City battled back to start 2026 with a point against Huddersfield Town, with the 1-1 draw against the Terriers extending the Imps’ unbeaten run in Sky Bet League One to seven matches.
Despite creating the majority of the opportunities, City found themselves trailing 1-0 just past the hour mark when Leo Castledine converted Alfie May’s cross. However, the Imps once again showed great resilience to hit back through Adam Reach just eight minutes later.
Michael Skubala made three changes to the side who took all three points at Barnsley on Monday evening, with Ryley Towler, Reeco Hackett and Freddie Draper all coming in.
The first chance of the game fell to the Imps after three minutes when Tendayi Darikwa headed a ball forward that was flicked on by Hackett to the foot of Rob Street who in turn played the return ball to Hackett, he took aim from range with a speculative effort that narrowly missed.
Another chance fell for City in the opening minutes of the contest and once again it was orchestrated by skipper Tendayi Darikwa, who found Street with a long ball over the top, he cut the ball back to Freddie Draper, but he couldn’t force the first save of the game from Lee Nicholls.
City kept their foot on the gas with another chance after six minutes where Street, who had been instrumental to the Imps’ early onslaught, wriggled his way through the Terriers’ midfield and then played a magnificent channel ball to Reach. His cutback found Street whose effort was blocked by Marcus Harness before falling to Hackett who couldn’t keep his shot down.
After 20 minutes the Imps forced the first save out of Huddersfield’s shot stopper, Nicholls. It all stemmed from a Tom Hamer long throw into the area that was cleared only as far as Ivan Varfolomeev who unleashed a rifling shot that stung the gloves of Nicholls who could only parry the shot.
There was another Imps’ chance after 26 minutes and once again it fell to Hackett in the heart of the Huddersfield penalty area following a cutback from Reach. The former controlled the ball well dummying two defenders before taking the shot.
The Imps pressure continued into the 29th minute when Draper forced a brilliant reflex save from the Terriers’ starting goalkeeper, the majority of the action throughout the opening half hour came in the Huddersfield half as City looked for that all important opening goal.
Half Time: Imps 0 Huddersfield Town 0
Despite City's first half superiority, it was Huddersfield who took the lead against the run of play through Castledine. Alfie May forced a good save from Wickens but capitalised on the rebound to dink the ball into the path of the Chelsea loanee, who had the simplest of tasks to head home from close range.
Another glorious chance for the visitors came three minutes later when May found himself in space, but he could only lash his effort against the side-netting from a tight angle.
A key hallmark of City’s recent success has been their resilience and they once again showed fantastic resolve to hit back, with Reach converting from inside the six yard box after the ball broke to him following a Varfolomeev corner in 69 minutes.
Following the equaliser, it was the Imps who looked the most likely winners and they had a chance to edge themselves ahead when Hamer flicked another dangerous Varfolomeev delivery into the path of Draper, but his shot was off target.
It took some excellent defending from the away side to deny the Imps all three points with six minutes remaining. Darikwa picked out the forward with a cross from the right, but he saw his goalbound effort blocked by a retreating Town defender, as City were forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
Imps: Wickens, Darikwa, Reach, Towler, Hackett (Moylan 75’), McGrandles, Bradley, Street (Obikwu 75’), Hamer, Varfolomeev (Jefferies 91’), Draper. Subs not used: Jeacock, Ring, Okoronkwo, Lembikisa
Terriers: Nicholls, Sorensen, Wallace, Ledson, Gooch, Harness (Wiles 89’), Balker, Roughan, Castledine (Kasumu 82’), Radulovic, May (Charles 94’). Subs not used: Goodman, Roosken, Alves, Ashia
Attendance: 10,110 (1,680 Away)
Referee: Jamie O’Connor
Man of the Match: Reeco Hackett (chosen by Siemens Energy)
