Lacklustre Lincoln City beaten by Gillingham in third successive defeat

Goals from Vadaine Oliver and Ben Thompson saw Lincoln lose 2-0 to relegation rivals Gillingham in a poor display.

Lincoln were aiming to get back to winning ways in a relegation six pointer with their opponents sat in 23^rd place prior to this afternoons action.

The sides shared the points in the previous encounter on the opening day of the season in a 1-1 draw.

Michael Appleton made two changes from the 3-1 defeat at Bolton, most notably the return of Tom Hopper from injury and also Joe Walsh from suspension.

Kick-Off

The hosts started quickly and the returning Tom Hopper found himself in space in the box 2 minutes in but saw his effort blocked.

It was the hosts however who very nearly took the lead on 11 minutes. Good work from Daniel Phillips to find Olly Lee who placed his shot past Josh Griffiths, but Chris Maguire came to the rescue to block on the line after tracking back well.

In the same phase of play after nearly putting his side in front Lee found himself in referee Ross Joyce’s book for a late challenge.

The Gillingham pressure continued and after 19 minutes Robbie McKenzie struck the post with a powerful volley from just inside the box. 20 minutes of football played and Neil Harris’ side could have been two goals ahead.

A goalmouth scramble could have seen The Imps take the lead but a combination of Marquis and Maguire couldn’t prod home.

Both sides struggled to create any real chances throughout the rest of the half, but promising signs were shown from Brooke Norton Cuffy taking on his man, but his crosses were not being converted.

Referee Ross Joyce was called into action again three minutes before the interval showing Ted Bishop a yellow card for a heavy challenge on Daniel Phillips with the Gills players and fans perhaps wanting more punishment.

The away side went into the half time break the happier, perhaps believing they should have been ahead.

HALF TIME: LINCOLN CITY 0-0 GILLINGHAM

Lincoln got the second half underway knowing they would have to create more chances than they managed in the first half if they were to get their first win since February 8^th.

Both sides knew the importance of the fixture in their fights for League One survival and the first ten minutes were scrappy.

On 55 minutes the home side thought they were ahead. Chris Maguire’s speculative strike from 25 yards out squirmed through the grasp of Chapman and appeared to cross the line. Despite the celebrations from players and fans, Ross Joyce and his linesman judged that the ball had not crossed the line.

This spurred Appleton’s side on, and they were starting to control the play and create more openings, but it continued to be more half chances than genuine efforts to test Aaron Chapman in the Gillingham goal.

In an attempt to gain all three points, Appleton looked to his bench and brought on Morgan Whittaker for Tom Hopper with 20 minutes remaining.

Ross Joyce again had to produce a card on 73 minutes when right back Ryan Jackson dragged down Marquis as he looked to break on the counterattack.

The deadlock was finally broken 15 minutes from time when Vadaine Oliver directed his header past Josh Griffiths from Ben Thompson’s looping cross to the delight of the 362 travelling Gillingham fans. LINCOLN CITY 0-1 GILLINGHAM.

Knowing that a loss today would drag their side further into the relegation battle, Lincoln fans were starting to get restless as the minutes ticked away.

The hosts had a chance to earn a point after good work from Cohen Bramall to find a cross to Whittaker, but the substitute lacked calmness and sliced his effort.

Lincoln were made to pay for that miss on 90 minutes when Ben Thompson sealed the three points for his side. A superb 25-yard strike flew past Griffiths into the bottom corner. LINCOLN CITY 0-2 GILLINGHAM.

The Kent side held on through the final five minutes in what is a huge win for them, and a huge loss for Lincoln.

FULL TIME LINCOLN CITY 0-2 GILLINGHAM

Michael Appleton’s side welcome promotion chasing Sheffield Wednesday to the LNER next Saturday in another must win game.