Jamie Pitman’s unbeaten run ground to a halt as Lincoln ran out 3-1 winners this afternoon. The hosts rattled up a two-goal interval lead and although Stuart Fleetwood reduced the arrears after the break, The Imps quickly restored their lead and then saw out the game for what was eventually a comfortably gained three points.
Pitman had lost the services of Ryan Valentine (stomach injury) and Rob Purdie (hamstring) but included new loan signing Byron Webster in the heart of the defence. Ryan Green returned to his customary right back position with youngster Tyler Weir switching to the left back birth while Fleetwood filled the left of midfield spot.
The Bulls were first to threaten but Lincoln were soon into their stride. Wingers Jarrett and Carayol showed their intent by getting in some dangerous early crosses with Tyler Weir, in particular, struggling to contain the constant attacks down the flanks. Jarrett skipped passed him to deliver a cross which just evaded Carayol at the far post. Byron Webster got an early taste of League 2 action when he had to hold off Delroy Facey before Jarrett’s flag kick was headed over by Hutchinson. Bartlett had to be alert to block away a Jarrett cross when the winger got passed Weir again. On the break, Richard Rose picked out Manset on the right and The Bulls’ striker cut in and shot just over from the corner of the box. Kenny Lunt dinked a ball to Manset who threaded it through to the advancing Colbeck but the wideman was fractionally offside before one of the rare contentious decisions of the game. Kenny Lunt found a defence splitting pass to Colbeck who was one on one with keeper Anyon. Colbeck slipped the ball passed the keeper only to be sent crashing to the ground well inside the area. It seemed a nailed on penalty with the obligatory red card to follow but referee waived away all the protests and promptly awarded a corner to The Bulls which came to nothing. Very strange. Meanwhile, Jarrett got in another telling cross which Hutchinson headed over from 8 yards before Fleetwood released Manset only for the Frenchman’s driven cross/shot to be deflected the wrong side of the post.
With just short of twenty minutes of the half remaining, the hosts took the lead. Carayol, who had swapped wings with Jarrett popped up on the right to deliver a pinpoint cross which Hutchinson headed in powerfully from the edge of the six-yard box. Seven minutes later, in happened again as The Bulls failed to prevent the Carayol cross coming in and this time Facey was on hand to thump in the header from a similar position. At this point, memories of the recovery at Northampton came drifting back and many of the visiting fans were willing the referee to bring the half to an early end as Lincoln threatened to run riot. As the half eventually did draw to a close, The Bulls had Bartlett to thank for a smart save from Hutchison who had beaten the offside trap and was clear on goal.
HT Lincoln 2 Bulls 0
Pitman withdrew Kenny Lunt and added Canham to the attack after the interval and shortly afterwards relieved Weir by bringing on Werling into the fullback position. Some decent approach work from Hereford failed to produce the required threat as, all to often, the final ball went astray. Carayol showed a clean pair of heels to Werling but fired over before The Bulls struck ten minutes into the second period. Ryan Green’s forward run allowed him to feed Manset who cut inside before unleashing a swerving thunderbolt that Anyon could only beat away. The alert Fleetwood was on hand to rifle in from 10 yards and give The Bulls renewed hope with most of the half remaining.
Unfortunately, it took The Imps just two minutes to restore the margin. This time it was Carayol himself who found the net after he cut in from the right passed Werling and fired into the far corner to round off a convincing man of the match display. Shortly after, the hosts had another chalked off for offside. The Bulls continued to try to find an opening but found the game slowed every time they built up anything like a charge. In fact, it was noticed that one of the staff from the home dugout collected all the spare balls from around the pitch with over twenty minutes remaining to allow The Imps to delay every throw-in. Fleetwood picked out Manset with a free-kick only for The Beast’s header to rebound off the crossbar. Werling’s corner from the right found Fleetwood at the far post and the Bulls striker’s spin-turn gave him space to get in a low shot but it was hacked away. Lincoln made a couple of late substitutions to help wind the clock down and The Bulls finished well beaten in front of 3888 including 179 from The Shire.
FT Lincoln 3 Bulls 1
There is little doubt that the disruption caused by injuries contributed to this defeat particularly with the inexperienced defence. B Young Tyler Weir should not be criticised too much but he was clearly out of his depth against the strength and quality of Carayol and Jamie Pitman may be reflecting, with hindsight, that the usually reliable Richard Rose could have served him better at left back. Once again, the withdrawal of Kenny Lunt seemed to signal the end of degree of craft in the forward movement and in fact his replacement Canham did little to enhance his reputation. Debutant, Webster showed touches of quality and a desire to play the ball to feet but was found wanting occasionally with his positional play and strength.
The Bulls might have been at the races on Thursday but they certainly weren’t today.
Lincoln: Anyon; Hoyte, Watts, Gowling, Clapham, Carayol (Hughton 76), Kerr, O’Keefe, Jarrett (Anderson 85), Facey, Hutchinson (Broughton 88). Subs unused: Musselwhite, McCallum, Hutchinson, Miller.
Hereford: Bartlett; Green, Webster, Townsend, Weir (Werling 52), Colbeck (Gwynne 76), Featherstone, Rose, Fleetwood, Lunt (Canham 46); Manset. Subs unused: Heister, Stratford, Evans, Thomas.