City ended a dismal run of home performances with a fantastic win over second placed Hull City in a hard fought encounter at Sincil Bank.
The game kicked off following manager Keith Alexander signing his new contract on the pitch. No doubt the 5,000 Imps fans in the stadium were relieved to finally see the gaffer put pen to paper. It remained only for his 11 players to match his commitment to the club.
The early exchanges were frantic. The first real chance fell to Imps midfielder Peter Gain. The lively looking Gain produced a left foot drive that Boz Myhill did well to turn away in the Hull goal. The resultant corner was headed clear by Joseph.
Hull bounded straight up field, with Elliott firing a shot across the face of Alan Marriott’s goal. The keeper looked stranded but luckily the ball flew wide.
The Hull defence was breached in the 18 minute. A long throw in by Paul Mayo evaded the whole of the Hull defence, and the surging City forwards. Myhill misjudged the bounce of the ball and it crept into the net. However referee Steve Tomlin ruled that nobody had touched the ball…. And he was spot on.
Myhill was almost beaten on 32 minutes. A poor clearance by the Ex Aston Villa keeper found Ben Sedgemore. The midfielder launched a chance at goal, but Myhill saved a little too easily as the ball was low and poorly struck.
Just before half time Junior Lewis, on loan from Leicester City, almost created the chance that opened the scoring. His ball found the bustling Ben Burgess who turned and shot from 13 yards. Mazza was beaten but the crossbar spared the Imps. The strikers effort bounced clear of the advancing Hull forwards ensuring the Imps went in level at the break.
The second half started brightly for City. A Paul Mayo corner was headed goal wards by Ben Futcher, but the towering centre backs header was deflected wide by Myhill.
Following this brief scare Hull began to creep back into the game. In fairness to the Tigers they were looking good, head and shoulders above any opposition to grace Sincil Bank this season. A delightful blend of individual brilliance and slick passing moves often had City tied in knots and led to Hull possession for five minutes at a time. It seemed only a matter of time before Peter Taylor’s side took the lead.
Ben Burgess sent a venomous drive goal wards from the edge of the area on 50 minutes which grazed the top of Alan Marriott’s goal. Burgess was looking a real threat, and only the excellent attentions of Weaver, Morgan and Futcher were preventing him from opening his account for the afternoon.
Hull took control of the game for fifteen minutes, and should have had the lead on the hour mark. Stuart Elliott broke down the right and fired in a precision cross for both Burgess and Jon Walters to get a head on. Both players missed the ball with the goal gaping open, and it was shepherded to safety by Futcher.
Jason Price came on for the visitors and Matt Bloomer for the home side. Both were to make important contributions in their first touches.
Prices cross found Ben Burgess on the back post. The forward composed himself and struck a powerful shot that seemed destined for the back of the net. Only a superb block by Bloomer prevented Hull from taking what would have been a deserved lead.
Jamie Forrester squandered a great effort after coming on as a sub for Walters. His header dipped delicately over the bar. Minutes later Jason Prices clever pass found Forrester and only a brilliant stop from Marriott stopped the ex Leeds player putting Hull ahead.
Lincoln were beginning to match Hull, and 12 minutes from time their toil was rewarded. A long throw from the right was flicked on into the six-yard area. The defence only half cleared it, and it dropped at shoulder height for the City maestro Peter Gain. His acrobatic leap and overhead volley seemed destined to produce a wildly high shot, but as usual the midfielder pulled something special from his repertoire. He caught the ball sweeter than a Mars Bar and beat Myhill from 13 yards. 1-0 to the home side, and the face of the game changed altogether.
Stuart Green danced through the Imps defence in search of an equaliser, but once he found the space to shoot from 10 yards the angle had been narrowed by the excellent Marriott. It still remained for the keeper to make the save, and he duly obliged pulling off yet another great stop with just one hand. Marriott had lived up to his billing as divisions threes best keeper once again.
The Imps were buzzing with a majority of the 7,000 crowd behind them now. A few Tigers fans had already departed when a clever flick with the outside of Peter Gains booted found sub Richard Liburd rampaging down the right. Liburd timed his run to perfection, and waited before firing a low hard ball across the face of the goal. Had Myhill got a touch he would simply have pushed it to the feet of Gary Fletcher. However he didn’t, and Paul Mayo was on hand to register his eighth goal of the season from just 2 yards. The full backs delight was hard to hide as he whipped off his shirt and ran the length of the pitch celebrating.
There was precious little else to do but simply play out the remaining eight minutes. By the time Steve Tomlin blew his whistle the result had been certain for a while.
The 2-0 win saw the Imps remain in 8th place, but still in touch with the top seven.