Lincoln City 2 Fleetwood Town 1: Scully double sees visitors lose lead

Danny Andrew’s sublime free-kick gave the Cod Army the lead just after half an hour, but Lincoln hit back through Anthony Scully’s excellent finish in the 69th minute.

With the game heading for a draw James Hill brought down Tayo Edun in the area with three minutes to go and Scully grabbed the winner from the spot.

After a scrappy opening of little creativity, it was Town who carved out the game’s first chance in the 15th minute.

A neat flick from Jay Matete created space for Shayden Morris to cut in from the right, but he saw his low shot tipped behind by Lincoln goalkeeper Josh Griffiths at full stretch.

The resulting corner came to nothing before Hill tried his luck from 40 yards only to see his shot sail over.

At the other end there was a real let-off for Grayson’s men midway through the half as Tom Hopper was played through on goal by Scully, but he appeared to be caught in two minds and chipped the ball into the grateful arms of Alex Cairns.

Lincoln gifted the ball to Ged Garner twice in quick succession in a 26th-minute Town attack, but Griffiths just managed to prevent the ball from squirming under his body.

The Imps’ goalkeeper was beaten shortly afterwards, however, in superb fashion. Morris won a free-kick under the challenge of Max Melbourne 30 yards from goal and up stepped Andrew to curl the ball over the wall and beyond Griffiths’ despairing reach.

Six minutes before the break Regan Poole won a free-kick out wide for Lincoln, but nobody could connect to Cohen Bramall’s swirling set-piece.

Just after the interval a Lincoln corner routine almost presented Scully with a tap-in, but the ball just got away from his feet.

The Cod Army took until the 68th minute to create their next chance, which was all Garner’s doing. He skipped past two Lincoln challenges before curling just beyond Griffiths’ left post.

That seemed to spark Michael Appleton’s players into life and they went on the attack through substitute Hakeeb Adelakun. The former Hull winger found Edun, who teed up Scully to fire an unstoppable angled shot into the top corner.

Grayson responded with a double substitution, introducing Harrison Biggins and Dan Batty for Jay Matete and Morris.

Lincoln pushed for a winner and were finally rewarded three minutes from time when Hill fouled Edun, who had been played into the area by Scully.

Hill was duly booked, then Scully’s precise penalty was too strong for Cairns, who dived the right way.

The fourth official indicated six minutes of injury time to give Town hope, but Lincoln held on as Town’s only foray forward resulted in Griffiths claiming Max Clark’s left wing cross. It means Town have lost all three games in league and cup so far this season

Fleetwood: Cairns, Halliday, Andrew, Clarke, Morton, Rossiter, Garner (Pilkington 85), Matete (Biggins 74), Morris (Batty 74), Hill, Clark.

Subs not used: Crellin, Camps, Edmondson, Holgate.

Lincoln: Griffiths, Poole, Melbourne, Jackson, Edun, Hopper, Scully, Bramall (Adelakun 46), McGrandles, Sorenson (Bishop 62), Bridcutt.

Subs not used: Long, Montsma, Jones, Longdon, Fiorini.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here