By Nathan Jackson
July 11 2007

The final 5 weeks of the 1997/8 were a nervous time with fights, nails being worn down, bars being rattled and frantic scramble for information as the Imps won promotion. It had been 10 years since the Imps last achieved promotion and Lee Thorpe's goal was the goal that secured promotion for the Imps, a feeling that hasn't returned to Sincil Bank.............yet.

Paul Smith (right) was one of just small handful of players to join the Imps during in the 1997/8 season, signing from Nottingham Forest on loan initially, joining on a permanent basis.

Other signings that season are joint record signing, Dean Walling, Gavin Gordon, Paul Miller, Dave Regis and Dennis Bailey.

Speaking of loan signings, one of City's 5 loan signings that season was a goalkeeper called Simon Brown, he made his debut (and subsequently only appearance) in the 5-1 defeat at Peterborough just before Christmas.

In that game you would expect a fight but you wouldn't get one, you did get one in City's first game of April 1998 when the Imps travelled to Macclesfield. After a goalmouth scramble, Barry Richardson kicking a Macclesfield player in a gut resulted in a 22 man brawl in which the goalkeeper was sent off along with Macclesfield's future Lincoln player, Ben Sedgemore. With Jon Whitney in goal the Imps almost held out for a draw but Wood scored a winner for Macclesfield, the Silkmen didn't lose a single league home game that season.

City travelled to Hartlepool next for a less hostile game, Beech opened the scoring before Colin Alcide equalised 8 minutes later.

A frantic opening to the home game against Peterborough saw the Posh score an early goal, but that was ruled out for offside and from the resulting free kick Colin Alcide put the Imps in the lead after just 2 minutes. In the 6th minute Paul Smith extended the lead before Colin Alcide scored his second and City's third just before half time.

Steve Holmes was the unlikely hero as he scored both goals in City's 2-1 home win over Exeter, Rowbotham equalised after an hour before City pulled ahead again. Holmes again gave the Imps the lead in a trip to Darlington a few days later but goals from Hope and Ellison appeared to have ended City's hopes of automatic promotion before Terry Fleming scored a 90th minute goal. If City hadn't scored that then automatic promotion wouldn't have been possible.

A packed Sincil Bank saw a nervous City performance but news then came through that Smith and Maskell had given Leyton Orient a 2-0 lead over Torquay. That was great news for City as only a win for the Imps and a Torquay defeat would see the Imps promoted automatically.

Then Terry Fleming scored the Imps first goal in the tense match against Brighton, scoring one of the scrapiest goals imaginable when another player's shot hit the grounded Fleming and he tapped in from then. Lee Thorpe then doubled the lead with an impressive volley on the turn. Paul Smith thought he'd made it 3-0 a minute later but his goal was ruled out for an apparantly foul on the goalkeeper.

News then filtered through that McFarlane had pulled a goal back for Torquay and nails were being bitten again. Barker scored a late consolation for Brighton just a few seconds before Imps fans invaded the pitch. The game at Torquay was still going on though and deep, deep into injury time Torquay hit the bar and the follow up was cleared off the line. If that had gone in then City would have been in the playoffs, but it didn't and CITY HAD WON PROMOTION TO DIVISION 2.

That was how promotion was won.