Lincoln City were held to a goalless draw against Exeter City at the LNER Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Skubala and his side will feel they deserved more from the game, having the lion’s share of possession across the 90 minutes and constantly threatening the defence of Gary Caldwell’s side.
Skubala made no changes to the side that beat Bristol Rovers 5-0 in LN5 a week ago, adding youngster Zane Okoro to his bench in place of Joe Gardner. Caldwell made two changes to his starting side.
Limited Action:
The first half at the LNER Stadium was a scrappy encounter that went without many real chances for either side.
The Imps were on top for the first 20 minutes but they struggled to test goalkeeper Joe Whitworth. Paudie O’Connor’s headed effort looped onto the roof of the net and James Collins saw an effort blocked by Caleb Watts.
The Grecians found themselves in a similar predicament – keeping their opponents’ defence on their toes but not creating any clear-cut opportunities. Their best came just after the half hour mark, when captain Josh Magennis failed to get on the end of Demetri Mitchell’s pass from the right of the area.
Worth noting during the first period was Lincoln repeatedly playing a long cross-field ball from right to left for Dom Jefferies, Reeco Hackett or Collins to control. Magennis’ power in duels with O’Connor brought a large amount of refereeing interventions, leaving Magennis visibly frustrated out on the pitch.
The best chance of the half came in stoppage time and fell for the Imps. Sean Roughan’s cross was met by the head of Tom Bayliss on the penalty spot, and his effort rattled the crossbar before Exeter cleared the loose ball.
Late Drama:
Lincoln City dominated the second half, hardly letting Exeter City touch the ball. Yet again this campaign, however, they failed to create a significant amount of clear goalscoring chances.
The best chance of the half came on 58 minutes, when Jovon Makama forced Whitworth into a diving save to his left with a driven effort from the edge of the box.
The Imps continued to probe. Both O’Connor and substitute Sam Clucas put headed efforts just over the bar, Hackett rifled an attempt off the stanchion and Erik Ring forced Whitworth to clumsily but his close-range effort behind for a corner.
The Grecians’ first half-chance of the half was Pat Jones’ cross-come-shot being easily claimed by Wickens.
In the first minute of four added, Jack McMillan thought he had given the visitors the lead against the run of play. Referee Declan Bourne ruled against McMillan, awarding a free kick for a handball in the build-up.
Gary Caldwell was enraged by the decision on the touchline, racing out of his technical area to sarcastically clap the fourth official for what the referee gave. This, along with a verbal tirade, meant he was shown a red card with two minutes left to play.
The Imps’ next game is away against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, March 29.