The newly crowned number nine, James Collins, put on a superstar-level performance as Lincoln City defeated Plymouth Argyle 3-2.
A Perfect Start
The gloomy sky above the LNER Stadium didn’t put a dampener on the match as both teams were quick to push forward.
Six minutes into the game, Imps goalkeeper George Wickens played a pin-point ball to Reeco Hackett out wide, he found Tom Bayliss in the centre who was able to slot it beautifully in the bottom right corner of the net to give Lincoln a one goal lead.
Despite early dominance from Michael Skubala’s side, the visiting Pilgrims were not without their chances in the first half, however Plymouth were unable to make the home side pay.
A sublime ball from Conor McGrandles in the 38th minute saw James Collins run into acres of space on the left side but after cutting inside, the striker failed to convert the opportunity.
As time progressed, Plymouth’s defence were becoming more undone with the back four making multiple defensive errors but the teams went in at half-time with just the one goal separating the sides.
A nervy ending
Both teams had ample opportunities to score in the early stages of the second half but one was finally taken just short of the hour mark after a defensive mishap that led to Hackett whipping in a cross which landed kindly for Rob Street in the box.
His effort was well parried by Luca Ashby-Hammond but Collins was in the right place at the right time to tap the ball home and double Lincoln’s advantage.
To the Imps fans delight, Lincoln were awarded a penalty just five minutes after the second goal as Brendan Wiredu was penalised for a handball.
Collins stepped up to take the spot kick and slotted the ball into the centre of the net, adding a second goal to his tally.
With just thirteen minutes remaining, the tide turned for the Pilgrims when substitute Owen Oseni managed to break behind the Lincoln defence and grab a goal, whistling the ball past Wickens.
The Lincoln defence began to run out of steam as Plymouth bagged a second goal with Xavier Amaechi scoring a curled effort after a smart short corner from Bali Mumba.
Plymouth again looked threatening in the closing stages of the game but couldn’t find an equaliser, in a rather desperate attempt to win a penalty Wiredu picked up a red card as the referee deemed him to have dived inside of the box.
The final whistle sounded after a long seven minutes of injury time and the game ended 3-2, Lincoln securing another big win in SkyBet League One ahead of their next fixture against Northampton Town on Tuesday.