– Bronwyn Harding contributed to this report.
The Imps continued their run of draws at home with a tense 3-3 scoreline at The 12th Imp Sincil Bank Stadium against Stockport County.
The first half kicked off with shots coming thick and fast from both teams. Within minutes, Jamie Taylor’s nifty shot was blocked by Sean Newton then, nine minutes in, there was a scary moment for Lincoln when a shot from Craig Hobson skimmed just over the bar.
An effort from Tuesday’s scorer, Jake Sheridan forced opposing goalkeeper, Ian Ormson to go forward to meet him. Luckily for Ormson, the shot was deflected off his back.
Lincoln were extremely lively and the fans in the Stacey West were very vocal, owning the game early on, with Lincoln enjoying the majority of the play.
A couple of chances arose for the visitors with Alex Kenyon narrowly missing the goal by inches and also forcing Paul Farman to go full stretch.
A tidy Sheridan cross to a poorly marked Taylor saw the Imps take the lead, as he headed the ball neatly into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
The Stockport County fans took this opportunity to get a bit rowdy, as they clashed with stewards in the away end.
Stockport’s Paul Turnbull took a shot towards the goal as they looked for an equaliser, which was deflected and only just missed the goal.
37 minutes in, Jamie Taylor was fouled just outside the penalty box. The resulting free-kick saw Power’s shot deflecting off the wall.
Stockport made two changes at the break, with Joe Connor coming on to replace Andy Halls and Tom Collins replacing Sam Sheridan.
It didn’t take long for Stockport to get back into the game as Jordan Fagbola scored after a fumble with Farman and his defenders, making it 1-1. There was speculation as to whether the goal was allowed, with the linesman calling it disallowed, though the referee overruled the decision and allowed it.
55 minutes in, Ormson fouled Power in the penalty box and a penalty was given. Oddly, no red card was shown to Ormson, on a fairly indisputable foul. Power took the resulting penalty which went high over the goal, completely missing the target.
Then, in a matter of minutes, Hobson scored for Stockport and Lincoln quickly responded with John Nutter scoring an equaliser to make it 2-2.
Lincoln made a couple of substitutions with Larkin coming on to replace Robson, and Oliver taking the place of Adam Smith.
Shortly after, a fight broke out between Paul Turnbull and Sheridan, which resulted in both of them receiving yellow cards from the referee, John Hopkins.
75 minutes in, a goal from Paul Turnbull brought the score to 3-2 to Stockport and set the game up for a tense ending.
Tempers were fraught and another fight broke out in front of the dugouts, this time between Oliver and Mainwearing. As a result, both players were booked.
Lincoln City made a substitution late on, with Nicky Nicolau being brought on to replace the ailing Sheridan.
With only a few minutes left, it looked like it would be another home defeat for the Imps, but Jamie Taylor scored an equalizer in the remaining few moments. The noise in the stadium was crazy, as a very tense and exciting second half came to a close. The final score was Lincoln City 3-3 Stockport County.
Player ratings
Paul Farman – 7
Saved some tricky shots and tried his best to stop the allowed goal.
Paul Robson – 7
Not great in the first half, but came out great defensively in the
second half. Received a huge applause when he left the pitch.
Andrew Boyce – 7
Got in the way of Stockport in some very difficult situations.
Gary Miller – 8
Great defensive action.
John Nutter – 7
Dealt with some very tricky attacking formations and grabbed a goal.
Daniel Gray – 8
Played some very clever moves on Stockport and supported the attack well.
Mo Fofana – 7
Always was in the middle of the action and put in a dynamic display.
Adam Smith – 8
Was very enthusiastic and had a number of shots on goal which tested the opposing keeper.
Jake Sheridan – 8
Played some very good balls into the box and generally put in a strong shift.
Alan Power – 6
Was good, although missed a penalty.
Jamie Taylor – 9
The Linc Sport’s Man of the Match award. Scored 2 crucial goals and put in a fantastic performance.