City started off the game brightly but Meheta Molango's 35th second shot went well wide. Turley took the goal kick and Oxford broke as Stuart Gray broke down the left before crossing for the unmarked Craig Davies who had plenty of time to head the ball past Marriott (who made no effort to get to the ball might I add) and made it 1-0 to Oxford after 73 seconds.

City gained 2 quickfire corners but neither came to anything as Slick (Billy Turley) easily caught the second effort and it looked like it was back to the usual routine of watching Lincoln struggle to made any efforts on goal.

Infact, it was Oxford who were easily controlling the game and the should have made it 2-0 just under midway into the half when Marriott raced out of goal and attempted to sheppard the ball out of play. However, the chasing Oxford playing managed to win the ball and send in a cross into the box but fortunatly for the Imps, Bloomer was the first man to the ball and cleared it to safety.

Oxford were controlling the game as City shouldn't seem to put together a movement lasting more than 2 passes. Oxford won a corner in the 28th minute but the powerful header was cleared off the line by Cryan. City's play at time, bordered on the ridiculous as long balls were pumped up the field and Meheta "The Chaser of lost causes" Molango had no chance in hell of getting to.

Oxford should have scored again minutes later but Lee Bradbury's 20 yard effort went into the back garden of one of the houses behind the Stacey West Stand. However, as the half drew to a close, City finally managed to put some pressure on and Asamoah almost scored when he volleyed the ball inside a crowded box, however, Slick managed to pull off an excellent save and the whistle blew for half time.

Molango started the second half like he had the first, by wasting a really good oppurtunity as he burst into a box  where the Imps had a 3 on 1 advantage but he elected to shoot himself and he shot well wide.

The turning point of the game came 5 minutes after the break when a mistake from the debuting Scott Kerr, allowed Bradbury to run through 1 on 1 and it looked almost certain that he would score but fortunatly, Marriott managed to force him wide and by the time he got a shot in, the box had been filled up with players but none could force the ball into the net.

Oxford were looking defensively strong as City tried pumping the ball into the box. Then again, it's not hard to deal with a 50 yard hoof coming into your area. However, 16 minutes into the second half, something curious happened. City had won a free kick around 35 yards out. Mayo took the resulting kick and chipped it into the box where Birch beat a crowd of players to head past Slick for his 3rd goal of the season and the goal was met by genuine surprise by everyone in the ground.

The game had slowed down considerably and both teams were using dirty tactics and a whole host of players were booked by the replacement referee. Molango then made way for another debutant, Marvin Robinson, who scored a hatrick at York for the reserves in midweek.

City gained a 74th minute corner and it was initially cleared but fell to Asamoah who hit a stunning volley which went past Turley and into the net for not only his first goal in well over a year, but his first in an Imps shirt and what a way to open your account for your new club. Asamoah was booked for his over-enthusastic celebrations but I think he was as relieved as everyone else to finally score for the Imps.

Robinson almost made it 3-1 5 minutes later but his close range header was cleared off the line by Mansell. However, the Imps were down to 10 men a few minutes later when Mayo wrestled an Oxford player to the ground for his second yellow card of the game and he will miss the Carling Cup game against Crewe on Tuesday night.

This sending off might a slight change of tactics as Keates replaced Asamoah and the formation changed to a 4-3-2. However, Oxford were soon down to 10 themselves as Hargreaves also went in late on a player and recieved his marching orders.

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