Wanderers suffered a first defeat of the season to go out of the FA Youth Cup as Lincoln grabbed a late winner at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, writes Pete Oliver.
Daeshon Lawrence looked as though he had taken the second-round tie into extra time when he provided the Whites with a second equaliser with three minutes to go.
But Lincoln midfielder Denny Oliver struck again almost immediately to end Wanderers’ unbeaten record and earn the Imps a visit from Wrexham in the next round.
The young Imps are also chasing Wanderers at the top of the EFL Youth Alliance and got the better of Julian Darby’s side thanks to two goals from Dakara Wifa and Oliver’s 89th-minute strike.
Wifa had bagged a hat-trick to help City knock out Lichfield City in the first round and again showed his finishing prowess to dent Wanderers’ hopes of an extended run in the competition.
Wanderers had put six of their own past Rotherham United in their first-round win but couldn’t repeat enough of that goalpower on a frustrating night when they couldn’t quite find their ‘A’ game for long enough spells.
Playing only once in almost a month since that victory over the Millers arguably didn’t help Wanderers’ cause, although they had their chances to build on Harley Irwin’s first-half leveller before the late drama.
Lawrence had the first of Wanderers’ opportunities and the chance to give the Whites the lead after 20 minutes but from Harrison’s low cross couldn’t turn the ball goalwards at full stretch.
Lincoln then grabbed the lead when Wifa cut in to curl a shot into the bottom corner, although having recovered from a slow start Wanderers responded well with Rice bringing a flying save out of City keeper Jaden Taylor before Irwin equalised after half an hour.
The Whites’ skipper, who had been named on the bench for Wanderers Vertu Trophy win over Fleetwood last week, led by example as he looked to inspire Wanderers from his central midfield berth alongside Harry Leigh. And he earned the slice of luck that saw his long-range effort deflected past Taylor to make it 1-1.
Taylor then came to his side’s rescue with a couple of smart saves to keep out a David Abimbola header and a free-kick from Rice as Wanderers looked to go in front.
But Darby’s side was also grateful to goalkeeper Luke Lomax for a couple of big saves of his own to keep the scores level until 10 minutes into the second half when the lively Wifa struck again with another smart finish as Lincoln once again demonstrated their menace on the counter-attack.
Wanderers didn’t carry the same goal threat after the break although top scorer Abimbola was starting to cause City problems before he was denied an obvious-looking spot-kick when his legs were taken away in the penalty area.
It looked at that point as though it wouldn’t be Wanderers night and while Lawrence finished well after bursting clear to rifle the ball home and briefly make it 2-2, so it proved as Oliver popped up at the other end with another measured finished to take Lincoln through.
“Congratulations to them on a great performance,” said Wanderers’ Head of Academy, Dave Gardiner. “They came with a great game plan and it worked. They are well-organised team and we wish them all the best in the next round.
“Our lads gave it everything. They’ve had a really good run of games. They’ve been used to winning and it’s how we bounce back now from this back in the league.”
Wanderers: Lomax; Smith, O’Neill, Grayson; Oliver (Taylor 85), Leigh (Thomas 90), Irwin, Rice; Lewis (Ritchie 58); Lawrence, Abimbola (Lewis 85). Substitutes: Shillinglaw, Mawditt, Nuttall.
Lincoln City: Taylor; Ford, Carlisle, Parks, Simmons; Oliver, Okewoye; Wifa, Okoro, Fombad; Vanderpuye. Substitutes: Vasiloiu, L Oliver, Sagoo, Vout, Bada, Cowin, Preston.
Booked: Okoro
Referee: Curtis Wood
Attendance: 463
Images: Ben Livingstone