01/21 – Northampton 0 MK Dons 2 – League Trophy

Ryan Watson fired over after a tentative opening few minutes. MK Dons briefly thought they had taken the lead when Joe Mason put the ball in the back of the net on 16 minutes but the off-side flag was already up.

Mitchell saved from Scott Fraser but the Dons were growing into the contest and the breakthrough came before the half hour mark, on-loan Middlesbrough striker Stephen Walker with a neat chip over Mitchell having been played in by Fraser.

Danny Rose headed wide from a Sam Hoskins cross as the Cobblers responded while it needed a smart save from Mitchell to prevent Mason doubling the visitors lead before the break.

Keith Curle made a change at half-time with Ricky Korboa replacing Rose and the substitute had a chance to equalise when his initial shot was blocked, Lee Nicholls making the save on the follow-up.

Harry Smith came on for Benny Ashley-Seal with Cameron Jerome and Ben Gladwin on in a double change for the Dons. Jerome was presented with an opportunity to shoot after a miscommunication at the back but Mitchell made a good save with his legs.

Cian Bolger headed straight at Nicholls from a Mills corner before the latter made way for Caleb Chukwuemeka.

The Dons doubled their lead from the penalty spot, Stephen Walker scoring his second goal of the night after Jerome was brought down by Bolger. Watson had a shot saved by Nicholls in injury time, the Dons having done enough to book their place in the next round.

09/01/21 – Lincoln City1 Peterborough United 1 – League One

Jorge Grant missed a penalty as leaders Lincoln had to settle for a 1-1 draw against 10-man Peterborough. The visitors dominated the early stages and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 10 minutes, albeit in slightly fortuitous fashion.

Jonson Clarke-Harris’ shot was cleared off the line by Adam Jackson, hit the back of TJ Eyoma and bounced into the net. For City, Brennan Johnson fired over after showing great pace and strength to get away from the Posh defence.

Remy Howarth also shot over after being supplied by Grant, who hit the side-netting with a free-kick shortly before the break. The Imps levelled four minutes into the second half. It was another messy goal as a corner hit Mark Beevers and fell into the path of Anthony Scully, who swept home.

The Imps continued to pour forward and were given a golden chance to take the lead midway through the second half. After a handball by Nathan Thompson, the defender was sent off for receiving his second yellow card. However, Grant let Posh off the hook by putting the spot-kick wide.

Saturday 19th December 2020 – Northampton 0 Lincoln 4

The Imps outclassed their beleaguered hosts from the moment Anthony Scully opened the scoring inside two minutes, with Tom Hopper and Brennan Johnson, who netted twice, adding further goals.

Lincoln made the perfect start, with just 65 seconds on the clock when Scully collected Johnson’s simple ball over the top and was allowed the time and space to slot home.

Fraser Horsfall was off target with a couple of efforts for Northampton, but Lincoln continued to look more threatening, with Lewis Montsma’s shot superbly blocked by Danny Rose.

The visitors doubled their lead three minutes before half-time when Hopper turned in Jorge Grant’s free-kick.

Nicky Adams missed Northampton’s best chance when scooping over early in the second half.

Cian Bolger also powered a header against the crossbar, but Lincoln sealed victory with two late goals from Johnson, lifting a finish over Steve Arnold after 83 minutes and then tucking one into the bottom corner in added time.

Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A
58	17	25	16	69	77

Biggest Win over Lincon	01/12/1923 – 5-1 W – County Ground – FA Cup
Biggest Loss over Lincon	25/10/1980 – 8-0 L – Sincil Bank – Bill Dodgin Jnr
First-Ever Game	03/12/1921 – 2-1 W – Sincil Bank – Bob Helson

Jamie Forrester

Our played for both focus this week you can look at his playing record here.

Playing Record

The Cumbrian-based official will travel to Sincil Bank Stadium for his 19th game of the campaign and his sixth in Sky Bet League Two. The current season is Backhouse’s forth as an EFL official.

He’s last game of the season was on the 16th January with a 0-0 draw with Sky Bet leauge two sides Newport And Solford. In this game Josh Sheehan was sent off for Newport.

In 2018-19, he took charge of 39 games, issuing 105 yellow cards and five reds. Meanwhile, in 26 games so far this season, he’s shown 83 yellow cards and three reds.

His latest Cobblers Game

Date	Comp	Match	Y		R
27/04/19	League Two	Northampton 2 Yeovil 2	2		0
27/01/18	League One	Blackburn 1 Northampton 2	0		0
19/09/17	League Two	Wigan 1 Northampton 0	3	0

Oxford United Games

Date	Comp	Match	Y	R
17/10/20	League One	Fleetwood 0 Lincoln 0	2	0
21/09/19	League One	Lincoln 0 Oxford 6	6	0
22/04/19	League Two	Lincoln 0 Tranmere 0	2	0
04/12/18	League Trophy	Accrington 2 Lincoln 2	7	0
03/11/18	League Two	Lincoln 2 Forest Green 1	4	0
09/09/17	League Two	Stevenage 1 Lincoln 2	6	2
03/04/17	National League	Lincoln 2 Dag & Red 0	2	0
20/01/17	National League	Lincoln 2 Dover 0	1	0
17/12/16	National League	Lincoln 2 Tranmere 1	6	0
04/10/16	National League	Wrexham 1 Lincoln 2	5	0
28/12/13	Conference	Halifax 5 Lincoln 1	2	1

Stephen Finch and Danny Gratton
Fourth Official : Abbas Khan

A look back to 2005

Northampton Town travel to Lincoln City on Saturday and you can purchase a match pass to watch the game live on iFollow.A match pass for this game costs just £10 for all UK based supporters and can be purchased here.
Fans overseas will be able to view on Season Passes or by purchasing a match pass.

Due to the BBC’s current travelling restrictions for reporters, there will be no BBC Radio Northampton commentary accompanying the iFollow pictures on Saturday.

On iFollow, viewers will have the choice to watch the game with stadium sound only or with home commentary.

BBC Radio Northampton audio commentary will be available for listeners in Northamptonshire on 104.2 or 103.6 FM and DAB, and for audio only subscribers on iFollow.

BBC Radio Northampton commentating from the iFollow feed from the studio for radio use only. Unfortunately, this would have too much of a delay to be used alongside the iFollow pictures. Please note any iFollow match passes purchased for the Blackpool match on Tuesday will automatically be valid for the re-arranged game.

Lincoln remain unbeaten in their last four matches against Northampton Town in the third tier of English football (W3 D1). The last time the Cobblers registered a victory against the Imps at this level was in August 1976 (1-0).
Northampton Town have one win in their 14 matches against Lincoln at Sincil Bank in all competitions (D7 L6). It was a 2-0 win when the sides met in League Two in November 2010.
Lincoln have two wins from their last five home matches (D1 L2) in League One. They have not managed a clean sheet in any of these matches.
Northampton Town have two wins from their last five away matches (D1 L2) in League One, although both losses have come in their most recent away games.

Stats	NORTHAMPTON	Lincoln
Games Played	21	21
Goals	19	32
Shots on target	63	98
Shooting accuracy	40.60%	53.30%
Goals conceded	36	18
Clean sheets	3	10
Yellow cards	38	34
Red Cards	3	1

Welcome to Bryn Morris!

Welcome to Northampton Town, Bryn Morris! Portsmouth midfielder becomes third new arrival of recent days.

APPEAL: Tony Claypole

Tony, born in Weldon, played for the Cobblers from 1953 to 1962 making over 125 appearances until injury cut short his professional career. Tony joined as a Junior and then signed professional after leaving school before making his debut in 1957. Tony could play on either flank and was a regular in the side that were promoted from the fourth division. He was the regular left back during the 1961-62 season until he sustained a broken leg playing against Coventry, only a fortnight after getting married.

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ & ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʟᴜᴄᴋ Nicky Adams

Looking back on our last long campaign in the League Trophy back in the season 2003/2004 UnderI interviewed ex-cobbler Andy Hot, Andy played for the Cobblers between 2004 – 2012 making over 190

To Nicky Adams who has joined Oldham Athletic on a 18 month contract.