It was another disappointing result for the Imps at Sincil Bank on Saturday, January 12th as they suffered their third defeat of 2013, just three games into the calendar year.
Looking to get the crowd behind them at their first home game of the year, the Imps came out all fired up and raring to go.
The early few minutes of the game made it look like the game could go either way. It started scrappy, with the game being played mostly in midfield. However, after the 20 minute mark, Newport began to assert their dominance.
After a good spell of possession, 22 minutes in, Newport centre forward O’Connor took a gamble with a 20 yard shot. It inched past Farman’s right hand side and crept in, making many of the crowd question his ability.
However, the blame was soon pinned to the defence, more specifically right-back Robson, as he made two mistakes in quick succession, leading to two Newport goals. The first gave O’Connor his second of the game as he ran through the defence from the halfway line and slotted the ball past Lincoln’s number one.
Just three minutes later, Willmott capitalised from Robson’s error after a ball over the top of the Imps’ defence was left by Robson, allowing the winger to run in and fire past Farman’s left.
Lincoln managed to grab one back just before half time, following some great play by Taylor and Power on the right hand side, crossing in for Oliver to head home.
This joy was short lived however, as Willmott bagged another goal in stoppage time, restoring Newport’s three goal advantage and making the score 4-1 to Newport at the break.
After the restart, Lincoln took the game by the scruff of the neck and applied heavy pressure in the first ten minutes. With numerous attempts on goal, forcing a couple of saves from Julian, including new signing Chris Bush hitting the crossbar.
It was Bush who scored Lincoln’s second goal, marking his home debut in a memorable way, and giving the Imps a hope of a comeback.
However, the game then faded to nothing, with Newport applying next to no pressure and Lincoln pushing forward, but no chances at goal being created. However, there were a couple of yellow cards for Power and Oliver for seemingly harmless fouls.
With five minutes of stoppage time added on, Lincoln were pushing hard for another goal to try and get back into the game.
It was the referee who took the limelight though, taking two minutes to talk to Chris Bush, Alan Power, Jake Sheridan and an innocent ball boy about the use of towels for drying the ball. This enraged fans as they felt they were having their time to score wrongly taken away from them.
It ended Lincoln City 2-4 Newport County. The Imps will continue their league campaign at home to Wrexham on January 20th.
Player ratings
Farman – 3
Definitely not the keeper’s best game for the Imps.
Robson – 3
Some big defensive errors cost the Imps today.
Miller – 4
A distinctly average game for the centre half.
Boyce – 4
Taken off at half time, due to his under-par performance.
Bush – 6
The home debutant had a good game for the Imps, capping it nicely with a goal.
Jake Sheridan – 5
An unusually quiet game from the winger, and lacked conviction on the ball.
Gray – 5
Another average performance from the midfielder.
Power – 6
One of Lincoln’s better players on the day, but below his best.
Larkin – 6
A quiet game for the wide-man, but was good on the ball.
Taylor – 5
Another quiet performance, but looked promising when in posession.
Oliver – 5
An under par game for the big centre forward, but took his goal well.
Subs:
Nicolau – 6
A good game for the youngster when he came on.
Robinson – 7
The Linc Sport’s Man of the Match. Put in a very lively performance when he came on.