Lincoln United secured a huge 1-0 win over Blyth Town despite having ten men for the whole of the second half.
The Whites looked to bounce back from their tough run of games which saw them lose three league matches in a row going into today’s fixture.
Before the game they sat in the relegation zone on five points after seven games, knowing that a win could possibly move them into a position of safety.
Last match was a 3-0 away loss to Bradford Park Avenue that saw Jaime Ture make his 50th appearance for the club and Ryan Makings come off the bench for his debut.
Two changes were made from that team with captain Stef Galinski and Henry Moore returning to the starting line-up.
Their opponents, Blyth Town, were in 15th place before kick-off, three points better off than the visitors with two more games played.
A mixed half for the Whites
The Whites were awarded a penalty in the 26th minute when Connor Brown was brought down in the box before he could get his shot away.
Last season’s captain Elliot Dye converted the penalty with style, smashing it to the right of Blyth goalkeeper Neil De Jesus.
Brown caused Blyth more problems in the 33rd minute, breaking free on the left-hand side and cutting inside past the defender and then goalkeeper. Fortunately for the visitors Joseph Gibson denied the striker from tapping home by getting his body firmly in the way.
The half ended on a sour note for the Whites with Ture being given a second yellow card for a high boot right before the interval.
Holding Firm
Heath Richardson was called into action less then a minute into the second half. Adam Johnson fired a low effort towards the corner but the ‘keeper did excellent to get down low to deny him.
There was controversy on the hour mark with the visitors sticking the ball in the back of the net following a scramble in the box. However, the referee had already blown his whistle for a seemingly unknown reason, and the goal did not count.
Lincoln United’s number one was called into action again very late in the day to deny Sonni Coleman in the 90th minute. The striker bought himself a yard of space and struck an effort goal-wards but Richardson got across and made a tremendous save to put it behind for a corner.
FINAL SCORE= Lincoln United 1-0 Blyth Town
Heroic defending from the ten men of Lincoln United secured them their first win in the league since August as Blyth struggled to find a chance late in the game.
The returning Galinski was named as the games Man of the Match for his excellent leadership and defensive contributions.
Next up for the Whites is a home game against Dunston UTS on Tuesday, September 30 as they look to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since their promotion to step four.