Lincoln United ran out 2-1 winners in a closely contested encounter with Pontefract Collieries at Ashby Avenue on Saturday afternoon.
Andy Hutchinson scored the decisive goal for the Whites midway through the second half after Paul Grimes’ goal cancelled out Mark Gray’s opener for the away side.
Lincoln went into the game looking to build on last week’s strong away victory, whilst Pontefract knew a win would take them above the home side on goal difference.
The Whites began the game brightly with Paul Grimes’ shot coming close to catching out Ryan Musselwhite in the Pontefract goal.
James Blunden then delivered a teasing cross into the Pontefract box and from the resulting corner a goalmouth scramble ensued, causing more panic in the away side’s defence. Lincoln were the team applying most of the pressure in the early exchanges.
Pontefract struggled to make a real impression in the first ten minutes, with only Eli Hey really catching the eye as an attacking threat.
However, a long throw in provided the away side with a fantastic opportunity after 15 minutes. The ball came to defender Mark Gray on the volley six yards out, fortunately for the Whites, the Pontefract man could only blaze over the crossbar.
Pontefract built from this chance and grew into the game, the direct route again proving fruitful for them minutes later. The chance went begging for the visitors as the Pontefract attacker failed to control in the box.
Lincoln were able to create a good opportunity of their own not long after. Neat interplay on the edge of the box saw captain Sean Wright in space on the right hand side of the box but the United skipper could only scoop his effort over.
With twenty minutes gone, the game was fairly well balanced with both sides creating one excellent chance each.
The next notable action saw Pontefract striker Hey completely miss his kick, wasting what was a decent chance on the edge of the box.
This all occurred as the rain began to lash down at Ashby Avenue and the game began to become less fluid as a result. The conditions representing a real challenge for both teams.
The game burst back into life as the lively Hey struck a good effort at the Lincoln goal from twenty yards out. Lincoln were able to avert the danger on the rebound as Vaughan Redford closed in.
From the resulting corner, the deadlock was broken. The ball into the box was only half cleared and a scramble in the box saw the ball eventually fall to Mark Gray and this time the centre back was able to tuck the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the Lincoln net.
Lincoln were almost able to hit back instantly with fine long range efforts from Wright and Cotton.
Lincoln did level things up minutes later with Paul Grimes tucking home from eight yards out after a clever knock down from Josh Nichol. The Whites showing great character to hit back so soon after going behind.
Lincoln built momentum from their equaliser and were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box after Grimes was scythed down by a Pontefract defender. However, the Whites couldn’t make much of the opportunity and the referee brought the first half to a close shortly afterwards.
Overall, the first half was well balanced and highly competitive with both teams enjoying periods of pressure. Lincoln held the momentum after Grimes’ equaliser late in the half and the attack which followed.
However, the very start of the second half saw Pontefract in the ascendancy. A good passing exchange gave Connor Smythe an opportunity to shoot from the left edge of the Lincoln penalty area and his shot whistled across the face of goal.
The following ten minutes saw the teams battle for control of the game with much of the game being played in midfield and not many chances being created.
The next opportunity arrived for Lincoln when skipper Wright headed over from a corner. Ryan Musselwhite took the goal kick quickly and Pontefract were able to launch a well worked counter attack which resulted in a great chance for Glyn Cotton who saw his effort smartly saved by Michael Emery.
Pontefract were left ruing this miss when Lincoln took the lead for the first time in the game. Cotton provided the chance and Andy Hutchinson made no mistake in front of goal as he finished decisively past the goalkeeper.
Pontefract were close to an instant reply through Redford whose long range strike flashed narrowly wide.
Lincoln looked to solidify their lead, Sam Wilkinson making the first substitution of the game, introducing Liam Dickens for Rob Norris in midfield. The Whites were able to assert control on the game well, restricting Pontefract to speculative long shots as the away side grew frustrated.
With fifteen minutes remaining the impressive Smythe was able to force Emery into a good save with one of these attempts and from the resulting corner Pontefract thought they were level with the ball in the Lincoln net. However referee Ben Tomlinson had spotted a foul in the box and the goal was ruled out.
This sparked the game back into life somewhat and Hutchinson went close to grabbing his second of the game for Lincoln. The Whites came even closer moments later with an effort deflecting of the goalie before being cleared off the Pontefract goal-line.
Lincoln did well to restrict Pontefract to limited opportunities in the final ten minutes as the game built to its conclusion and the referee indicates three minutes added time.
The first of these minutes saw Pontefract’s final opportunity to claim a point at Ashby Avenue. However the long distance effort flashed over and Lincoln were able to see out the final moments of the game and claim all three points.
Overall, Lincoln’s win was an extremely hard fought one with Pontefract giving a good account of themselves on the day. Lincoln will feel they just edged the second half which saw few chances for either side, with Andy Hutchinson’s clinical finish proving decisive. The win sees the Whites move up to Second in the Evo-Stik First Division East.
Next week the Whites face Stamford United and Whites manager Sam Wilkinson cited the need for Lincoln to grasp the opportunity to assert themselves as promotion contenders this season.
He said: “A club like Lincoln United aren’t in this position very often, we need to take our opportunity now.”