Lincoln City move to just three points behind sixth-placed Stevenage after comfortably beating Cambridge United 6-0.
The Imps recorded their first 6-0 win since 1976 thanks to goals from Jack Moylan, Joe Taylor, TJ Eyoma, and Dylan Duffy.
The Imps looked to continue their impressive run of form, being unbeaten in their last 11 games prior to tonight’s match.
Michael Skubala made just one change to the side that emphatically beat Barnsley on Saturday, with Freddie Draper being replaced by an in-form Moylan, who scored twice at the weekend.
Garry Monk came into the game trying to overturn a recent poor spell, with their last win coming against bottom-side Carlisle United mid-February.
First-Half:
Lincoln City scored within the first three minutes. Lasse Sorensen burst into the Cambridge penalty area, but after being intercepted the ball fell to Moylan. He struck the ball into the roof of the net. Jack Stevens couldn’t stop it, and Lincoln found themselves ahead.
From there, it wasn’t as simple as Imps fans would have hoped. Cambridge hit back at the hosts with a press that was too strong for them.
Danny Andrew caused Lincoln a lot of trouble, originally his cross met the head of former Imp Lyle Taylor, who caused a good save from Lukas Jensen. Later, a free kick from Andrew was fizzed at Jensen, as the Dane was called to make a strong save again.
Sorensen caused Stevens to make a big save at his near post. After a cross-field pass, the wing-back found himself open and in a dangerous area. His effort was met by a strong palm, and away for a City corner.
Ben House was forced off with an injury after just over 20 minutes. The forward has previously been out for a long spell with a hip injury. It’s a worrying sign for a crucial player in Skubala’s side.
Moylan doubled Lincoln’s lead, making it four in 90 minutes for himself. Again, the ball arrived to him from a previous blocked shot, and the midfielder drilled his effort into the bottom corner.
The Imps came into cruise control after this, with Cambridge unable to throw anything at them. Lincoln continued to pressurise the U’s defence, including a flurry of corners, but they could only produce near-misses at best.
Second-Half:
Lincoln started the second-half the way they began the first. Just two minutes into the second half, they extended the lead to three.
A beautiful nut-meg from Reeco Hackett was sent through to Danny Mandroiu, who played a dangerous ball across the box into the path of Taylor. All he needed to do was tap it into the net for his sixth goal contribution in as many games.
Lincoln had a counter-attack from a Cambridge corner wasted. In a two-on-one situation, Mandroiu played Taylor through, but the striker’s first time effort was straight down the throat of ‘keeper Stevens.
Defender Adam Jackson came on in the 56th minute, after recovering from a broken nose suffered against Exeter.
James Brophy caused Jensen the first real worry in the second half. After cutting inside and beating his man, the winger unleashed a curling effort which caused an acrobatic save from the Imps ‘keeper.
After a wicked deflection, the ball came into a free Brophy, who attempted to loop the ball in the net. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t get it right, as the ball went out of play for a goal kick.
Former Leicester City defender Ryan Bennett was unfortunate not to score from a corner, with his glancing header agonisingly passing wide of the post.
Taylor netted his second goal of the evening in the 74th minute. After good play from Moylan, a threaded ball allowed Taylor to be one-on-one with Stevens, and a chipped effort looped into the bottom corner.
Paudie O’Connor forced a fantastic reaction save at point-blank range from Stevens, which was cleared as far as Teddy Bishop. His shot was hit wide, but TJ Eyoma managed to tap the ball into the net.
Dylan Duffy joined the fun just a minute later. After a good ball from Bishop, Duffy beat his man, cut inside and released a shot. After the original block, the winger had his second attempt creep in underneath the U’s goalkeeper.
As for Cambridge, it seemed no matter what they did they wouldn’t put the ball in the Lincoln net. A header from a free-kick met a U’s head, which rattled off the bar and bizarrely came back to Jensen.
Lincoln City 6-0 Cambridge United:
The win tonight was Lincoln’s first at home against the opposition since 2014, when a penalty from Ben Tomlinson gave City all three points in the Conference League.
The last time Lincoln City won a game was 1976, in a 6-0 win against Nuneaton Town in the FA Cup. It is the first time the Imps have ever won 6-0 in a league game.
Next up for the Imps is a home tie against Bristol Rovers on Saturday, as they look to continue this fine run of form.