A five-goal thriller was served up for the final fixture of the regular season at Edgeley Park, as the Hatters sensationally recovered from two goals down to edge out in-form Lincoln.
Strikes by half-time substitutes Jayden Fevrier and Tanto Olaofe, either side of a Will Collar header, saw County turn the game on its head after the visiting ‘Imps’ – making a first visit to SK3 since the two clubs’ shared time in non-league’s top tier a dozen years ago – had executed two good finishes that had looked to put them well in control of proceedings.
The victory was County’s fifth at home in a row, and third successive one against Lincoln at EP, but, moreover, lifted the Hatters up two places to third – two points outside the automatic promotion positions, ahead of second-placed Wrexham’s game in hand later during the day.
The Hatters took to the field on a cloudy afternoon with glimpses of sunshine, and showing four changes from their starting line-up at EP against Huddersfield five days previously. Benoný Andrésson, Kyle Knoyle, Owen Moxon and Ethan Pye were brought in, replacing Jack Diamond – who was missing his first game under a three-match ban imposed following the Easter Monday meeting with the ‘Terriers’ – as well as Fevrier, Jay Mingi and Olaofe.
Fevrier and Olaofe were both named for a bench that also included Ryan Rydel – who, like Knoyle and Pye, had returned to the squad following recovery from an injury.
Diamond’s retrospective suspension prevented him from turning out against visitors for whom he had played, whilst on loan from Sunderland, during the 2022/23 season. But the County squad did include, in Kyle Wootton and substitute Callum Connolly, two other one-time Imps who had plied their trade as loanees at Sincil Bank – in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
Lincoln – sitting just above mid-table but arriving in SK3 on the back of a five-match unbeaten run throughout April – started brightly in the initial stages. Ben House glanced a header just shy of the far post after connecting with Reeco Hackett’s cross from the right, and Ethan Hamilton stung Corey Addai’s hands with a left-footed shot from outside the box – in each instance, before five minutes were on the clock.
Just over five minutes later, the Hatters fashioned their first attempt, as captain Fraser Horsfall headed over Ollie Norwood’s corner from the left. And Wootton followed suit shortly afterwards – clearing the crossbar with his header, having latched on to another dead-ball assist from Norwood who had floated a free-kick into the six-yard box.
Ibby Touray was next to try his luck, courtesy of a low shot that took a deflection just past the left upright, before turning provider from the left with a cross for Wootton to head over.
But, for all their pressure, the Hatters fell behind shortly after the first half’s mid-point, when Tendayi Darikwa’s through-ball on the right found House, who cut in towards goal and slotted home into the near-bottom corner.
County looked to get back on terms through Wootton, who headed on a further Norwood free-kick into the arms of George Wickens, and Knoyle, whose low shot from the right the visiting goalkeeper dived to smother.
Two minutes ahead of the break, the Imps countered again to double their advantage, as Swedish winger Erik Ring fired in – after being fed down the left by House, who had flicked on skipper Paudie O’Connor’s ball over the County defence.
During the single minute of time added on, Collar drilled a low effort towards goal – only for it to be gathered up by Wickens, leaving the Hatters with a two-goal deficit at the break.
HALF-TIME: County 0, Lincoln 2 (House, 24; Ring, 43).
County made a triple-substitution upon the resumption – bringing on Fevrier, Olaofe and Rydel – but the first attempt of the new half was by the visitors, albeit rather inadvertently, as Ring’s free-kick from distance evaded all in attendance around the area, before bouncing beyond the right post.
In the third second-half minute, however, the changes soon paid off as the Hatters halved their arrears – with Wootton holding up the ball at the edge of the box for Collar to feed Fevrier, who slotted past Wickens to register his fourth goal of the season in all competitions.
And a couple of minutes later, County went agonisingly close to restoring parity, when Wootton met a Knoyle cross from the right to head against the far post – leaving the ball to bounce on the line before a relieved Wickens grabbed it gratefully with both hands.
Norwood flashed a long-range effort past the right post, and Wickens, at full stretch, tipped a Wootton shot around the same upright – before, from the resulting Norwood corner on the right, successive headers by Brad Hills and Moxon hit and cleared the bar, respectively.
But with a dozen minutes of normal time remaining, the pressure paid off and County drew level, as Fevrier’s cross from the right was headed in by Collar. And, three minutes later, the Hatters got their noses in front – with Olaofe turning home another Fevrier assist to complete the comeback and, simultaneously, raise the EP roof.
Collar headed over a Rydel delivery from the left, and Moxon fired wide, as the Hatters strove to extend their lead – although drama was not entirely lacking at the other end, where substitute Jack Moylan struck the left post shortly before five minutes of added time were announced, and Wickens, in the dying seconds, came up from box to box, before executing a cheeky back-heeler high and wide.
FULL-TIME: County 3 (Fevrier, 48; Collar, 78; Olaofe, 81), Lincoln 2 (House, 24; Ring, 43).
Team (3-4-1-2): Addai; Hills, Horsfall (Capt.) (Fevrier, 46), Pye; Knoyle (Connolly, 67), Norwood, Moxon, Touray (Rydel, 46); Collar; Andrésson (Olaofe, 46), Wootton.
Unused Subs: Wogan, Cosgrove, Bailey.
Man of the Match: Fevrier.
Attendance: 9,717 (1,156 away).
Reporter: Gareth Evans.
Photographer: Mike Petch.
