It’s a knockout for Robins as sloppy defensive play is punished by Imps
BRISTOL City crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the third round with a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of League One Lincoln City in what was their worst performance of the season.
The Robins fell behind with just six minutes played as Blackpool loanee Matty Virtue powered home from long range, before Ben House doubled the lead soon after with a composed finish having won possession high up the field.
Lincoln started the second half in a similar vein to the first, and within five minutes of the restart Paudie O’Connor had capitalised after the Robins failed to clear another setpiece.
There was time for a late fightback from the Reds as substitute Tommy Conway found the net with 10 minutes left to play, but it was a case of too little too late for the home side who have now only won twice in their last 13 games, and those that had stayed behind at Ashton Gate greeted the defeat with boos and jeers.
It was a huge missed opportunity to reach the fourth round, and the prospect of drawing Premier
League opposition but also raised the increasing feelings of uncertainty around the team as, elsewhere in the Championship, results had conspired to send the Robins to 20th in the table ahead of Saturday’s home fixture against Watford, their final game before the World Cup break.
Pearson made eight changes from the side which drew at Middlesbrough on Saturday, with first senior starts for Joe Low and goalkeeper Stefan Bajic. The substitutes’ bench also included 16-yearold attacking midfielder Elijah Morrison.
But any sense of anticipation was
quickly ended as the away side, who just four days earlier had been knocked out of the FA Cup by nonLeague Chippenham Town, broke the deadlock after six minutes. Virtue was afforded plenty of space to pick out the top left corner from 20 yards out.
Ten minutes later, the Imps doubled their lead as debutant Low was dispossessed just inside City’s half by House, who broke into space before calmly slotting home.
City should have halved the lead minutes later as Antoine Semenyo found himself in acres of space inside the Lincoln box only to drag his left-footed effort well wide of the near post. Pearson’s side struggled to progress the ball through the thirds with Timm Klose and Rob Atkinson repeatedly bypassing the midfield entirely, instead opting to punt long to Chris Martin with little success.
A triple change at half-time introduced Joe Williams, Conway and Zak Vyner to the fold, but it did little to change the Robins fortunes. The lead was stretched to three inside five minutes, as O’Conner reacted the fastest to nod in from close range after City were unable to clear a long free-kick.
If City’s defending left a lot to be desired, another miss from Semenyo soon after the third goal ensured their finishing was just as sloppy. The Ghanaian struck a right-footed effort well over the crossbar from just inside the area to continue his personal torment.
Pearson’s side pulled one back with 10 minutes to play as Conway saw his first effort excellently saved by Carl Rushworth before tapping the rebound into the far corner for his ninth of the campaign.
The deficit should have been cut to one only two minutes later as Conway broke down the right wing and picked out Chris Martin with an excellent cross. Martin was unable to steer his stretched effort goalward and the possibility of any late comeback drifted away with the ball.