Burton Albion 0, Lincoln City 1
Ben House's first goal of the season sent City into the third round of the Carabao Cup.
House's curled effort in the 89th minute, after coming off the bench, sealed victory at the Pirelli Stadium.
It was a deserved victory for the Imps, who had created the better chances in the second half and finished strongly after some attacking substitutions - including the matchwinner.
With significant player rotation for both sides the match needed some impetus and City’s head coach Michael Skubala made four changes with 20 minutes to go - sending on Freddie Draper, Conor McGrandles, Reeco Hackett and James Collins.
They immediately made an impact, but the decisive moment came House’s 84th minute substitution as on 89 minutes Draper laid the ball off to him, and he curled the ball magnificently into the far top corner.
Skubala said: “It was a great finish and a job well done - we got on top of the match in the second half after making a number of tactical adjustments .
“We had plenty of the ball in the first-half, but we opened up the pitch in the second half.
“Burton are really well coached and hard to break down and sat in deep, and as they tired and we brought players off the bench finished with real intensity.”
Skubala was pleased with the performances of the new arrivals - with Ivan Varfolomeev and Frankie Okoronkwo making their first starts.
He added: “Frankie had exciting moments with the ball, he was calm and technically good. Even at the end he was working hard.
“Ivan showed the qualities why we brought him here. He’s got to learn about League One English football and we need to keep working on our communication, as you’d expect, but I was really pleased with him.”
Attendance: 1,837
Picture: Vaughan Photography
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