Two nil and, well, you know the rest.

 

Oh dear. It was all going so well. City, unrecognisable from the stuttering losers of the last few weeks. The tweaks made to the team, no doubt forced on the manager but nevertheless working had me thinking we might be ok here.

Then, a well finished oggie and, best of all an MK player falling over in his own box, I’ll just grab the ball like I’ve seen on the telly, penalty! How we laughed.

Chris Maguire stepped up to take the kick, smiles wiped off faces but no, in it goes, two nil. What could possibly go wrong?

Yet, at the back of my mind, if MK get a goal, that’s it. We’ll cave in. It didn’t happen in the first half although Dons were certainly getting in the game. Get to half time, let Michael give the team a few pointers and with Scully on the bench it’s looking good. There was an unaccustomed round of applause at the half time whistle. Yes the team were patched up. Yes there were one or two scruffy moments but this was a team that have turned the corner, right? Wrong. It’s not the Lincoln City of a couple of years ago it’s the here and now and right now nothing is going right. Nothing.

You can blame the manager, plenty are, not me but plenty are but, for me, after the euphoria of last season we are right back to earth with a bump and Lincoln City are struggling to compete financially. The expected loan signing didn’t materialise. We don’t know the circumstances but possibly other signings didn’t happen either. If City had a goal poacher to stick an unspectacular foot on a cross, you know which one I’m talking about, the Imps win the game and plenty of others too.

We don’t however so we are left with the hope that, assuming the player is who we think, he will score the goals and galvanise the team to rescue the precarious position they’re in and end the season still in league one. After Saturday, for the first time, I allowed myself the possibility that we will not but I look at the good bits and still think we have enough quality to survive. It’s worth remembering though, that the worst that can happen is we end up in league two and, in my view, were now far better than that level.

I’m sure you’d rather not but, looking at the second half it was the usual story. MK Dons did get their goal, poor from us and, as predicted, got another then got their winner from a shot that was going anywhere but in the goal. When your luck’s out………