In addition to today being dedicated to Remembrance Day at the LNER Stadium, The Imps certainly won’t forget this performance for a while, soaring to second temporarily after a 1-0 win over table-topping Stevenage earlier today.
Michael Skubala’s side came into this affair today in sixth position, having only lost two of his last thirteen home games.
In his way of making it two losses in fourteen was a Stevenage side who had only lost one league game from ten prior to today, leading SkyBet League One with 25 points and a game in hand over second placed Bradford City.
In the previous four matches between these sides, just two goals have been scored, The Imps taking all three points last season at the Lamex Stadium 0-1 and The Boro taking all three points in a 1-0 win in 2023.
Dominant but no reward
Ben House was earliest to come close for the hosts as he fired wide twice from nine yards in the first five minutes.
A scramble in the box just before the ten-minute mark saw Rob Street fire high and wide to extend his goalless start to the league campaign.
The out-of-form striker also had the biggest opportunity of the opening quarter of an hour, being played through by Reeco Hackett but firing very wide of the left post.
A fairly uneventful opening half hour saw a combined seven shots with not a single one finding the target.
After a spell of poor clearances, George Wickens was tested when a lofted through ball searching for Gassan Ahadme, forced City’s number one to punch away.
The Boro’s dangerman Harvey White came close when he received the ball on the edge of the box after some silky wing-play from Beryly Lubala, only to drag his effort disappointingly wide.
A barrage of long throws from the home side nearly paid off when Freddie Draper stabbed goalwards from five yards, only to find the hands of Filip Marschall.
City would’ve been wondering how they didn’t go into half time ahead after Tendayi Darikwa squandered another one-on-one to send The Imps in goalless at the break.
The Imps secure the win
Thirty seconds was all it took for Rob Street to come close again, a low Darikwa cross found the striker who looped his effort up into Marschall’s hands.
The target remained scarcely hit in the opening minutes of the second half, with Draper being the next willing participant to blaze high and wide.
Stevenage’s Daniel Kemp was handed their biggest chance of the afternoon up until that point, with his effort destined for the bottom corner if it wasn’t for a vital block from City’s Adam Reach.
Quality was amiss all over the field today, Tom Bayliss continued this trend with a wild strike from the edge of the area which found the top of the Stacey West stand.
Draper continued to be heavily involved when the 21-year-old was seemingly tripped in the penalty area but was only met with the referee Martin Coy’s disinterest.
The long-overdue breakthrough finally came in the 69th minute, as Rob Street picked up a loose ball just inside the 18-yard box and fired high and handsome into the top right corner, ending his eleven-game wait for a league goal.
It should’ve been two for The Imps soon after, when a gilt-edged opportunity fell to Draper in the box who completely sliced his strike high and not very handsome.
With just five minutes to go, the home side yet again had a chance to bury the game, however in a moment of madness, substitute James Collins pinballed his shot into Adam Reach, dribbling wide after the deflection.
Cards were few and far this afternoon, the only two being given to Ben House and Jordan Roberts for a heated exchange near the halfway line.
City managed to see off the table toppers in the end, with very few chances all day from the visitors, sending City second temporarily on goal difference and just a solitary point away from their opponents today.
This marks Stevenage’s second loss of the league campaign, ending their six match unbeaten streak and adding a tiny bit more pressure to their home game against fellow high-flying outfit Bradford City in a week’s time.