Jorge Grant’s 77th minute penalty saw Lincoln City to a 1-0 victory over 10-man Town at Sincil Bank and to the top of the table. League One top scorer Grant netted his sixth of the season from the spot after Toto Nsiala had upended Brennan Johnson, son of 1990s Blues frontman David. Late on, Jon Nolan was dismissed for a wild challenge on Harry Anderson, while Blues boss Paul Lambert was also red-carded after the whistle for remonstrating with the referee.

Jack Lankester was handed his first league start since January 2019 and Stephen Ward, Oli Hawkins and Teddy Bishop returned to the XI.

Lankester, who missed the best part of a season and a half after two stress fractures to his back, came in on the right of the front three with Alan Judge dropping out having complained of a hamstring problem earlier in the week.

Ward took over at left-back from Myles Kenlock, who dropped to the bench, having missed the last three League One matches with the achilles problem he suffered in the visit to the MK Dons.

Bishop replaces Emyr Huws in midfield with the Welshman among the subs, while Hawkins, who came on in the second half as the Blues lost 4-1 at Doncaster on Tuesday having missed the 2-0 victory over Accrington with a groin problem, replaced Freddie Sears, who was also on the bench. Town pair James Wilson and Nolan were facing their former club.

Lincoln made two changes from the team which beat Plymouth 2-0 at Sincil Bank on Tuesday with ex-Blues loanee Tayo Edun and Harry Anderson coming into the team for Sean Roughan and Tom Hopper.

Former Town striker David Johnson’s son Brennan, who is on loan from Nottingham Forest, started for the Imps as their lone central striker.

The home side should have taken the lead in the third minute from the game’s first chance. James Jones crossed low from the right and Grant blasted over at the far post when it looked easier to score.

Lincoln were an inch or two away from going in front again in the seventh minute when Andre Dozzell played a poor pass to Grant on the edge of the area from where the former Forest man hit a shot which flicked off Toto Nsiala and struck the bar. The Blues defender cleared the danger.

The Town goal had lived a charmed life in the opening minutes but on eight Edwards hit a low shot from 20 yards which had power but was too close to Alex Palmer in the Imps goal.

A minute later, Ward saw a strike deflected behind off Anderson as the Blues began to get a foothold in the game.

But Lincoln went close again in the 16th minute when Jones stood a cross up from the right - where the Imps were causing Town considerable problems - which looped just over Grant under pressure from Blues skipper Luke Chambers as he broke in at the far post.

On 19 Edwards blasted a 25-yard free-kick straight at the wall after Bishop had been felled by Liam Bridcutt.

Two minutes later, Jones shot well over for the Imps, who were continuing to look the most likely scorers of the first goal.

In the 27th minute, after the Blues had repeatedly failed to clear the danger following a corner, Anderson was played in on the right of the area but shot across the face of goal under pressure from Wilson.

Town went close for the first time two minutes later when Dozzell sent over a corner from the left, Hawkins met it with a powerful goal-bound header from beyond the far post but Conor McGrandles nodded off the line.

The Blues were starting to pass the ball around more confidently and beginning to get control of the game as the half-hour mark was crossed.

On 31 a poor defensive header dropped to Hawkins 30 yards out with the keeper off his line having come for the initial ball forward but the former Portsmouth man shot well over.

Two minutes before the scheduled break, Johnson was played in on goal by TJ Eyoma on the right of the box and hit a low shot which Holy’s toe sent the wrong side of the post.

The half-time whistle went as Lincoln prepared to take a corner after Holy had failed to deal with a difficult Wilson pass back to him.

Town could count themselves very fortunate not to be at least a goal down at the break with Lincoln having had four very decent chances to go in front.

Two of those came early on with the Blues starting slowly before getting on top possession-wise but without being able to create anything of note.

Lincoln continued to look the more dangerous side with Holy doing well to thwart Johnson shortly before half-time.

Grant hit a powerful low shot from 25 yards which Holy dealt with confidently two minutes after the restart.

Town should have taken the lead in the 55th minute when Lankester sent over a free-kick from the left - Ward having been fouled - and Edwards reached it at the near post but headed over from close range. The Welshman will have felt he should have been celebrating his sixth goal of the season.

More of the game was being played in the Lincoln half than before the break with the Blues in control.

Chances continued to be a rarity, however. On 67 Bishop brought the ball in from the right and hit a shot which deflected off a defender and hit Nolan in the groin.

In the 75th minute Lankester found Edwards breaking into the area on the left of the area with a superb pass, however, the Welshman was dispossessed as he sought to cut inside.

Two minutes later, the Imps went in front via a very soft penalty. Johnson got round the outside of Nsiala on the left and as the defender looked to outmuscle the striker the on-loan Forest man was sent to ground.

Referee Kevin Johnson pointed straight to the spot, despite lengthy Town arguments that it wasn’t a foul and also that there was a foul on Bishop in the build-up.

While it was definitely a harsh decision, Nsiala, who also conceded a penalty at Doncaster on Tuesday, had no need to lean into Johnson with the striker not really going anywhere by that point.

Grant took the spot-kick and hit his sixth goal of the season low to Holy’s right and into the net.

Keanan Bennetts replaced Lankester, who grew into his first league start in 21 months and can be pleased with his display.

Edwards sent a dangerous ball across the Lincoln area in the 82nd minute but with no one there to add the final touch as Town went looking for a leveller.

As the game moved into four minutes of injury time, McGrandles was booked for pulling back Bennetts as he broke forward.

Keeper Holy went forward for the free-kick and got a boot on a loose ball as Lincoln initially failed to clear but it bounced harmlessly through to his Imps counterpart Palmer, who hadn’t been forced into a save all afternoon.

Deep in injury time the Blues were reduced to 10 men when Nolan dived in and made a frustrated tackle on Anderson as he broke through the middle and referee Johnson immediately showed a straight red card. The midfielder will now miss the next three games.

Following the challenge, there was a brief confrontation between the players and Bishop and Edun were both yellow-carded.

After the whistle, the Town complaints continued and manager Lambert was shown a red card.

The Blues will feel they ought to have got something from having been on top on the second half.

A game of few chances always looked destined to be settled by one goal and while the Blues had a lot of the ball in the second half, they created very little.

Lincoln, who had plenty of chances before the break, threatened equally as rarely in the second but profited from some generous refereeing and a second injudicious challenge from Nsiala in two games. Up to that point, a 0-0 draw looked very much on the cards.

Town drop to fourth with Lincoln go top with the Blues at home to Gillingham on Tuesday and Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.

Lincoln: Palmer, Eyoma, Montsma, Walsh, Edun, Bridcutt, McGrandles, Jones, Anderson, Grant, Johnson (Hopper 84). Unused: Ross, Scully, Archibald, Soule, Gotts, Roughan.

Town: Holy, Chambers (c), Nsiala, Wilson, Ward, Dozzell, Nolan, Bishop, Lankester (Bennetts 80), Edwards, Hawkins. Unused: Cornell, McGuinness, Woolfenden, Kenlock, Huws, Sears. Referee: Kevin Johnson (Weston-super-Mare).

Photo: Action Images

kuyski added 17:50 - Oct 24 Bring in Eddie Howe and give him some money to use,that I still can hope we will have a chance to get back P.League.God Bless IPSWICH.
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PSGBlue added 17:51 - Oct 24 What an embarrassment our team has become, losing to Doncaster and Lincoln within a week. If you had told me this would happen ten years ago I would have been more shocked than if you had told me that Covid-19 would be here. What has happened to our club. Ok, we are no longer a top division club, that disappeared 20 years ago with the administration. But surely we deserve to be a steady Championship team with the stadium and fan base we have. For ourselves and Sunderland getting promotion is par for the course. Anything else is failure!

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blueboy1981 added 17:54 - Oct 24 Bert - best advice to you. Think !!! - before you Print .... dangerous territory to tread !!
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rnblue63 added 17:54 - Oct 24 Deja Vu - looks very much like being a re-run of last season. World beaters against mediocre sides, but easily found out by those of any reasonable standard.
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RobITFC added 17:54 - Oct 24 As I said before the match.. why have 3 defenders on the bench , surely Dobra, Simpson, Mcgavin would have been better? We do not have a plan B? Lincoln were much quicker and sharper than us? Lambert getting sent off is embarrassing ? Echoes of last season already creeping in ? Can we bounce back this week ?
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Bert added 18:00 - Oct 24 If some people cannot understand that pay peanuts and get monkeys is not in direct reference to, amongst others, a black player then that confirms that some on here really do not understand what indirect racism is. How sad but not surprising. I understand why so many fans no longer post and that should be a worry for TWTD.
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bluelodgeblue added 18:00 - Oct 24 Any thoughts on Lamberts adjectives in his post match comments? Brilliant! Incredible! Fantastic! Please someone tell me am I getting warm? Please post your thoughts too?
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happybeingblue added 18:01 - Oct 24 after match interview from pl we played unbelieveable football! we lost ! had 2 sent off incl him,gave a pen away and had 2 shots,er is it just me or is it starting again!
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Sindre94 added 18:01 - Oct 24 I also think Holy, Toto and Nolan arent good enough. But people may disagree with me about Bish: I dont think he offers enough in that role. Except a few goals I dont see that he's contributed a lot this season. My team for tues: Cornell Chambo-McGuinny/Woolfie-Wilson-Ward Dozzell-Huws Bennetts-Lankester-Edwards Hawkins 4-2-3-1.
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ringwoodblue added 18:03 - Oct 24 If Doncaster can thrash us and then get beat four days later by Crewe it just proves how unpredictable this league is. Any team that can string a set of good results together are going to be up there - just a shame we aren't one of those teams. I can sort of understand why Lambert stuck by Toto today but the gamble didn't pay off. If he picks him again on Tue, this would be simply ridiculous and show what a stubborn man he is. Our goals from midfield were bound to dry up at some point and having no decent fit strikers is now really hurting us. I'm not going to let it get me down as life is challenging enough right now.

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BettyBlue added 18:04 - Oct 24 Doncaster and Lincoln looked really ordinary. They don't look like top six clubs. And we, with a £1m manager look just the same as when he arrived, absolute CRAP. Without any improvement in the team surely he has to walk. Lambert can't handle Div 1 despite him being associated with all his previous Big clubs. Shocking.
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TexacoCup added 18:06 - Oct 24 Quite a mixture of opinions, it seems Brenner, Mathie and Lambert thought we played well. I watched with Lincoln commentary - they thought we were slow and despite the possession, hardly threatened at all. TBH i'm with the Lincoln guys, we didn't have the ability to gear up and open their defence. We looked vulnerable at the back and I for one am really gutted - i was really bored watching that - pass pass pass nothing!

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TimmyH added 18:09 - Oct 24 Sorry Bert you've been swallowed up by the PC brigade, 'the peanuts' remark was pointed towards white players as well, you do know that?
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anditractor added 18:11 - Oct 24 Deja vu !!!!! Same as last season. Great start then undone when we play the so called better teams. These are the teams we should be beating if we want to go up. Roll on next game
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Marinersnose added 18:12 - Oct 24 A draw would've been a fair result as neither team created many clear cut chances. Edwards missed a sitter which was a surprise as he is our form player. Build up play was too slow but positives for me were the performances of Lankester and Bishop. Lankester showed so excellent touches and picked some good passes but he's along way from full fitness. Hawkins did well but has no support and is on a par with Jackson for the worst first touch with his second always a tackle. Ward was solid and Chambers was also . Nsiala failed to find a blue shirt on too many occasions and again gave away a penalty to cost his team 3 points. He's had a decent start to the season but he now needs to be dropped. Holy as well needs a rest as he looks hesitant and his kicking and decision making has been poor. Wilson was okay but I feel PL will so play Woolfenden and McGuiness who are both good with their feet. Sears playing off Hawkins is a must or Bennets

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blueboy1981 added 18:12 - Oct 24 One Trick Ponies start with a Gallop, but soon reduce to a Canter. - but ring a few bells ... !! Sound familiar .... ??
2

bringonbrazil added 18:13 - Oct 24 Lambert needs to take a long look in the mirror. Nothing wrong with the penalty decision or red card. Nsiala is not a footballer. He cannot pass, control or tackle and his brain is 2 seconds behind whats going on. As manager, Lambert needs to stand up and be a role model, not blame the referee.
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budgieplucker added 18:14 - Oct 24 Oh Toto, I was really routing for you after some magnificent blocks and defending in the first few games and genuinely pleased that you had found a way back, and by all accounts you are a lovely bloke. After Doncaster match where the needless challenge for the penalty put us 3-1 down and effectively gave us no way back, I was hoping that you would get another chance today to redeem yourself. Genuinely speaking I wouldn't want to see any player be replaced off the back of one poor performance and best antidote is to get them back out there for the next game to put things right. We can argue all night whether it was a penalty or not, but if it had been our player who went down in the opposition's box we would have all been screaming for it. The real fact is that Toto gave the referee a decision to make and there was no real need to touch the guy at all!!!! I don't want to see Toto receive a load of abuse over this but a spell out of the side with him having to work hard to get back will focus his mind on rash challenges. Willo to move across and let's see what the lad McGuiness has in his locker. A draw at Lincoln would have been an OK result. But it does look like that we lack the teeth to punish the better teams in this league and unless we can take points of top six sides we are going to be no where near the play offs, let alone a top two place. Despite all our possession we did not trouble the opposition's goalkeeper at all. Yes we are seeing some nice passages of play but to often very poor final balls. Poor Oli Hawkins is really playing in a 4-5-1 not a 4-3-3. Downes has his place cement in when he recovers from injury as our midfield who have at times played well lack urgency and aggression. Nolan such a frustrating player does some really good things but will then equally be poor at times. Andre been really good in most games but starting to look a little jaded and sloppy in the last couple of games, Bish wanders in and out of games. The consistency we were building is starting to slip. Today was an opportunity to reapply some grip, sadly we didnt.

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Bert added 18:23 - Oct 24 How anyone can say that the remark I object to is not indirect racism needs to educate themselves. It's 100% racist however you read it even if the writer didn't intend it to be.
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Bluearmy_81 added 18:23 - Oct 24 Bert, your comment is outrageous. How dare you accuse me of being racist. There is nothing racist in my comment, it is an expression which was perfectly apt. To see racism in it says more about you than it does me.
15

Drifter3012 added 18:26 - Oct 24 Not much to add to what has been said re team selection. A few guys need to "lose the shirt" now. Need a more cutting edge & some pace. Can't help think about my Dad who sat in what will always be known as the East Stand right from late 60's to late 90's. He saw all the highs and many lows but losing to Doncaster & Lincoln in a week would make him turn in his grave.

3

ringwoodblue added 18:26 - Oct 24 A very good and fair assessment budgieplucker
1

tractorboybig added 18:27 - Oct 24 bert you are a prick ..and nothing changes while the scottish dickhead remains ( bert thats a fact not racist)
0

aloanagain added 18:35 - Oct 24 When are we going to see an Ipswich team play decent, exciting football? The football has become boring,again and so predictably. We haven't got the players to play out from the back, once we get to the halfway line the ball goes back again. When are we going to give the opposition keeper some work to do? Why can't we go on a run of 10-15 games without losing? So frustrating being a Town supporter. Can't people at the top see all this? Roll on Tuesday.

6

Suffolkboy added 18:36 - Oct 24 AN is as yet no thinker , not wise enough and therefore can be and is exposed in ‘uncertain ‘ situations – and yet it's under pressure we need to see strengths and cool heads : PL must surely be confronted with the logical questions ,and expected to have proper answers. As to ST ,then ITFC ( or somebody in the hierarchy ) should be asking for and getting published acknowledgement and apologies for the sort of unrestrained behaviour which on the pitch would, and did, result in punishments we don't need and can't afford . Perhaps PL will apologise too ! Individual, personal strengths and character and resilience are needed at the heart of the team , and certainly in defence – sadly we've not demonstrated cool headed consistency and resolute performance here . JN has so many shallow , poor characteristics and personal weaknesses that it's doubtful he will ever shine , dominate and calmly produce ; losing his temper only compounds his disturbing lack of contribution . ME must wonder whether and when we shall see a complete squad available ,AND whether PL can show he CAN get the very best out of everyone , no matter what occurs . Where oh where is the determination and fighting never say die spirit ? What's happened to the togetherness – has it dissipated in the face of a spirited foe ? We who ARE ITFC deserve much much better . How ME and L O'N tackle this will be illuminating ! COYB

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