Lincoln City suffered a disappointing FA Cup exit as they fell to League Two side Hartlepool United at the LNER Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the day, City had been on a four-game winless run, having scored only one goal during that span.
Michael Appleton who was celebrating his 46th birthday, made four changes compared to City’s EFL Trophy defeat during the week at Carlisle United. Most notably, Sam Long who came up in the Lincoln academy started in goal for the home side.
Early in the game, City tried to establish possession, but allowed a slip-up, when six minutes in Hartlepool were able to break into the Imps‘ box for the first time. Fortunately for Lincoln, Matt Daly was unable to convert the cross and missed wide to the left.
After a ltentative phase the home side gained more control and managed to apply more pressure on the visitors. However, a series of three consecutive corners failed to result in any shots on target.
For a spell that lasted around 15 minutes, Appleton‘s men created multiple high-level opportunities. First, it was Lewis Fiorini‘s shot from outside the box that nearly got the 5,506 fans at LNER Stadium celebrating for the first time.
Then, in close succession, Hartlepool‘s Ben Killip had to save a great effort by Hakeeb Adelakun from well inside the box and just a minute after that Dan Ndundulu sent a beautiful attempt just slightly over the net.
Photo Credit – Yannick Stay
The Lincoln defence remained mostly unchallenged for the rest of the half, except for one time when Mark Shelton got a wide-open look from about 18 yards out. His rather lacklustre attempt, though, was easily caught by Sam Long.
The final minutes of the first half failed to offer a whole lot of spectacle as both teams were committed to not making any mistakes that would prove costly in an affair that saw no bookings in the first 45 minutes. As a result, former Premier League referee Robert Madley blew the whistle almost exactly with the end of regulation.
HALF-TIME Lincoln City 0-0 Hartlepool United
Both teams entered the second half without any changes. Then in the 51st minute the Imps were left stunned after a brilliantly executed attack resulted in Mark Shelton firing a cross into the centre where it hit Fiorini who diverted the ball unluckily into his own net. Lincoln City 0 – 1 Hartlepool United.
City tried to swiftly offer a reply but couldn‘t break through the Hartlepool defence. Only one time Chris Maguire was able to march into the visitor‘s box along the wing but he was denied by Killip.
Subsequently, Lincoln were able to control possession but sparked nothing threatening, always at risk of potentially conceding again at the hands of a quick counterattack.
The Imps showed a little bit of a pulse, when substitute Max Sanders took advantage of an unfocused Hartlepool defence but his shot from far out didn‘t pose much of a challenge for Killip.
Michael Appleton made another change with 16 minutes left when Cohen Bramall came on for Jamie Robson.
In the waning minutes, City pushed United deep into their own end but didn‘t appear forceful enough in the final third, allowing the visitors to rescue the lead over the finish line and advance to the third round of the FA Cup. FULL TIME Lincoln City 0-1 Hartlepool United
Lincoln City‘s League One campaign continues next Tuesday when they face Crewe Alexandra away, hopeful to finally end their now five-game winless run across all competitions.