Lincoln City 3 - 1 Nuneaton Town

Lincoln City 3-1 Nuneaton Town

NUNEATON Town’s away woes rumbled on as they shipped three goals and ended the game with ten men.

Two goals from Jordan Burrow and one from Ben Tomlinson put Lincoln in cruise control long before Theo Streete was dismissed for second-half professional foul.

Substitute Gavin Cowan scored a consolation headwer in stoppage time, but it was too little, too late.

All three Lincoln goals were avoidable, the defeat preventable, and when Boro did muster opportunities on goal they were taken with the conviction of a side shorn of any confidence.

Boro manager Liam Daish entered the game without the services of two of his Leicester City loanees Simonas Stankevicius and Marcel Barrington forcing him to thrust Ryan Smith into a starting role.

Lincoln started the game at a vibrant pace forcing two corners but it was the pace of Marcus Marshall in the right-forward position that out-paced Anthony Charles, cutting back to Burrow to audaciously heel-flick home after just six minutes.

Boro had barely got a foot on the ball in search for an equaliser when Lincoln double their lead.

Again it was the spritely Marshall along the right channel outpacing Charles squaring to Tomlinson who finished by more conventional means, slamming past a helpless Christian Dibble in the Boro goal. Charles was immediately withdrawn and Cowan subbed on after 17 minutes.

Lincoln moved the ball swiftly and with purpose earning corners and ensuring Boro’s back four were kept deep. But spirited chasing saw Anton Brown twice earn free kicks in dangerous positions.

Lee Fowler crossed invitingly into the penalty area but Paul Farman in the Lincoln goal was alert to punch clear.

Charlee Adam robbed Lee Fowler with ease before driving infield and firing a right-footed drive just wide of the target on 27 minutes.

Five minutes later and lovely link up play between Marshall and Burrow freed the latter but with time to pick his spot he fired directly into Dibble’s hands.

From a rare piece of link-up play 12 minutes before the break, Brown reversed the ball well to Adam Dawson whose cut back and cross from the left deflected high into no man’s land between Farman and James Armson. The Boro midfielder got something on it before it was hooked clear – Dawson seemed convinced it had crossed the line.

The introduction of Cowan has helped at the back – but Boro need much more than security at the back in the second half.

Boro started the second half in lively manner but all their hardwork was undone when full-back Ben Starosta blindly headed back to Christian Dibble who could only dive and parry the ball to the lucky Burrow to tap home into an unguarded net.

Adam Walker and Onome Sodje entered the fray and it was Walker’s drive that was headed out for a corner as Boro sought an unlikely route back into the game.

Hamza Bencherif headed over from a corner kick and Lincoln substitute Conner Robinson side footed wide after Cowan’s sloppy pass was intercepted.

A glorious chance to cut the deficit was fluffed by Brown after Gash and Dawson linked up well to release the midfielder inside the box, bu the showed no composure to scuff wide.

With a quarter-of-an-hour to play Streete was forced to bundle over Nolan a metre outside the box giving the referee no choice but to award a red card.

From the resulting free kick, Sean Newton’s strike was finger tipped over by Dibble.

The hardy few who had travelled to support the Boro were given something to cheer about when Dawson’s left-wing free kick was headed powerfully home by Cowan at the far post.