Bristol City and Lincoln met at Ashton Gate on 15 September for the sixth match of the Championship regular season. The visitors took all three points with a 0:1 victory. By then, the home side had already shown they could trouble any defence.
The opening exchanges produced more cautions than chances. Ben House picked up the first yellow card in the fourteenth minute, followed by Lisav Naif Eissat twenty-eight minutes in. Deji Elerewe and Lorent Tolaj were cautioned in quick succession before the break. Freddie Draper then took his yellow just before half-time.
And here's the thing about the match — it was decided in the fifty-third minute. Draper found the net to lift Lincoln ahead. The home side had created one big chance all afternoon, but it wasn't enough. Lincoln's keeper made two saves to keep his side in front.
The hosts threw bodies forward after the interval. J. Wallace went off in the fifty-ninth minute, while C. Ogbene was withdrawn sixty-three minutes in. A. Reach and F. Draper came on together for Lincoln in the seventy-first, and Bristol City made three changes in the seventy-sixth — R. Dickie, S. Twine and L. Tolaj all came off.
Bristol City owned 68 per cent possession and launched 109 attacks against 83 for Lincoln. They took twelve shots inside the penalty area and six from distance, but only four hit the target. The visitors managed three shots on target from five attempts inside the box. Expected goals told the fuller story — 1.53 for the hosts against 0.53 for the visitors.
The result leaves Lincoln eighth with eleven points from seven games. Bristol City sit thirteen places down with ten points after three wins, one draw and three defeats. We had backed the home side at fifty-two per cent confidence, but the match went another way entirely.
