Charlton Athletic 2, Lincoln City 2
Battling City earned a point at Charlton Athletic thanks to two strikes from James Collins - denying the London side a ninth straight win at The Valley.
Head coach Michael Skubala made three changes to the side that defeated promotion-chasing Huddersfield Town in midweek. Conor McGrandles returned to the XI to face his former club, replacing Tom Bayliss. There were also starts for Ben House and Erik Ring, with Reeco Hackett and Joe Gardner making way.
City got their noses in front from a corner when Ring was the provider with an excellent delivery into the six-yard box, which was expertly guided into the back of the net by the head of James Collins on 17 minutes.
City made a great start to the second half and doubled their lead after 49 minutes. Hamer’s long pass was chested into the forward’s path by Collins, who shifted away from McIntyre before applying a clinical finish past the outstretched arm of Mannion.
The Addicks piled on the pressure to get back into the game and succeeded through a corner that wasn’t cleared and fell to Macauley Gillesphey to slide home.
The home side drew level with 15 minutes to go as Greg Docherty fired a volley past the unsighted George Wickens. Lincoln had to hold firm in front of the 600 travelling fans during the final spell to ensure they got a point out of the game.
Assistant head coach Tom Shaw said there was plenty to build on after the Imps earned the draw.
"Everyone's disappointed because they're really good professionals who worked so hard to try and get three points, but there are so many positives for us as a club to take from that.
"When we analyse that there will be loads to learn from, and hopefully the next time we're 2-0 up at a big club we'll learn from this and get over the line. The supporters were brilliant and got behind us from the first minute until the last."
Shaw has no doubt over the motivation the players have going into the final five fixtures of the campaign.
He added: "To get four points from the games against Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic is a haul we can be happy with, there have been some really good individual performances and collective pieces of quality.
"This group impresses me every day. Players who are not in the team are still bang on it every day, there's no sign of them switching off and we are laying some really strong foundations for the future."
Picture: Vaughan Photography
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