Lincoln Red Imps secured a comfortable 4-0 victory over Europa Point in the opening fixture of the Premier Division's Regular Season on Friday evening. The result moves the hosts into contention at the top of the table, while the visitors' struggles continue. Three wins from five matches since the start of the campaign shows Lincoln finding their rhythm, whereas Europa Point have yet to taste success in this division.
The visitors arrived with a worrying record, having lost their previous encounter against Europa 2-0 and drawing with Linxs 2-2. Since then, heavier defeats have piled up — 0-7 against Saint Joseph's, 0-3 against Magpies, and 0-4 against Lions Gibraltar. That run of results suggested they had nothing to lose going into this fixture, but the margin of defeat tells a different story.
Lincoln's form has been more encouraging, with victories over Gibraltarians United and Larne, alongside a 3-1 win against Saint Joseph's. The 0-2 and 0-1 losses earlier in the season have been put behind them. They played Europa Point a man up in effect, stretching the visitors' defence until it broke. The hosts held their nerve throughout and made no mistakes that could have let Europa Point back into the game.
After the match, Lincoln sit fourth with three points from a single game, while Europa Point remain tenth with one point from two matches. The gap between them widens, and for Europa Point the table goes out of the window in these games. They need to find a way back into it before the season truly begins.