Like a sprinter quick out of the blocks, Port Vale stunned Lincoln on Tuesday night, scoring two goals in the first three minutes and going on to destroy Chris Sutton’s team 4-0.
It was a torrid start to the game for the Imps, who conceded just 20 seconds into the match- Ian Pearce managing to put the ball into his own net.
And just two minutes later the Imps, without defensive rock Adam Watts who has a broken leg, fell further behind. Robert Taylor’s strike was his seventh of the season and meant that with just 150 seconds on the clock, Lincoln faced an uphill battle to leave with any points.
That tiny sparkle of hope was extinguished after 15 minutes when Port Vale striker Craig Davies, on loan from Oldham Athletic, gave them an almost unassailable 3-0 lead.
Lincoln were staggered by Vale’s electric start to the game, which was perhaps inspired by criticism after the home team’s assistant manager Geoff Horsfield accused the players of being ‘cowards’ after their 2-0 defeat to Barnet at the weekend.
And the Imps, despite having plenty of possession, went further behind in the second half. John McCombe, brother of ex-Imps centre back Jamie, rounded off a convincing victory for the Staffordshire team, who had lost their last two home games.
The Imps have now picked up just two points from their last six away games, and will look to bounce back against Crewe at Sincil Bank on Saturday.
In the meantime, the gap between Sutton’s side and the relegation zone has been cut to nine points after Grimsby Town picked up a point at home to Macclesfield Town.