City pay the penalty for defensive lapses.

 

Right, well there’s only one thing to talk about after the pulsating draw against Peterborough United where Lincoln City sealed their place in the league one playoffs but instead of being the ones celebrating a superb and exciting win that not only secured their place in the end of season promotion lottery but also kept alive their albeit slender hopes of automatic promotion, thus prolonging the agony for Peterborough, instead found themselves trooping off the pitch, for the second week running with the sound of their opponents celebrating their own promotion to the championship.

Thanks to ineptitude, inattention to detail, stardust, call it what you will the referee conspired to hand promotion to Posh when, instead of seeing Szmodics slip/dive for what it was, and either booked the player for simulation or waved the penalty away by which time City would have survived the onslaught and claimed the win that would have seen the Imps seal their play off place and take the season on. It should have been City whooping with delight as Peterborough trooped off dejectedly and we, watching at home could have recognised City’s achievement and praised a remarkable campaign in which the Imps extended the season and gave themselves a golden chance of promotion at only the second time of asking, having been promoted the season before last.

One can only hope the referees assessor gave referee Busby a hard time in his after match assessment of the match and reminded him that his gaffe has handed Peterborough an unwarranted promotion, at this moment and denied City two points. Of course, that would have surely been a temporary situation and Posh would have gone on to gain the point they needed to go up, but we’ll never know now will we?

As for Busby, who will surely find his photograph pinned up on many a dartboard in the Lincoln area, a salutary season in the National League would appear to be a suitable punishment, always assuming he is ever trusted with a game again.

And City? Well they must be shell shocked at having to watch their opponents celebrate for the second week running and hopefully will go on to show the assorted doubters, disgruntled fans and clubs jealous of our recent elevation to relative success, that they are deserving of their new found status and finish the job tackled so bravely and, lets face it, against all odds this season.

When all said and done it’s an unlikely achievement and even if the Imps come away from this season with no more than some good memories and a bit of experience I don’t think any of us will forget the journey.

Anyway, enough of this wallowing in pity due to a referee’s poor eyesight, City have work to do, they can see the prize, now go and grab it, you’ve seen first hand how to do it.