A sunny afternoon at the LNER Stadium led to an enthralling 1-1 draw between Lincoln City and Shrewsbury Town.
City were sat comfortably in 12th place in the league before the afternoons contest whereas the visitors were just two points off the relegation zone in 20th place.
It was a cagey first 20 minutes from both teams, the hosts pressing from the front with Dan Nlundulu forcing multiple mistakes from the Shrewsbury backline including the keeper, Marko Marosi who booted the ball out of play on several occasions in the first half.
The early Imps pressure led to a one-on-one chance for Nlundulu who nicked the ball from Pennington on the halfway line before sprinting towards goal from the halfway line with the ball and fired a well-placed shot into the bottom corner which was saved by the fingertips of Marosi.
Chances slowed down for both sides with a clear battle of the midfield being on display for the majority of the half.
At the 20 minute mark, Nlundulu continued to assert his dominance on the town backline, the French forward held of his opposition defender and managed to force a shot on target which was comfortable for Marosi.
A constant threat for Shrewsbury in the first half was George Nurse’s long throw-in which the City defenders struggled to deal with. In the 32nd minute, Nurse’s throw-in led to an unfortunate head injury for Adam Jackson who collided with a Shrewsbury defender which resulted in the centre-back being stretchered off the pitch.
Both sets of fans showed respect for the English defender as he was applauded off the pitch and replaced by fan favourite TJ Eyoma.
After a tense beginning to the game, Lincoln finally opened the deadlock in the 43rd minute. Former Manchester United defender, Regan Poole found himself in acres of space on the right-wing before putting in a pinpoint cross that met the head of the captain, Conor McGrandles who netted his third goal of the season.
The home side’s goal seemed to had woken up Shrewsbury as they spent the remainder of the second half camped inside the Lincoln half. Just 30 seconds after the opening goal, Daniel Udoh fired a strike from close range which narrowly missed the target.
The severity of Jackson’s injury led to a total of 11 minutes of added time, which set up a tense end to the first half for Michael Appleton’s side.
The side from Shropshire forced two big chances in added time, with Luke Leahy’s freekick coming the closest however they were unable to trouble Josh Griffith’s in goal who had a comfortable first half.
Half-Time: Lincoln City 1-0 Shrewsbury Town
The visitors started the second half with a point to prove, providing much more pace and intensity in comparison to their first-half performance.
After multiple long throw-ins by George Nurse in the first half, the defender’s dangerous weapon finally paid off when Like Leahy converted a powerful header in the top corner to equalize for the visitors in the 50th minute.
Steve Cotterill’s side started to dominate the second half, controlling the tempo of the play and forcing big chances. In the 56th minute, Shaun Whalley fired a venomous strike from long range which was tipped over the bar by Griffiths.
At the hour mark, it became an end to end game as City began to grow into the game. Lincoln’s bright spark up top, Nlundulu showed his skill when he beat his opposition defender with a clever nutmeg however his shot went wide of the goal.
The final chance for Lincoln City came in the 85th minute when Hakeem Adelakun found some space just outside the box before firing a curling effort into the top corner which forced Marosi into making an acrobatic save to keep the scores level.
Full-Time: Lincoln City 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
The result leaves Lincoln City in 12th place whereas the visitors, Shrewsbury Town move down to 21st place in League One.
Lincoln City now face Non-League side Bowers and Pitsea in the first round of the FA Cup on November 6.