SINCIL BANK twinkled like a galaxy of stars in the 76th minute of Lincoln City's FA Cup replay with Ipswich Town.
Imps fans were paying tribute to their former boss Graham Taylor by waving the torches on their mobile phones. Taylor famously led the Imps to the fourth division title in 1976, the last time they reached the FA Cup fourth round.
Soon the action on the pitch was illuminated too as Nathan Arnold rounded Ipswich keeper Dean Gerken in injury-time to send the National League leaders beyond the third round again and to a date with Championship leaders Brighton & Hove Albion.
It was a fitting tribute to the former England manager, who died aged 72 the week before the replay.
“It made everybody associated with Lincoln City feel really proud that after Graham's sad passing we were able to have a night like we had to celebrate his life,” boss Danny Cowley says. “It was really poignant.”
Bond
Banners with the faces of Taylor and Cowley were raised in the stands during the pre-match applause accompanied by the words, ‘As one passes, another rises'.
The Cowley management team of Danny and Nicky know they have a long way to go before this team can be compared to Taylor's, but it's an indicator of the faith that is swirling around a revitalised club.
The long queues for Brighton tickets tell a story too. While Cowley is happy for the fans to dream big, he gave his players one hour to enjoy Tuesday night's win before focusing on their next game with Dover Athletic three days later.
“You can waste a lot of energy getting emotional over football and over celebrating,” Cowley says sitting in Lincoln's dressing room after their 2-0 win against Dover, while kit man Dick Tacey busily prepares for their next training session.
“We haven't got any energy to waste because the games are coming thick and fast.
“I was really proud of the players and the fact they went toe-to-toe with a Championship side over 180 minutes and came out on top.
“I was delighted for everyone at Lincoln City, particularly the people behind the scenes who work tirelessly – like you're seeing Dicky now. I'm really happy for the supporters too, who have had some tough times recently. It's not been easy following Lincoln City. They've not had the success their support deserves and it was just great to give them a moment.”
Moments, however, aren't enough for Cowley. He wants sustained success and that means continuing their promotion charge.
Battle
If there was a game to bring them back to earth it was Dover, who have designs on the Football League themselves.
Cowley unapologetically said it was the “biggest game of our week” and they put in a determined performance.
An unfortunate own-goal from Whites defender Tyrone Sterling set the Imps on their way after nine minutes. Dover striker Ricky Miller did clip a free-kick onto the post in the second half, but Terry Hawkridge fired in a second with seven minutes remaining to seal it.
“We never get satisfied, we never get settled,” Arnold says. “We need to be relentless. The boys have shown great character tonight.”
But how about winning games in the manner he did on Tuesday? Arnold latched onto Adam Marriott's perfect through-ball and showed he was the coolest man in the house to roll in the winner.
“My missus said to me in the morning that she'd dreamt we'd won 1-0 and I scored,” he says. “I didn't want to tell anyone until after because I didn't want to jinx anything. Making a dream become reality is really special. It would be nice if she had a dream about us winning the league.”
