Credit Graham Burrell

Lincoln City moved to the top of the League One table with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City.

Honestly, just writing that feels ridiculous, but that’s what happened. It was a deserved victory for City, who dug deep and worked hard, and it now means not just promotion, but the League One title race is in our hands. The effing title race.

Sorry, I’ll do the official bit now.

There was one change for City, Jack Moylan dropped to the bench after the effects of his dead leg, meaning Ryley Towler came into the side, but not seeing City switch to three at the back. For the hosts, Kellyman started despite having been a doubt, but Perry Ng missed out, as did Dylan Lawlor.

City began brightly and looked to use the direct ball early on. Inside five minutes, George Wickens launched a long pass forward which Rob Street flicked on. Ben House reacted quickest and robbed Will Fish of possession, but after breaking into space he could only fire his effort over the bar. Adam Reach had taken up a great position in the middle.

After a spell of Cardiff pressure, City forced the first real moment of danger at the other end on 13 minutes. A long throw into the box caused problems for Nathan Trott, who failed to deal with it cleanly before the ball was eventually scrambled away for a corner. The resulting delivery came to nothing, but it hinted at an area Cardiff were struggling to control.

Credit Graham Burrell

The atmosphere built steadily through the first half, with both sets of supporters celebrating throw-ins like goals as the noise levels rose around the ground. Another long throw on 18 minutes again created uncertainty in the Cardiff defence and led to a further corner. Cardiff adapted by leaving three players forward to reduce the congestion in their own box, a tactic designed to relieve some of the pressure.

City continued to look dangerous from these situations. On 21 minutes, neat play from the Imps saw House lay the ball back into the path of Reeco Hackett, whose shot was blocked for yet another long throw. Cardiff eventually cleared their lines, but the repeated problems suggested the deliveries into the area were proving a consistent test.

Wickens again went long on 26 minutes, and Gabriel Osho misjudged the flight of the ball. Adam Reach reacted first and tried his luck from distance, although Trott gathered the speculative effort comfortably.

The same pattern continued as the half wore on. Another long throw on 33 minutes sparked panic in the Cardiff area before the visitors managed to clear. For all the pressure being applied, clear chances remained limited for both sides, but in the final 15, the home side turned it on.

Credit Graham Burrell

Boasting 72% possession, they struggled to break us down until the 34th minute. A neat move between Alex Robertson and Ollie Tanner ended with Tanner curling a shot towards goal, forcing Wickens to stretch at full length to push the ball away.

The visitors began to build momentum. On 35 minutes, Rubin Colwill tested Wickens with a shot that the City goalkeeper saved. Cardiff recycled the play quickly, and Colwill struck again moments later, but this time a City defender threw themselves in the way to block the effort and concede a corner. It felt like Cardiff were closing in on the opener, but the final five minutes went a little scrappy.

The contest became increasingly physical as halftime approached. Conor McGrandles conceded a free kick on the edge of the City penalty area in the 39th minute after bringing down an opponent. From the resulting delivery, the ball struck Sonny Bradley flush in the face, leaving the defender on the ground as loud boos rang out from the stands. Play stopped and with it, Cardiff’s momentum.

Tempers continued to simmer in the closing stages of the half. On 42 minutes, House and Ryan Wintle clashed after a coming together, going face to face before the referee stepped in. Despite the confrontation, no cards were shown, but House was clearly worked up.

There was finally a booking right on 45 minutes when House went into the referee’s notebook, adjudged either to have dived or reacted too strongly to a challenge. Whichever the reason, the decision appeared justified as the half came to a fractious conclusion. A second or two afterwards, he went down again, nothing given, while the only decision of the half the referee got wrong came in the final stages, as Street was adjudged to be offside from a ball over the top.

 

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