Danny Mandroiu starred as three second-half goals meant Lincoln City gathered their first points of the new season, at the expense of a Wycombe Wanderers side that was blown away after the break. Despite a slow and toothless first-half from both teams, the LNER Stadium was brought alive by goals from Recco Hackett, Ted Bishop and the star-man Mandroiu, as the Imps took all three points.
Heading into this one, Lincoln had lost their league opener 3-0, to Bolton Wanderers, and won their midweek Carabao Cup fixture against Notts County 2-0. In their first home game of the 2023/24 season, Wycombe Wanderers arrived off the back of the same results, a disappointing league loss and Tuesday night cup win.
The Imps line-up saw plenty of the summer signings, with Lukas Jensen, Jaden Brown, Ethan Hamilton and Recco Hackett all making their home competitive debuts. However, there was no place in the starting 11 for the returning Tyler Walker, who found himself on the bench. Former Imp Harry Boyes had a spot on the Wycombe bench.
The Chairboys have been somewhat of a bogey-side for Lincoln over recent seasons, as the Imps have only beaten Wycombe once in their last nine meetings. City’s second-half display put to bed any concerns about that.
First-Half
All things considered it was an even first-half, in which Lincoln City took 20 minutes to get into the game. From that point the home side looked more threatening, but Wycombe Wanderers still posed a threat.
Goalkeeper Lukas Jensen was called into action within the first five minutes, as he expertly stopped a close-range effort from Wycombe captain Jack Grimmer. Luke Leahy was lively for the Chair Boys, going close with a header and blazing over the bar with an audacious volley before Lincoln even got into the game.
The crowd were at their loudest in the first half when a foul was called against Jaden Brown was called by referee Adam Herczeg half way through the opening period.
It was at this point that the Imps showed their first signs of attacking promise. Jaden Brown whipped in an enticing cross that Lasse Soresen clicked just over the bar on the volley.
Lincoln kept good possession of the ball, but struggled to break down the Wycombe back-line for much of the half. Their best work came down the left-side with former Sheffield Wednesday man Jaden Brown showing promise and linking well with Danny Mandroiu.
As the half wound to a close, Chris Forino had the ball in the back of the net for the visitors. He met a Luke Leahy free kick with a glancing header that went in off the post. However, the referee judged a foul just before Forino met the ball, so the Wycombe celebrations were very short lived.
The half was limited in attacking threat, the early Jack Grimmer effort being the only shot on target from either side. In a fixture that finished 0-0 last season, the first half showed no signs of coming up with a different result this time around.
Second-Half
The second-half started in brighter fashion, with Wycombe Wanderers back on the front foot. The Chairboys went close as Sam Vokes had a shot from outside the box deflected over the bar.
Lincoln City came back into the game, quicker than they did in the first-half, as the ever-lively Danny Mandroiu curled an effort over the bar. Recco Hackett rolled an effort into the hands of Max Stryjek and Jaden Brown headed wide of the post as Lincoln accelerated before the 60 minute mark.
Their hard work was rewarded as Wycombe struggled to clear a lengthy Imps attack before summer signing Recco Hackett netted his first Lincoln goal, slotting home a perfect Mandroiu cross.
The returning Tyler Walker was given a heroes welcome as he returned to the LNER Stadium, being substituted on just before the deadlock was broken.
On the 73rd minute second-half substitute Ted Bishop added a second, moving into the box undetected by the Chairboys’ defence to poke home another great Mandroiu cross. Wycombe seemed to collapse after the break, relenting to the pressure Lincoln began to pile on their defence.
Bishop almost added his second goal minutes later as he rushed onto a Tyler Walker flick on only to be denied by the goalkeeper.
Then, Mandroiu almost curled in a beautiful free kick before he scored the goal he deserved, finishing off some great play down the left side. It was no surprise that the winger picked up the man of the match award, after a superb performance
Walker looked to add the cherry on top of the cake when he had the ball in the back of the net as the clock hit 90 minutes, but the linesman’s flag prohibited a fairytale return.
Wycombe were in danger of a drubbing as Lincoln controlled the game heading into nine minutes of injury time. The home side were relentless with their pressure in relentless attacks. Late substitute Dylan Duffy forced low saves out of Stryjek on multiple occasions before the referee eventually put the visitors out of their misery.
Lincoln City 3-0 Wycombe Wanderers
Following a tame first-half, Lincoln City exploded after the break, sharing around three great goals. The Imps were dominant throughout the second-half, producing attack after attack and punishing the Wycombe Wanderers goal. Danny Mandroiu was out-standing, pulling the strings in a stunning attacking display.
It was the response Head Coach Mark Kennedy would’ve been hoping for after the heavy loss at Bolton on the opening weekend. His troops responded well to his half-time message, coming out a totally different beast in the attacking third.
After the game Mark Kennedy said: “It’s really important to win early. It’s nice to get a clean sheet. The biggest thing I’m pleased about is that our goal difference is back to zero.” He added, “It’s good that we won in front of our home fans and in the style we won.”
Lincoln City head to Northampton Town on Tuesday night, looking to continue the form their showed in the second-half.