City made it two wins from as many games in the Vertu Trophy with a 3-0 victory over Manchester United U21 at the LNER Stadium on Tuesday evening.
After a goalless first half, City turned on the style in the second period to score three unanswered goals against the Red Devils. Tom Hamer – skippering the side for the first time – scored the first, with strikes from Erik Ring and Reeco Hackett adding further gloss to the scoreline.
Michael Skubala made 11 changes to the side that beat Peterborough United 3-0 on Saturday, as Dexter Lembikisa came into the side to make his Imps debut.
The first chance of the game fell to City as Lewis Montsma’s looping ball after seven minutes found the head of Erik Ring who flicked it on to an on-running Justin Obikwu, but he couldn’t keep his effort down.
After 18 minutes Lembikisa and Oscar Thorn linked up down the Imps’ right-hand side before the later swung a ball into the danger area that was met by Obikwu, and he was denied only by a reflex save from the United keeper.
Some tidy passing on the half hour mark saw Ring slide a pass down the channel to Frankie Okoronkwo who once again found Obikwu who beat his man before unleashing a shot into the palms of Murdock in the visitor’s goal.
The visitors’ first chance came after 42 minutes when James Scanlon worked his way past City defenders into the 18-yard box before taking a shot that forced the first save from Zach Jeacock who parried it into the side netting.
The Imps opened the scoring less than two minutes into the second half as Ivan Varfolomeev whipped a corner into the Manchester United box and Hamer rose highest to loop a header over Murdock for his first goal of the season.
Monstma denied the visitors a goal in the 57th minute as Jack Fletcher found room for a shot in the City box and he opened his body up for the shot just for his effort to be met by the head of the Imps’ Dutch defender.
After 67 minutes the Imps double their lead as Lembikisa wriggled his way through the United defence on debut before swinging a ball to the back post where Ring awaited and his effort bounced off the bottom of the crossbar before crossing the line.
Two substitutes make an impact in the game as after 88 minutes, Tom Bayliss played a through ball into Reeco Hackett who controlled it and placed his effort into the far corner giving Murdock little chance of getting a hand to it.
Imps | Jeacock, Montsma, Towler, Thorn (Draper 65’), Ring, Okoronkwo (Street 65’), Obikwu (Hackett 64’), Hamer (Reach 71’), Lembikisa, Varfolomeev (Bayliss 65’), Barbrook Unused Subs | Pardington, Collins
Manchester United U21 | Murdock, Obi (Biancheri 66’), J Fletcher, T Fletcher, Bennett (McAllister 82’), Scanlon (Ibragimov 82’), Lacey, Fitzgerald (Musa 85’), Munro, Devaney, Mantato Unused Subs: Heath, Mills,Thwaites.
Referee | Jamie O’Connor
Attendance | 3,347 (479 away)
