Written by Max
Ground #45
Saturday 22nd October 2022
Lincoln United 4-0 Tadcaster Albion
Northern Premier League, Division 1 East (Step 4)
Attendance: 152
Entry: £9
Lincoln United were formed in 1938 and have played at Ashby Avenue ever since. Once the war ended in 1945 they joined the Lincolnshire League as ‘Lincoln Amateurs’. In 1954 the club changed their name to Lincoln United as they began to pay their players a wage. In 1981 the club were founder members of the NCEL division 1 at step 6. By 1995 they found themselves up at step 4 and in 2004 a fourth place finish saw them promoted to the step 3 Northern Premier League. Just 4 years later they were relegated to division one and that is where they find themselves today.
Today’s game saw them come up against Tadcaster Albion. Both clubs have had a tough start to the season and find themselves struggling at the wrong end of the division so today’s game would be important for whoever got the 3 points. The game also marked Emma’s 100th live football game!
The game started at a frantic pace with some end to end football but no real clear cut chances early on. Once the game settled down though it was the hosts that would create the first chances with a great save denying a header from 6 yards out. Shortly after a free kick was whipped in and a glancing header looked to be looping into the top corner before a fantastic full stretch diving save kept the ball out.
The Whites continued to pile on the pressure and this time another header was kept out by a defender on the line. As half time approached another great move and chance was met once again by the Tadcaster keeper with another brilliant save. As the half time whistle blew we were wondering if it just wasn’t going to be Lincoln’s day!
Tadcaster had been playing very aggressively which had earnt them a number of yellow cards in the first half. This approach came back to bite them early into the second period as yet another late challenge saw their number 8 given a second yellow card and sent for an early bath! Funnily enough the next 10 minutes then saw Tadcaster’s best spell of the match and a looping corner almost went straight in but the ball was punched clear by the Lincoln keeper.
Soon after the hosts settled down and won themselves a penalty after a good move. The ball was coolly slotted away to give The Whites a very much deserved lead. Another late challenge saw yet another booking for the visitors and from the resulting free kick some good play saw the hosts get a second goal.
Lincoln carried on pushing forward and after a mistake at the back from the Tadcaster defence was pounced on, another cool finish made it 3. Almost straight from kick off it was 4-0 and it was more than deserved! If it wasn’t for the visiting keepers heroics in the first half the score line could really have been embarrassing for Tadcaster.
A brilliant all round performance from Lincoln saw them climb out of the relegation zone and move 5 points clear of today’s opponents. This would be their 3rd win on the bounce, and with a home game against bottom of the league Grimsby Borough coming up, the whites will be looking to climb the table and cement a place in mid table in the coming weeks.
Now to rate our day in Lincoln:
Location: 6/10
Ashby Avenue is located in the small borough of Hartsholme, around 3 miles from Lincoln city centre. It will take you around an hour to walk to the ground from the train station, or there is a bus which will drop you off at the nearby country park which is just a short walk away.
The ground is located on the edge of a residential area but their didn’t seem to be any pubs nearby other than what we found within the complex….but more on them later!
Kit: 3/10
As you’d probably guess, the team nicknamed ‘The Whites’ play in an all white kit with red numbering and sponsors. It’s not often you see an all white kit and to be fair we actually thought it looked quite nice. Sadly though it was pretty plain and even the sponsor was just plain red text on the front of the shirt.
Facilities: 7/10
Within the ground there is a small building behind the goal which contains the food area. Next to this is a small area of picnic benches for you to sit and enjoy your food.
There is no bar within the ground itself but next door the cricket club bar was open and packed full of supporters before the match. In here there was a pool table as well as screens showing sky sports. The bar had a brilliant beer garden which overlooked the cricket pitch. I could imagine spending all day here in the summer watching a game with a beer in hand!
Look: 8/10
Ashby Avenue has 3 very unique and interesting stands. The main seated stand straddles the halfway line and contains 250 seats in 4 rows. We sat here for the full game and got a good view of the pitch from a decent height on the top row. The stand is well built and contains a small toilet building underneath. The only downside is your view is slightly restricted by the pillars in front of the stand so you have to choose your seat wisely to get a decent view!
Behind the far goal is the newest looking stand which is a large covered standing terrace. This is a great looking stand but wasn’t used by many fans today with a small crowd in attendance. Behind the other goal are all the club buildings including the directors room, the changing rooms and the food cabin.
Opposite the main stand is the most interesting of the 3! The older looking stand with bench seating is one the most unique stands we have come across and comes alive with some graffiti painted to the back wall. We both really liked the design of this stand, especially the fact they have incorporated the clubs logo into the artwork.
Food and Drink: 6.5/10
Before the game we headed straight for the food and both went for a double cheeseburger. They did the job filling us both up nicely but at £4 each they were on the more expensive side and we would have loved some fried onions to give it some extra flavour. That said though we both wouldn’t say no to having another one if we return to the ground again in the future!
After demolishing our burgers we headed back out of the ground to the bar. Once inside Emma’s eyes lit up as they had Dark Fruits on tap! A really good selection of other drinks were available in here too.
TOTAL SCORE: 30.5/50
We both really enjoyed our trip to Ashby Avenue. With it being less than a 30 minute drive from us it’s one we probably should have got to sooner but we were glad to finally tick it off! We couldn’t have picked a much better time to visit them as the home side put on a brilliant display especially in the second half. They end up a good kit design away from one of our best scores so far!
We really liked the set up and the uniqueness of the 3 stands in the ground. All this together with the great bar and the fact Emma works in Lincoln itself makes me sure that we will be back here quite often going forward as it’s an easy ground to get to midweek. Lets hope The Whites continue their good form and can climb up the league.
If you would like to see where this places Lincoln United in our Non League Leaderboard click here: NON LEAGUE
If you’d like to see the football league grounds we have visited click here: The 92
Emma’s Ground Guide 