HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Tuesday night’s Emirates FA Cup third round replay at Sincil Bank by delving into their forums.

“Just wow, what a day, what a team. The players sound a bit low in the interviews, understandable but hopefully once the dust settles they will reflect on the day with same joy and pride as the fans. They outplayed and dominated Ipswich and gave us all a day we will never forget. No regrets.”

“A very emotional day”, A proud, proud day, so close to a massive upset but we would have taken a 2-2 result all day long when the draw was made”, “Very proud this evening. Shame we couldn't hold on but still a phenomenal result. This team, I love them”, “One of our best ever performances.”

“Let's barrage Ipswich at the Bank.” Imps departed Suffolk last week proud of taking us to a replay and fancying their chances of turning us over at their ground. “If Ipswich bring that back four with them to Sincil Bank we have a definite chance. They were incredibly poor for a Championship side.”

“I sat with the ‘home’ fans and they said we deserved to win and clapped us off. I could not resist jumping up when we scored, there was complete silence around us. Our supporters on the opposite side to us were fantastic and I don't think the home fans knew what had hit them.”

“On the train to London after a very special day, unbelievable! Our performance was exceptional and so happy I was there”, “At times you couldn't tell which was the Championship side and which was the Conference side. “Ipswich can consider themselves lucky to have drawn the game.”

Lincoln Fans’ Reflections on the Day of our First Game

“Exciting this, isn’t it?”, “I really hope we put up a really good show. It’s a chance to put ourselves in the national spotlight. I just hope for all the fans that have gone down that we do not get stuffed by three or four”, “The #Impvasion has established a beachhead already in The Station Hotel in town.”

“Good luck Lincoln.” The sense of anticipation in the build-up to the game was huge, although there was little comment about a City starting XI (above) which was both predictable and widely seen as the strongest available. Few expect to see any alterations to this line-up on Tuesday night.

“Yes!”, “Theo only scores in cups but who cares?” Imps started to believe a shock might be on after Theo Robinson’s finish on seven minutes but Tom Lawrence’s slalom and finish five minutes later led to a swift change of mood and criticism of midfielder Alan Power for gifting Lawrence possession.

“Error from Power, I keep telling people”, “The game is settling down now, don’t get complacent Lincoln”, “We are holding our own here and playing some good football”, “Indeed we are, playing against a team three divisions higher. You wouldn’t know it”, “A good first half, well done Imps.”

“What a great first half”, “Half time, 1-1, happy with that”, “An excellent performance, by no means out of our depth”, “Great that Ipswich fans applauded LCFC’s gate when the crowd was announced”, “Bags of pressure from us in the second half. Their defence sounds dodgy”, “Get in Theo, it’s 2-1!”

“Now concentrate lads”, “Only 25 minutes to go, whatever happens the lads have done us proud”, “Hell, this is amazing”, “McCarthy is a worried man. Ipswich fans are quiet.” Robinson’s second goal of the game on 65 minutes came as little surprise and from there it was a question of holding out.

“God, would you believe we are playing a Championship team?”, “Eighty minutes gone, come on Lincoln”, “Damn, 2-2”, “Expect the kitchen sink now from Ipswich and then some. They will not want a replay at our place”, “This was a game and then some”, “We were clapped off by the Ipswich fans.”

“Well done the players, the management and especially the fans who made the trip to Portman Road. We're in the draw for the fourth round and with a good chance to make it from the replay”, “Great result which has got to go down in the annals, lifetime memories for those who were there”,

“Phew, I feel drained after that fantastic new milestone in this special club's history”, “I was going to do dry January but after that I need a drink”, “The fact that we’re slightly disappointed we didn’t win says it all”, “Ipswich will feel very lucky to get a replay”, “Gutted that they scored a late equaliser.”

Lincoln Players Highlighted in the Portman Road Game

Imps were full of praise in particular for the performances of midfielder Alex Woodyard and strikers Matt Rhead and Theo Robinson. Keeper Paul Farman in contrast drew criticism for his inability to stop Lawrence’s first goal in particular.

“It’s not a day for criticism but I think Farman might be a bit disappointed with their first”, “He was at fault for both goals, clearly for the first and should have done much better with the second”, “He will still be kicking himself”, “A stationary wheelie bin would have stopped the shot for the first.”

“Alex Woodyard was outstanding in the second half. He ran the midfield and made his opposite numbers in the Ipswich side look very ordinary. I would not be at all surprised to see him at Ipswich very soon”, “He did not look out of place in those surroundings which was no surprise.”

“Woodyard’s second half performance was superb. He totally controlled the pace and flow of the game and got really stuck in too”, “He did the basics so well and tidy, just smelling out danger”, Alex ran the show”, “He was just superb, the best player on the pitch bar Lawrence for Ipswich. “

“Matt Rhead dominated Christophe Berra and won well over half his duels against him. He erred for the second goal, trying to be clever in the centre circle”, “I wonder how Berra's bruises are faring this morning. Rhead absolutely bossed the Ipswich defence but was clearly knackered at the end.”

“Rhead started slowly but bullied and dominated their defenders and won most of the aerial battles in the second half”, “Not his best game but he still gave an international defender a torrid afternoon forcing him into a mistake for our second goal”, “They had to double up on him in the second half.”

“What is it about Theo Robinson and the FA Cup? That is his third double in the cup this season, yet he only has two in the league. The finish for his second goal was excellent”, “That second goal was a thing of beauty, he made it look easy. Bags of running and energy and he was a constant threat.”

“Robinson saves it for the big ones”, “He loves the FA Cup atmosphere. On days like that he thinks he is Premier League. His finishing was great and he possibly could have had another in the first half. Ipswich could not believe how he pressed them at the back”, “Theo is a big game player.”

Gateshead 1 — 3 Lincoln (Buildbase FA Trophy Second Round)

“Well done City, an impressive score with a much-changed team”, “A tidy win indeed”, “The first half had a pre-season feel, but we moved up a gear in the second half and made the win look easy in the end”, “Right, get them home and rested for Tuesday”, “Delighted with that, now bring on Ipswich.”

“Oh dear, 1-0 to the Heed.” Gateshead took the lead after four minutes in Saturday’s FA Trophy encounter when Jordan Burrow fired home inside the box. City grew more and more into the game as it progressed and drew level through a low Sam Habergham freekick shortly after the interval.

“Excellent pressure from Lincoln”, “We seem to be doing well.” The Imps piled on the pressure and went ahead on 70 minutes when Elliott Whitehouse pounced after the hosts failed to deal with a City corner. Terry Hawkridge capitalised on hesitant defending to add a third four minutes later.

Manager Danny Cowley made six changes from the Portman Road tie, resting centre-back Luke Waterfall, full-back Bradley Wood, centre midfielder Alex Woodyard, winger Nathan Arnold and strikers Matt Rhead and Theo Robinson. Wood, Rhead and Woodyard featured from the bench.

Two loan signings started at Gateshead, right winger Joe Ward made his debut having joined from Brighton and right-back Sam Long, who came on as a late sub against the Blues, made his first start having arrived from Reading. Ward won’t be able to feature in the replay having not been registered with Lincoln City when the Portman Road game was played.

“Anyone who has travelled from Lincoln to watch this should have been guaranteed an Ipswich ticket. Not only are they true fans but they must be mad! Good on them, an amazing effort from the 169 Imps”, “That is a great effort all those who travelled. They must be bloody freezing.”

Tom Lawrence, The Evil Nemesis

“Lawrence is in a class of his own, look at his second goal against Blackburn”, “Come on Leicester. He is on fire so it must be time for a recall? How about a groin strain during training? Any chance his missus is about to give birth? How about dropping a bottle of aftershave on his foot?”

“Lawrence's extra quality was the only reason it was a draw.” One Town player strikes fear into the heart of Lincoln supporters. “As one Tractor Boy posted on their forum, it was Lawrence 2 Imps 2. He really was the difference and short of a misplaced pass and clearing the ball we would have won.”

“Ipswich’s standout player”, “One thing is for sure - Cowley will have a plan for Lawrence”, “When he scored their second last week the Cowleys would have been kicking themselves having seen his goal against QPR the previous week. Stop Lawrence and we will improve our chances of winning.”

“I think we'll beat Ipswich if we stop Lawrence”, “He has certainly been bailing them out over recent weeks. No matter how he played last Saturday and we should have won”, “Maybe the kid has a hell of a finish and will end up playing at the top of the game, remember the name for the future.”

Lincoln Fans’ Views on ITFC and the Replay

“I do think McCarthy will take this game more seriously with his selection”, “He switches between 4-4-2 and 5-3-2 and it sounds like they did well with the latter against Blackburn. Given they were poor with the 4-4-2 against us I reckon they could go with 5-3-2 for the replay.”

“Ipswich will have learnt more from the first game than us.” Imps’ forecast poll for Tuesday’s game is split 50/50 with many expecting us to be a tougher proposition this time. “I fear we’ll lose the replay. They will know us better but I hope that we give it a good go and have a chance of winning it.”

“A majority of Ipswich’s goals have come from 25 yards out”, “Farman could do with some practice before the next game to prepare him for it. The ball was hit with more power than he's used to. Mick McCarthy will have noticed and they will be tempted to have a few early long range pops at him.”

“Andre Dozzell was not really on his game”, “He is 17. If we can't cope with him, there's something wrong and based on what I saw at Ipswich last Saturday, stop Lawrence and we'll win because they have nothing else to bother us with”, “This ‘we will win if we stop Lawrence’ is nonsense.”

Their optimists have pointed to our suspect defending and their ability to rest key players. “There is no reason we can't upset them on Tuesday especially if they are as bad at the back as they were last week”, “At least our best six players will be well rested and Ipswich didn't have the same luxury.”

Graham Taylor

“Our greatest manager has passed away today”, “A gentleman, a visionary and a gifted manager”, “A true LCFC legend and a true gent who I had the honour of meeting and talking to several times”, “RIP Graham, Imps legend”, “For once, the word legend is appropriate for you in Lincoln's history.”

“Oh no, what terrible news and on the day that Danny Cowley agrees a new contract too. What a rollercoaster of emotions at the moment.”

Imps were shocked by the news last week of the sudden death of former manager Graham Taylor, whose City side took the Fourth Division by storm in 1976.

“A thoroughly decent man”, “Graham was such a damned nice bloke. I remember Workington away 1975/76. He put his head around the door of the supporters’ coach after the game and thanked us for coming and making the effort. He was that sort of person and will be very sadly missed by all.”

“Hopefully 10,000 people will sing his name”, “Surely we can organise a suitable pre-match tribute. It's on national television, our opponents can boast two former England managers on their CV and seem to be a well-run, friendly club. I am in favour of applause with 'one Graham Taylor' chant.”

“I hear there will be a two-minute phone light vigil on 75 and 76 minutes in honour of Graham Taylor on Tuesday night. This in addition to the official one minute’s applause before kick-off. Someone has already alerted Ipswich supporters in the hope they will join in. I think this would be a lovely touch.”

“Thank God I managed to get a ticket for the Ipswich game. It will be like a cup final and pilgrimage rolled into one. It's a long way to come on a Tuesday night but it will be some occasion and nothing less than a win will do. Graham would expect it in the circumstances and his memory deserves it.”

Websites

The busiest Lincoln City message-board is the friendly and well informed Vital Lincoln City.

Notes for the original Lincoln City Cup game, including an in-depth look at their team, can be found .

@HarryFromBath

Photo: Action Images

TR11BLU added 11:00 - Jan 16 Thanks for the usual pre match build up Harry, top man. Cant wait for this one. A new ground, hopefully a great atmosphere and a run in the Cup. Just need Dino to pick the first eleven, come on, Ipswich expects.
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rickw added 12:02 - Jan 16 We created chances against them the few times we played the ball on the ground last time, stick with 532 and I think we can keep the ball away from them and win quite comfortably - how nice would it be to impress on national TV?!?!?!
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Michael11 added 12:35 - Jan 16 They brought 500 fans to a local derby against Grimsby last season. All out the woodwork now their side is doing well.
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Vancouver_Blue added 17:07 - Jan 16 Come on Tractor Boys, let's do something special on the telly for a change
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HALLSJ added 18:26 - Jan 17 Don't let us down Tractor Boys!!
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