Lincoln United welcomed fans back to Ashby Avenue for the first time this campaign on Friday night as they beat a Lincoln City XI by a scoreline of 2-1.
United finished their previous season unbeaten at home in 2026, and they were hopeful to kickstart their campaign by extending that record against a young and energetic opponent.
The contest with the youthful Imps marked the first of five pre-season friendlies Dave Frecklington’s men are scheduled to face.
Managing the heat
A combination of the summer break and very warm conditions definitely had an effect on the two teams, as they both had a slow start to the game, with neither able to take control early on.
As the half continued on, the Whites were able to use their physical advantage and experience to dominate their youthful opponents, with Lincoln City’s keeper Isaac Shaw having to make increasingly more saves to keep the scoreline level
The breakthrough came just before the stroke of halftime however, with Lincoln United picking up a free kick on the edge of City’s box. Attacking full-back Kane Hutchinson-Wilkes stepped up to beautifully curl the ball over the wall, and past the helpless goalkeeper to make it 1-0 going into the break.
Well battled game
United clearly wanted to make the momentum count, as only seven minutes into the second half, they struck again. The ball fell again to Hutchinson-Wilkes, this time on the left side of the box.
The Englishman took the ball in his stride and lasered the ball across the keeper, into the top right corner of the goal, firmly placing the game in the hands of the home side.
United continued their dominance throughout most of the second half, offering Lincoln City Academy very little opportunity to respond, the games pace dropped again whilst United protected their lead.
This was until the 77th minute, where Kian Sagoo produced a moment of magic for the young Imps with a thunderous shot towards the top right corner of the goal. United’s keeper struggled with the surprise shot, fumbling the effort into the inside netting, giving City a route back into the match.
The 2-1 scoreline jolted the academy players into action, producing some impressive play to push United onto the backfoot. But their pressure came slightly too late as United managed to see out the game and hang onto victory.
Both sides performed well and will hope to build on promising performances as their respective pre-seasons unfold.
Lincoln United are back in action next Tuesday against Gainsborough Trinity at home, whilst Lincoln City Academy next feature on August 21, away at Skegness Town.