Lincoln City lost at home to Burton Albion after a Danny Mandroiu red card meant the Imps played most of the second-half with 10-men.
Shortly after the red-card, Jack Burroughs got the unfortunate final touch on a Joe Powell corner, meaning the visitors took the lead.
Lincoln were hoping to right their wrongs from last season and beat one of only two teams to do the double over them and leave the LNER Stadium with three-points.
The Imps came into the game with momentum from a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers U21’s in the EFL Trophy and would’ve been pleased to see Lasse Sorensen return to the line-up after a short period sidelined with a hamstring strain.
The Imps would record back-to-back wins for the first time since August with a victory over Burton.
The visitors came into the game off the back of good form, as they’re unbeaten in their last six games. However, they’ve lacked a consistent goal threat, scoring only 10 goals in their 12 league games so far this season.
First-Half:
The game started in very scrappy fashion, with both sides struggling to retain possession early on. The first chance of note came just after the 10th minute when Burton forward Beryly Lubala played a neat one-two and forced a strong save from Lukas Jensen.
Lincoln City’s first effort didn’t come until after 20 minutes, as Danny Mandroiu curled a free-kick on target and gave Max Crocombe catching practice in the Burton Albion goal.
The Irish winger changed his boots early on in the half, but still managed to slip at the edge of the box as he tried to convert a low Lasse Sorensen cross into an opening goal.
The Brewers were wasteful in possession throughout the half as the chances began to grow for Mark Kennedy’s side. A lively Ted Bishop shot over the bar on the half hour mark. A deflected Mandroiu effort brought a Crocombe save and Jack Burroughs found space at the back post and almost gave Lincoln the lead as the half came to a close.
Burton had chances of their own, as the half became gradually more open. Mason Bennett cut inside from the right-wing and shot wide in the Brewers best opportunity of the half.
Dino Maamria’s side sat back for most of the half, absorbing Lincoln pressure with seeming ease, however they showed some threat on the counter-attack.
Second-Half:
Burton Albion began the second-half on top, creating an early chance as Lubala crossed the ball to the back-post. It was headed back across goal, but evaded a finishing touch.
Josh Gordon forced a smart save out of the Danish Jensen as he aimed a shot to the far-post.
However, the game took its decisive turn in the 55th minute when Mandroiu was sent off for a rash, two-footed challenge on Gordon.
Less than five minutes later the deadlock was broken. It was no surprise which team scored the goal, but the way it came was a surprise. Joe Powell whipped in a corner, which found its way into the goal from a Jack Burrough’s deflection.
Both teams made changes on the other side of the hour mark, as 10-men Lincoln pushed for an unlikely equaliser. Mark Kennedy brought on Hakeeb Adelakun, Dylan Duffy, Alistair Smith and Sean Roughan.
The Imps piled on the pressure, but struggled to create the chance that could secure them a point.
In the final ten minutes, Lasse Sorensen curled a free-kick over the bar, failing to notch his fourth goal of the season, in what turned out to be Lincoln’s only effort of note after the red card.
Play was momentarily stopped in the 87th minute as a fan in the GMB Stand received medical assistance. The game resumed a couple minutes later with the fourth official signalling a minimum of eight minutes of injury time.
The Brewers almost finished the game off in stoppage time as Lubala should’ve put the ball into the back of the net after receiving a nice ball from Deji Oshilaja. But, his shot rolled the wrong side of the post.
Lincoln City 0-1 Burton Albion
Burton Albion extended their unbeaten run to seven games as Lincoln City were made to pay for Danny Mandroiu’s second-half red card.
Lincoln were the better side in the first-half, but watched the visitors control the game after the break, as they failed to find an equaliser after going down to 10-men.
The loss meant Mark Kennedy’s side suffered their first league loss at home this season, doing so against a side that left the LNER Stadium with three points last term.