By Nathan Jackson
January 9 2007

City earned their first draw since August with when a last minute MK Dons equaliser ended a game full of incident. After conceding an early goal, City scored twice in the second half before the stunning equaliser. It was a game that had everything but were City forunate?

MK Dons kicked off with the wind behind them as they attack the Cowshed Stand. It was a mixed start from both sides as neither managed to stamp their authority on the game early on. It was the hosts that had the first chance as Mayo appeared to be fouled in the build up but the referee waved play on as MK Dons took it down the other end of the pitch. It fell to Mitchell and he chipped the ball into the box, and an unmarked Izale McLeod, and he had an easy time in lifting it over Marriott to give MK the lead.

 

City won their first free kick in the 11^th minute as the Dons aggressive style had seen several fouls without the blow of the whistle. Jeff Hughes took the resulting free kick from 25 yards out and it went well over the net and into the crowd. However, if wouldn’t have been given even if it had gone in because the referee had noticed an incident in the wall and awarded MK a free kick.

 

Andrews tested Marriott from 30 yards out but it rolled along the ground and Marriott claimed relatively easily. The keeper then made a fine save to prevent Dyer scoring with a fierce drive. Amoo had City’s first shot on target when he smashed a cross back across goal but Harper had a relatively comfortable save. A Lee Beevers cross came close to given the Imps an equaliser but Mark Stallard couldn’t quite connect with the header. McLeod’s deflected shot hit the bar and went out for the corner.

 

City came close to carving out a chance when Forrester and Mayo ran two-on-one against the defence but Forrester’s through ball was just about blocked by a defender. With just over 10 minutes left, the Dons were awarded a penalty after Paul Morgan apparently handballed a McGovern cross. Izale McLeod stepped up and seemed to be waiting for Marriott to dive before sending his chipped effort well wide of the target and into the stands.

 

Frecklington was booked on 42 minutes before City won a free kick about 20 yards out. Kerr chipped the ball in and Lee Beevers connected with a header but could only wait it sail over the bar. Paul Morgan shot wide from a Frecklington cross just as the half was coming to an end.

 

City had a penalty appeal within a minute of the restart but Booth ruled that Lewington’s foul on Frecklington wasn’t worthy of a penalty. With about 5 minutes of the half, Marriot supplied Forrester, he played the ball to Hughes and he cross it into the box. The ball fell to Amoo, and the midfielder shot first time with Lewington’s arm getting in the way of the likely goal, and City had their first penalty since the win over Bristol Rovers little over a month ago. Forrester stepped up and smashed the ball down the centre to bring the Imps level.

 

Scott Kerr should have put the Imps ahead within a minute as a corner found him unmarked at the back post. The midfield had plenty of time but his header was headed over. Morgan had to be alert to deny McLeod a chance on goal before Clive Platt replaced Mitchell.

 

City were fortunate to stay level and will have Mayo to thank for a goal-line clearance after McLeod had waltzed through the defence without any bother. Lloyd Dyer, a man who scored his first ever professional goal against the Imps a few years back (for Kidderminster), was replaced by Gary Smith.

 

Morgan was then getting the praise of his team-mates as he recovered from a poor back header that had seen McLeod sent through by the weak backward pass. Wilbraham shot wide for the hosts from the edge of the area before Jude Stirling replaced McGovern. The ex-Lincoln player was right in the action as he supplied Wilbraham with a chance that the midfielder subsequently wasted. City made a double substitution with Moses and Weir-Daly replacing Forrester and Kerr.

 

46 seconds after coming on, Weir-Daly was set free in the box and with his first touch slotted past the goalkeeper to give the Imps a 2-1 lead which to be honest, wasn’t deserved. It made a complete difference to his first action of his debut which saw him booked.

 

MK Dons went back to their “beat them up, ask questions later” tactics and the referee had to have several conversations with their players about their dirty tactics. McLeod suddenly found himself free again as he ran with Morgan on goal. There was a collision between the two and in typical McLeod style, he went down like a “sack of spuds” and MK had a penalty. Paul Morgan also became the first Lincoln player to see a red card this season, a feat he managed last season. This time is was Wilbraham with the penalty, this time it hit the bar and it appeared that City had the victory.

 

However, with just over 30 seconds of the game left, Gareth Edds collected the ball just on the edge of the area before unleashing an unstoppable effort past Marriott and the game finished 2-2.