Lincoln City continued their unbeaten home record in the league this season, drawing against relegation-threatened MK Dons 1:1.
Mark Kennedy made 2 changes to his Lincoln side that drew with Forest Green at the weekend, with Danny Mandroiu replacing Mide Shodipo, and Luke Plange returning to the starting 11 in place of Ben House.
Kick Off:
The Imps opened the scoring within the first five minutes of the game. After an even start, the home team broke with Jack Diamond, who took the ball to the edge of MK Dons’ 18-yard box before rolling it to Danny Mandroiu, whose thunderous effort curled into the top right corner.
After the 30-minute mark, MK Dons had done very little getting forward. Lincoln allowed the away side to play their football in their own half, but as soon as any opportunity for attack was attempted, the Imps would use a quick press to close-down any oncoming attacker, succeeding in doing so.
Half Time: Lincoln City 1: 0 MK Dons.
MK Dons could do very little to get past Lincoln in the first 45. Despite 71% of the possession, they could not find themselves a shot to test Carl Rushworth. Lincoln kept their defensive shape throughout the half, stopping any threat of the nervous Dons.
Mandroiu’s world-class effort within the first five minutes was more than enough to keep Lincoln on the road to winning their first game in three.
Second Half:
The second half was no different to the first. Lincoln came out with a lot more of the possession, but couldn’t really create much. The Imps would use their press to maintain the ball again, killing the game off and any of MK Dons’ attempts to find an equaliser.
MK Dons found their first shot of the game just before the hour mark, with it being their biggest opportunity. Leko drove to the bi-line before playing a clipped ball into the box. Mo Eisa got to the ball first, but his header was cleared off the line by Paudie O’Connor, this gave Lincoln more of an incentive to find their second goal.
Harry Boyes had a golden opportunity for Lincoln. A crossed ball in by Lasse Sorensen fell to Boyes, who’s touch was not good enough for a finish. The touch from his chest needed to be cleared off the line by the MK defence to keep the scoreline at 1:0.
The Dons responded at the other end, as Leko played a ball back into the box, with an audacious flick by Will Grigg needing a strong hand by Rushworth to keep the Imps in front.
MK Dons started to show more of a threat after these two quick efforts. A free kick from a dangerous position was taken by Leko, who’s effort did enough to worry the Lincoln goalkeeper, hitting the roof of the net and giving Lincoln the opportunity to reset.
Danny Mandroiu took a speculative effort 20 yards out, which was deflected onto the post and away for the corner. The Irishman has been given a lot of space in that area for the whole game, which proved costly for MK Dons, and almost did again with just under five minutes of play left.
MK Dons equalised just before the 90-minute mark. A corner was flicked on at the near post by Paris Maghoma, which deflected off Mandroiu and looped over Carl Rushworth and into the back of the net. What looked a certain win for Lincoln City all changed in the dying minutes, meaning the run of recent draws continued.
Full Time: Lincoln City 1:1 MK Dons
Lincoln City’s consecutive run of draws continued, making it four in a row now. This draw keeps Lincoln 14th in the league, with a game in hand on teams around them. Next up for the Imps is another home game, this time to Oxford United.