Portsmouth’s trio of goals were enough to beat Lincoln City 3-1 on the day of their first home match in the EFL Championship since 1961.
The last sight the fans got to see at the newly re-branded and re-vamped ProAmpac Stadium was their club Lincoln City holding a-loft the EFL League One trophy after achieving 103 points last time out.
Fast-forward three months and the Imps faced up against Portsmouth in their second outing in the EFL Championship, but crucially the club’s first home match at this level since the sixties.
A rocky start
After the pre-match theatrics, the whistle blew to signal the start of the match and Lincoln City were on the front foot early, with Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw’s side piling the pressure on the away side.
The Imps were awarded a free kick in the second minute of the match, which saw Adam Reach take a chance from right outside the penalty area on the south side of the ground. His chance was stopped by Nicolas Schmid in goal, who was able to get a glove on the ball – pushing it over the bar.
However, the Imps’ early dominance was all for nothing when, in the seventh minute of the game, Abu Kamara found space in the midfield and passed out to his left, finding 17-year-old Ryan Kavuma-McQueen who’s shot glided across the floor finding the back of the net past George Wickens.
The smell of danger began in the air for the Imp’s faithful as Kamara was fouled on the edge of the box. Lincoln City’s wall couldn’t stop Pompey’s number ten, Adrian Segecic, who’s free kick found the back of the net past Wickens.
After Ivan Varfolomeev’s corner kick in the 32nd minute, fortune turned favours for the home side after Zak Swanson placed his hands infront of the ball defending a shot leading to a penalty being awarded by the referee.
Reeco Hackett would then go on to slot his shot from the spot into the back of Schmid’s net making the game 2-1.
Visitors get the job done
After the 15-minute interval, the Imps kicked off and both teams took their times getting into their respective grooves.
Action remained few and far between both outfits during the second half but not for long however.
Adams would score for the first time this season with a tremendous goal from around 30 yards out, a strike that was ultimately unsavable for Wickens in goal, adding a third to their tally.
Lincoln’s Ben House would then make way for Mason Melia and Freddie Draper would make way for Tanto Olaofe, both men signing for the club this summer on loan from their respective parent clubs.
Olaofe could have banked his first goal for the Imps in front of the home crowd but Rob Street’s cross from out wide went under his body as the loanee fell, leading Schmid to find no issues retrieving the ball.
With six additional minutes of stoppage time to play, the Imps were so close to scoring a second but a goal-mouth scramble resulted in a corner to the home side.
The final whistle sounded with a final score of 3-1 going in favour of Portsmouth. Next time out Imp’s fans will be looking for a victory as Lincoln City face Blackpool away in the second round of the EFL Carabao Cup on Tuesday.