Imps Robbed At Death

9th January 2007

Lincoln City were cruelly robbed of two points last night when they were denied a victory deep into stoppage time at Milton Keynes Dons.

The match started badly for Lincoln City as they fell a goal behind in the 4th minute after a defensive slip allowed MK Dons to launch an attack. A clever pass saw Izale McLeod volley the ball high over Alan Marriott for 1-0.

Lincoln, who were playing against the wind, were lucky not to enter half-time three goals down. The next chance saw a cross turned on to his post by Lincoln's Jeff Hughes.

However, the best chance for MK Dons came in the 33rd minute when Paul Morgan inexplicably handled the ball inside the penalty area to gift MK Dons a penalty. Thankfully, McLeod tried to be clever only to see his penalty fly high and wide past the post.

Lincoln won their own penalty in the 50th minute after Dean Lewington handled. Jamie Forrester showed McLeod how to take a perfect penalty and the scores were level at 1-1.

It was nearly 2-1 to MK Dons midway through the second half but a superb goal line clearance by Paul Mayo saved Lincoln. The Imps rode their luck sometimes but there was nothing lucky about their second goal, which came in the 83rd minute. Substitute Spencer Weir-Daley, on loan from Nottingham Forest, had only been on the pitch for less than a minute when he coolly finished. Weir-Daley impressed during this short time, prompting a strong argument for Lincoln to play 4-3-3 in their next match.

Unfortunately the match was not to end as a Lincoln win, after the officials found a staggering four minutes of stoppage time to play. In the 91st minute, McLeod was released, only to be tripped inside the penalty area by Morgan. The referee had no option but to award a penalty although he harshly sent off Morgan via a straight red card. Aaron Wilbraham took over penalty duties but he too missed as he blasted the ball against the crossbar.

Alas, Lincoln's joy was short-lived as in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Gareth Edds sent a speculative shot through a crowd of players and into the goal for 2-2.

Lincoln were without loanees Matt Birley and Shane Nicholson, who have returned to Birmingham City and Chesterfield respectively.

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