Goal Difference the only thing which stood between qualification and elimination for Lincoln

It was not to be the historic moment Lincoln had hoped for. However, questions will remain as to why seven points from six matches were not enough.

Although comprehensively beaten on the day by Legia Warsaw, Lincoln Red Imps’ elimination from the Conference League ultimately came down to one result other than their own and to goal difference. Defeats at the start of the competition and later in Malta proved more damaging than first expected.

With just fifteen minutes to kick-off, the Legia Warsaw stadium had more empty seats than one could ever have imagined. The hosts of what could have been a crucial qualification match for Lincoln Red Imps were themselves already out of contention, their fate sealed, with nothing but pride left to play for.

Lincoln, on the other hand, had seen a string of messages across social media from former players and coaches offering support as they searched for one final push towards the knockout stages. As former head coach McElwee had indicated, just one additional point at the start of the competition would have been enough to make history. Walking into the final matchday with seven points and only one game away from the knockout phase was far more than anyone had dreamt of. Legia Warsaw had been expected to be in this position, not Lincoln, yet the roles had been reversed.

There were nervous smiles and focused expressions on players’ faces as Lincoln Red Imps prepared to walk out. Graeme Torrilla returned to the line-up after suspension, while De Barr, Pozo and Dabo formed a front three tasked with taking Gibraltar forward. Head coach Juanjose Bezares sacrificed Kike in his selection.

It was an understandably nervy start for Lincoln, who had never faced a scenario of this magnitude at such a high level of club football. They were fortunate not to concede inside the opening two minutes after failing to scramble clear an early corner.

An early long throw from Nano tested Legia’s defence, which looked momentarily shaky in their clearance. Lincoln began to settle and saw early combinations between Dabo and De Barr testing the Polish side’s pace.

There was no doubting Legia’s threat to Lincoln’s hopes. Although already out of contention, their experienced squad and strong European pedigree made them favourites, even if recent form had not reflected that. Playing in front of their home support, they dominated possession from the outset.

A battling and determined Lincoln tried to take the game to their opponents, winning a corner in the tenth minute that was eventually cleared. Lincoln maintained momentum, pressing high. Bernardo Lopes produced two important blocks around the quarter-hour mark as Legia regained possession and pushed Lincoln back.

Legia’s goalkeeper, making only his third start of the season, remained untested after twenty minutes, his only intervention an easy collection of a speculative up-and-under from De Barr.

On the twentieth minute, Hankin, who himself had been largely untroubled, saw Lopes make a third block before Lincoln were slow to react as Legia recycled possession. A shot from outside the penalty area found its way to the far post, beyond Hankin’s reach, squeezing through the legs of defenders.

The goal set Lincoln a steep hill to climb, although at the time results elsewhere were still going in their favour and qualification remained possible.

Lincoln found themselves on the back foot and living dangerously, twice giving the ball away cheaply inside their own penalty area within seconds of each other. A resulting corner required two fine saves from Hankin to deny Legia a second goal in the 26th minute.

In the 30th minute Lincoln were again caught out down the left flank, with desperate defending needed to deny Legia as they found space once more. Hankin then made another brave close-range block before Lopes cleared from almost on the goal line.

Very much on the back foot entering the final ten minutes of the half, Lincoln posed little threat to Legia and had yet to properly test their goalkeeper. Hankin continued to grow in stature, producing another fine save in the 36th minute.

In the 39th minute Lincoln turned defence into attack when Toni’s headed clearance released Dabo, who sent De Barr through on goal. De Barr chased but, under pressure from the advancing goalkeeper, fired his shot over and into the crowd behind the goal.

Legia went into the break leading 1–0. However, at half-time Lincoln would have known they were still in a qualifying position, with other results continuing to go their way.

The second half began with an immediate scare for Lincoln as a heavy defensive touch high up the pitch allowed Legia to break freely. Somehow, Lincoln managed to recover, throwing bodies behind the ball to block their route to goal.

The hosts maintained momentum for several minutes, with Lincoln only briefly regaining possession. Playing in near-freezing conditions, with temperatures around 3°C, Lincoln appeared frozen under the floodlights as they clung on in the early stages of the second half.

Matters worsened as results elsewhere began to turn against them, with at least one rival taking the lead and forcing Lincoln down the table. Ironically, it was Crystal Palace’s match that was determining Lincoln’s position at that stage.

With half an hour still to play, Lincoln’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage began to fade as the hosts continued to push them deep. Lincoln struggled to find a route to goal, registering just one attempt in the opening hour.

Lopes again made his presence felt with another crucial block in the 59th minute. As Bezares prepared to make changes on the hour mark, Lincoln left themselves exposed as they pushed forward. Legia broke quickly and doubled their lead through Kapustka.

Bezares responded by introducing Kike and Árguez for Dabo and Muñoz, neither of whom had been able to threaten as expected. This was the first time Lincoln had found themselves two goals behind and required to mount a comeback.

As the minutes ticked away, there were few signs of a revival. The expressions on players’ faces reflected the growing realisation that elimination was looming, even with more than twenty minutes still to play.

A further blow followed in the 69th minute when substitute Rajović met a cross with a superb header on his first touch, beating an outstretched Hankin to make it 3–0.

Torrilla was replaced by El Ghobashy, though with fifteen minutes remaining, three goals already seemed beyond reach. As the match entered its final stages, attention began to shift away from Warsaw and towards Crystal Palace versus KuPS Kuopio. Palace levelled at 2–2 late on, and a winner for the English side would have sent Lincoln through, with Kuopio the only team whose result could still eliminate them.

Bezares threw on both Tuscano and Casciaro in the final ten minutes, replacing Pozo and Colega, making Casciaro one of the oldest players to feature in the league phase of the Conference League.

Any remaining hope was extinguished in the 82nd minute when an attempted clearance by Lopes, seemingly heading for a corner, was controlled at the far post by Bichakhchyan, who made it 4–0.

Hankin produced another brilliant save two minutes later, though the offside flag eventually went up. De Barr did pull one back in the 88th minute with a beautifully curled strike from outside the penalty area, though there was no celebration as the goal changed little.

Lincoln had two further efforts blocked in injury time, but with Crystal Palace unable to find a late winner, Lincoln Red Imps were eliminated. The English side were instead forced into the knockout play-off round rather than progressing directly to the last 16.

Lincoln were eliminated on goal difference by Sigma, the very side they had beaten to reach the final matchday with a chance of qualification. Criaova, also just above Lincoln Red Imps in the table through goal difference. Ironically, it was Polish side Lech Poznań, whom Lincoln had also beaten earlier in the competition, who progressed to the knockout stage, missing out on the last 16 by just a single point. Legia Warsaw, despite a 4–1 win on the final matchday, had been eliminated even before kicking a ball in the final match day of the league phase round.

The final league phase matchday of the Conference League once again highlighted the unpredictability of the competition’s new format, as the gap between Europe’s traditional powers and emerging sides continues to narrow at this level and the new format provides for six different opponents instead of the home and away sagas of the previous group phase format.
Lincoln Red Imps, although disappointed, had made history for Gibraltar in reaching the league phase for a second time and achieving results few had predicted this summer. Finishing equal on points with sides that had qualified, four of which had finished with seven points, showing that seven points was enough to qualify. However, results counted not in how many you had won, but on how many you had conceded.