{"id":159196,"date":"2026-04-07T06:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/159196\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T06:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T06:41:08","slug":"lincoln-city-promoted-to-championship-for-first-time-since-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/159196\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln City Promoted to Championship for First Time Since 1961"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Reading%2C+PA&amp;city=Reading&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Lincoln+City+Promoted+to+Championship+for+First+Time+Since+1961&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fpa%2Freading%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Flincoln-city-promoted-to-championship-for-first-time-since-1961%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69d470703be99.jpg\" alt=\"A fractured, multi-perspective painting in bold, geometric shapes and vibrant colors representing the intense action and emotion of a soccer match between Lincoln City and Reading.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>Lincoln City&#8217;s dramatic promotion to the Championship after a 65-year absence is captured in a cubist-inspired illustration that deconstructs the action on the pitch.Reading Today<\/p>\n<p>After a 65-year absence, Lincoln City has secured promotion to the Championship with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Reading in the final minutes of the season. The Imps, who have been dominant all season with the best attack and defense in League One, scored a stoppage-time winner to cap off their return to the second tier of English football.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>This promotion ends a 65-year wait for Lincoln City fans, who have seen their club plummet as far as the National League before storming back in recent years. It represents a remarkable turnaround for a club that has endured a long and difficult journey back to the second tier, and sets them up for a potential challenge at the Championship level next season.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>Lincoln City took an early lead through a goal from Ryan One in the 5th minute, and for much of the match, their well-drilled defense frustrated a Reading side that had been unbeaten at home in 10 games. However, the tension peaked in the dying moments, as Reading equalized in the 92nd minute through a free-kick from Lewis Wing. Just as it seemed Lincoln would have to settle for a draw, Jack Moylan struck in the 96th minute to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory and seal promotion.<\/p>\n<p>      Lincoln City secured promotion on April 7, 2026.The Imps&#8217; unbeaten league run now stands at 24 games, dating back to November 22, 2025.With 5 games remaining in the season, Lincoln City will now turn their attention to securing the League One title.<\/p>\n<p>        The players<\/p>\n<p>        Michael Skubala<\/p>\n<p>The manager of Lincoln City, who has built a juggernaut of a team that boasts the best attack and defense in League One.<\/p>\n<p>Jack Moylan<\/p>\n<p>The Lincoln City player who scored the stoppage-time winner to secure promotion in the 96th minute of the match against Reading.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan One<\/p>\n<p>The Lincoln City player who scored the opening goal in the 5th minute to give the Imps an early lead.<\/p>\n<p>Lewis Wing<\/p>\n<p>The Reading midfielder who equalized for the home team in the 92nd minute with a precise free-kick.<\/p>\n<p>Reeco Hackett-Fairchild<\/p>\n<p>The Lincoln City player who provided the free-kick assist for the opening goal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Reading%2C+PA&amp;city=Reading&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Lincoln+City+Promoted+to+Championship+for+First+Time+Since+1961&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fpa%2Freading%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Flincoln-city-promoted-to-championship-for-first-time-since-1961%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cThis victory represents the end of a 65-year odyssey for Lincoln City fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Michael Skubala, Lincoln City Manager<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cAmong clubs that have previously played in the second tier, only Crewe Alexandra has endured a longer hiatus (102 years).\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Chief Editor<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>With five games remaining in the season, the Imps now turn their full attention to securing the League One title.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>This promotion represents a remarkable turnaround for Lincoln City, who have endured a long and difficult journey back to the second tier of English football. The team&#8217;s statistical dominance this season, with the best attack and defense in League One, suggests they could be a force to be reckoned with in the Championship next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Lincoln City&#8217;s dramatic promotion to the Championship after a 65-year&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-159196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}