Barnet's opponents on Saturday are Lincoln City. The Bees have not won at Sincel Bank since the 1994/95 season. The two clubs have met before on a number of occasions in the Football League, but they first met when the two clubs were in the GM Vauxhall Conference following Lincoln City's relegation from Division 4 in 1987.
Barnet won 4-2 at Underhill with a hat trick from Dave Sansom and one goal for Nicky Evans. The return, at Sincel Bank, ended 2-1 to Lincoln with Kevin Millett scoring for the Bees. At the end of the season, Lincoln pipped Barnet to the title and returned to the Football League. For a more detailed look at this season and the rivalry between Lincoln and Barnet during the season, see the Barnet Mad archive article on the 1987-88 GM Vauxhall Conference season.
The clubs next met in season 1991/92, following Barnet's promotion from the Conference the previous season. Barnet did the double over the Imps, winning 6-0 at Sincel Bank, Nicky Evans, Roger Willis and Frank Murphy scoring once, Gary Bull twice with the other goal, an own goal. A Gary Bull goal was enough for Barnet to win 1-0 when the two clubs met at Underhill.
The following season, 1992/93, Lincoln won 4-1 at Sincel Bank, with Derek Payne scoring for Barnet, while the match at Underhill ended 1-1 with Mick Bodley scoring for the Bees. At the end of the season, Barnet were promoted to the, now renamed, Division 2, but were relegated back to Division 3 after just one season.
In 1994/95, meetings between the two clubs resumed and Barnet, once more, did the double over Lincoln, winning both matches 2-1 with Dougie Freedman and Mark Cooper scoring at Lincoln and Freedman and Paul Wilson scoring at Underhill. The following season, 1995/96, saw Barnet do the double over Lincoln again, winning 3-1 at Underhill, Freedman scoring twice and Cooper scoring once and winning 2-1 at Sincel bank, Sean Devine scoring both the Barnet goals.
Both matches in the 1996/97 season were won 1-0 by the home side, Jamie Ndah scoring the Barnet winner at Underhill. In 1997/98, the match at Underhill finished goalless, while Lincoln won 2-0 at Sincel Bank. Lincoln were promoted at the end of the season.
Lincoln were relegated back to Division 3 after just one season and the two clubs met again in season, 1999/00. The match at Sincel Bank ended goalless, while Barnet won 5-3 at Underhill, the Bees' goals coming from Robbie Sawyers, Warren Hackett, John Doolan, Ken Charlery and an own goal.
In 2000/01, Barnet won an amazing match at Underhill 4-3 after having been 3-0 down at one point. Barnet's goals came from Stuart Niven, Warren Goodhind, Tony Richards and Omar Riza. For a more detailed account of this match, see the Classic Encounter article on Lincoln City on the Barnet Mad website.
The following April, Lincoln won 2-1 at Sincel Bank with Barnet in freefall and on their way to relegation to the Conference at the end of the season. John Doolan score the Bees' goals.
The two clubs didn't meet again until Barnet returned to the league in 2005 after winning the Nationwide Conference. The league's fourth tier was now named League Two. Lincoln did the double over Barnet for the first time in 2005/06, winning 4-1 at Sincel Bank, Giuliano Grazioli scoring for Barnet and coming back from 2-0 down at Underhill to win 3-2. Ben Strevens and Tresor Kandol scored for the Bees.
The following season, 2006/07, Lincoln did the double over Barnet again, hammering the Bees 5-0 at Underhill and then winning 1-0 at Sincel Bank. In 2007/08, Lincoln beat Barnet for the sixth time in succession, winning 4-1 at Sincel Bank, Adam Birchall scoring for the Bees. In March 2008, Barnet beat Lincoln for the first time since returning to the football league, winning 5-2 at Underhill, Adam Birchall scoring twice and Albert Adomah, Anthony Thomas and Max Porter scoring one apiece.
In 2008/09, Barnet lost 2-0 at Sincel Bank, their fifth successive defeat away at Lincoln. However, Barnet won 3-2 at Underhill thanks to a late John O'Flynn goal, his second in the match. The other Bees' goal came from Albert Adomah.
Last season, the two clubs met at Sincil Bank on the opening day of the 2009/10 season with the Imps winning 1-0. In the match at Underhill, Barnet lost to a last minute goal as the Imps ran out 2-1 winners. Ismail Yakubu scored for the Bees.
