Superb strikers and desperate defending conjure up a midweek treat.

Liam Hearn took home the match ball but it was Matt Rhead who took my eye particularly in the first half of last night’s encounter with Macclesfield at Sincil Bank. Perhaps a bit unlucky not to be in an argument with Hearn over the ball Rhead took a fair old bit of stick from the Macc defenders but still managed to bag a brace himself and it was only that kamikaze defending early on and the late consolation that slightly took the gloss off a really fine performance from the Imps.

It’s ironic Hearn scored a hat trick on the occasion of a, I’m sure, rare loss for Grimsby Town his former hunting ground to enable City to leapfrog the Mariners in the table. It’s very early days obviously but if City could repeat that come the end of the season they will I’m convinced be at least in the playoff places. For all our rivalry I think most Imps expect another very strong campaign from the Mariners this term. Wonder what their fans thought when they saw that? Sets it all up very nicely for the forthcoming derby.

This being my first match having missed the last home game, although I was at the Leicester match, it was the usual eye straining affair trying to make out the names on the shirts made doubly difficult as said names are printed directly on the red and white stripes and not on a plain background but mostly due to the wholesale changes to the squad. Just Farman and Nolan on at the start from last season’s team.

So are City a better proposition this season? Well they served up a thriller last night. Fans dream of 5.3 wins, managers probably 1.0 but a win’s a win. Defensively it was an awful start but what’s important is that they weathered the storm and produced a blitz to simply blast Macc out of the game. That “consolation” at the end was a worry though. Having got themselves in complete control and playing some good possession football City let one slip at the wrong end.

I do hope they won’t regret that at the end of the season.