Lincoln City picked up three crucial points in their fight for promotion on Tuesday night, beating Bradford City 3-0 at the LNER Stadium.
The two sides went into the contest second and third in the Sky Bet League One table, separated by six points with the Bantams having a game in hand.
Freddie Draper gave Lincoln the lead early on, with goals from Jack Moylan and Ben House sealing the victory.
Michael Skubala’s side were unchanged from the team that beat Burton Albion 2-1 on Thursday; there was no place in the side for new arrival Deji Elerewe.
Graham Alexander made five changes to his side, following his team’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of fellow promotion-hopefuls Huddersfield Town at the weekend.
Unrelenting Imps
The Imps took the lead after just six minutes when Reeco Hackett’s whipped free-kick was met by the head of Freddie Draper, who leapt higher than everyone else and found the top corner for his third goal in 2026.
Skubala’s side kept probing, not giving the visitors a chance to settle into the game. Rob Street tested Sam Walker twice early on, the first effort saved and the second curling effort placed just wide of Walker’s left-hand post.
With 16 minutes played, a well-worked short corner routine resulted in a cross towards an unmarked Ivan Varfolomeev at the back post.
The Ukrainian midfielder had the full goal to aim at, but he miscued the effort from only a few yards out and the ball ended up back with Conor McGrandles on the edge of the box.
Varfolomeev was involved again in the 37th minute, finding Adam Reach on the left of the area, whose pinpoint cross was headed agonisingly wide by Street, before Hackett’s volley from the edge of the box forced Walker into action.
With five minutes remaining of the half, Moylan made it 2-0 to the hosts.
Hackett’s effort from the 18-yard line was blocked, the ball bounced upwards and was flicked left towards Moylan by Street, before the Irishman unleashed a powerful strike into the bottom corner.
Half-time could not come soon enough for Graham Alexander’s Bantams, who failed to register a shot on goal in the first half for the second consecutive game.
Consolidating three vital points
With the hard work done, a different side to Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City was on show. They needed to limit what opportunities Bradford could create, and consolidate their lead.
The Bantams’ first chance of the whole game came with ten minutes of the second half played.
Varfolomeev was dispossessed just outside his own penalty area, the ball fell to Stephen Humphreys whose right-footed strike from a tight angle forced George Wickens into action for the first time – parrying the ball behind for a corner.
The attempt was greeted with comical chants of “we’ve had a shot” by the 1,682 travelling supporters.
With 20 minutes remaining, Wickens’ long ball was headed on by Draper, then again by Street, before Moylan rifled an effort goalwards which stung the palms of Walker as he managed get down low and beat it away.
In the 86th minute, Reach laid the ball off to Tom Hamer, whose cross found House unmarked on the penalty spot, who found the back of the net to make it 3-0 with a superb header on his return from injury.
The full-time whistle saw Bradford drop down to fifth in the table, nine points behind the Imps – who remain second and six points clear of third place Bolton Wanderers.
The Imps are next in action on Saturday afternoon, away to strugglers Wigan Athletic.