Lincoln City continued their excellent form as they cruised to a 3-1 Victory at the LNER Stadium against Luton Town.
The Imps went into the game having beat Burton 1-0 last time out. They are now still unbeaten at home this season and have only suffered one defeat this campaign. Before kick-off, they found themselves sitting seventh in the league table with 15 points, joint with Huddersfield Town.
Michael Skubala made two changes to the starting XI. Rob Street returned from a suspension and Freddie Draper was named in the lineup after being on the bench last week. Reeco Hackett and Francis Okoronkwo were the two replaced.
The Hatters had a shaky start to the season following their relegation to Sky Bet League One last season, now only managing to win four of their first eight games. They came to the LNER Stadium off the back of a 3-2 loss against Plymouth Argyle.
A Strong Start
The Imps almost started the game perfectly when they earned a free-kick outside the box on the right hand the side of the pitch. Adam Reach struck the ball very well and had Luton Town keeper Josh Keeley beaten only to be denied by the bar.
The positive start for the Imps payed off when Tendayi Darikwa intercepted the ball and made ground up the wing. He then played it inside to Draper who slotted through Ben House as the Luton defence seemed to just open up for him and he had a clear run at goal where he then converted his chance calmly past the keeper giving him his first League goal this season and putting the Imps 1-0 up.
In the 18th minute the lead was almost doubled when Ex-Luton player James Collins won the ball back just outside of the Luton penalty area and laid the it off to Draper whose curling shot forced a great save from Keeley.
There was more concern for Luton Town when Keeper Keeley looked to be injured and it even forced a brief break in play. It looked like his calf but he was able to shake it off and carry on playing.
The Hatters first chance came in the 35th minute as Millenic Alli used quick feet to beat Darikwa and get the ball into the box where it fell to Nahki Wells but his volleyed effort ended up just wide of the post.
As the first half came to an end Luton piled on the pressure and it was clear they had finally found their way into the game creating a couple chances for the Imps defence to deal with.
Late Drama
The Imps created the first major chance in the second half when Tom Bayliss a curled ball into the box which was met with Ben House’s head but he was unable to keep the header down causing no problems for the keeper.
House once again got another opportunity to double the lead when a long throw found its way past everyone and ended up at the back-post but once again House failed to keep his shot down.
Lincoln City continued to control the game in the second half, not giving the Hatters any chance to get back in it with them only having one chance in the first 25 minutes of the second half.
A huge chance went a miss when a ball crossed in to the Luton town area caused trouble and the ball fell to defender Sonny Bradley right next to the penalty area but he blasted it over the bar, wasting a huge chance.
The Hatters made Lincoln city pay for all their missed chances earlier in the half when they picked up a free kick in the 76th minute. The free kick was taken short to Alli who played Jordan Clark through on goal, Clark then smartly put it past George Wickens with a clever finish to bring the game back level.
What a moment it was for Justin Obikwu who scored his first Lincoln City goal in the 85th minute to retain the lead. Obikwu, who is on loan from Coventry, received the ball just outside the box and found himself with no defenders infront of him, he then took his chance very well curling his shot perfectly in the corner.
The party didn’t stop there for the Imps as they got a third goal thanks to Ben House. The winger picked up the ball on the left-flank and used good feet to find himself space on the outside of the box, he then curled the ball past Keeley giving him his second goal of the day and making the score 3-1.
A big win for Lincoln City sees them on 18 points from nine games and gets them deep into the play-off spots.
Up next for Lincoln City is a big one where they host Premier League Side Chelsea FC on Tuesday in the third round of the EFL Cup.