Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) were triumphant in a four-goal thriller Cathedral Cup match at Sincil Bank last night.
BGU took the lead after just 10 minutes through a Sean James strike, and doubled their lead less than a minute into the second period via Harry Ginniff.
But Jake Sutton got one back for the University of Lincoln (UOL) with 20 minutes to go, before Ben Brown sealed their fate late on to make it 1-1 in Cathedral Cups.
And it was BGU, who dominated in possession from the start, with winger Brown and centre-forward Ginniff both testing UOL goalkeeper Pat Richardson in the first couple of minutes of the game.
And they got their breakthrough in the 10th minute as winger Sean James’s 30-yard-strike lobbed Richardson to make it 1-0 to BGU, who had also gone one up in February’s Cathedral Cup clash before going on to lose 6-1 that day.
BGU continued to play good, passing football through the first-half with captain Phil Nicholson, who was sent off in the tie earlier in the year, breaking up the play in his defensive-midfield role and initiating attacks for his side.
Striker George Rees-Jones and left-back Baxter Smith both hit an audacious long-range effort each towards the end of the first-half as UOL, dressed in all red with white sleeves on their shirts and white vertical dashes down the sides of their shorts, searched for a way back into the game but it remained 1-0 to BGU at half-time.
And BGU got their second in the 46th minute as they drove towards the Stacey West stand and Brown played a neat pass through to Ginniff, who hit a powerful strike across goal to the top-left corner to give his side a two-goal cushion.
And they would have got a third less than 10 minutes later if Callum Ward’s headed effort was just a couple of inches more to the left.
Brown looked to exploit full-back Smith’s tired legs down UOL’s left as the match wore on, flicking the ball past the defender and skipping past him over and over.
BGU’s fans were appreciative of their side’s spirit and determination, as they replicated Iceland’s famous Viking chant which united the team and their support in Euro 2016.
But UOL had their first real opportunity of the second-half in the 69th minute as Helder Figueiredo found space on the left before forcing Richard Greenway to parry it out for a corner. And UOL capitalised on the opportunity as Sutton volleyed the ball home in the middle of a goal-line scramble to make it 2-1 and give his team the chance of getting back to level terms.
But BGU seemed to expect UOL to attack them more and so they dropped deeper, putting more of a focus on defending and attempting to catch their opponents on the counter through their front three of Brown, Ginniff, and Luke Hornsey.
Although their winner came in a much classier way than that as Brown found space on the right-wing, in front of his side’s fans, saw Richardson off his line, and side-footed the ball in the air, sending it over the ‘keeper and rippling the back of the net to make it 3-1.
Harry Ginniff was given the Man of the Match award.
After the game, Callum Ward said he felt his side used the disappointment of defeat in February to spur themselves on and get the win this time around.
He said: “I’m just glad we’ve rectified the score-line of last time.”
And Toby Hatcher said the win was the highlight of his time as a student. “That’s made my uni experience,” he said.
Skipper Phil Nicholson was quick to recognise the support his team received. “I’m so grateful for our fans, who have been amazing both years,” he said.