Injury time goal sees Omonia level against the Imps

Lincoln Red Imps 1
Omonia (Cyp) 1

It was a strong start from Lincoln Red Imps against the Cypriot side in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie, with the opening five minutes spent almost entirely inside the visitors’ half.

Despite the early pressure, it was the visitors who created the first clear chance. A floated cross behind the defence left Mayambela with an open goal at his mercy, but his first touch sent the ball over the crossbar.

Omonia soon settled into their stride and began forcing Lincoln Red Imps deep into their own half for long periods. The Imps once again looked uncomfortable, much as they had against the Swedish champions who eliminated them from the UEFA Champions League.

Lincoln’s best opportunity of the first half came in the 27th minute when a panicked back pass forced the Omonia goalkeeper to head the ball clear from outside his six-yard box.

Just a minute later, Hankins, once again the only Gibraltar-born player on the pitch, produced a superb double save after the defence allowed Andreou to curl an effort towards the far post.

On the half-hour mark, Toledano was unable to bring under control a floated ball behind the defence that would have left him with a clear sight of goal. Omonia eventually cleared for a corner, but the opportunity to pile pressure on the visitors was wasted after an infringement as the ball was delivered into the penalty area.

A half-empty Europa Sports Stadium watched as the Imps searched for a route into the penalty area. Calls for a penalty were waved away in the 34th minute after Eersterling went to ground having burst past two defenders on a quick counter-attack.

As the first half entered its closing stages, Lincoln began creating more openings but still failed to enjoy the dominance they would have wanted on home soil.

Head coach Pavón, making his own Europa League debut, needed to find a solution that could provide his side with the breakthrough.

Lincoln, who had reinforced their squad following the departures of De Barr and Pozo, were very much a changed side, with far less of the home-grown identity that had helped generate such strong support from the stands in previous seasons.

Although the majority of last season’s starting eleven remained, the new signings did not yet appear capable of filling the void left by influential players such as De Barr.

Goalless at half-time, Lincoln Red Imps still had a long way to go to display the confidence that had carried them into the UEFA Conference League group stage last season.

The second half brought little change. As the match reached the hour mark, neither side had managed to create a genuine clear-cut chance that suggested the deadlock was about to be broken.

An off-the-ball incident in the 65th minute saw Toledano booked as tensions on the pitch continued to rise.

In the 70th minute, a fumble by the Omonia goalkeeper from what should have been a routine catch gifted Lincoln a corner.

It proved to be a costly mistake. The resulting delivery into the six-yard box was glanced beyond the goalkeeper by Rutjens to give Lincoln the lead.

Omonia immediately searched for an equaliser, with Hankins making another important save in the 73rd minute.

Ethan Jolley became the third Gibraltar international to enter the match with 14 minutes remaining.

Although Lincoln spent much of the closing stages on the back foot, they did enough to frustrate the visitors, who were largely restricted to a handful of tame efforts at goal. The Imps also introduced Mason and Britto, with Britto returning after a prolonged injury lay-off and Mason making his competitive debut following his summer arrival. Both home-grown players brought valuable international experience.

Mason injected fresh energy into the attack, forcing Omonia to retreat on several occasions.

In the 90th minute, Omonia came close when a glancing header from a free-kick delivery drifted over the crossbar, their nearest effort since Lincoln had taken the lead.

The tension intensified in stoppage time as the visitors launched one final assault. A contentious free kick awarded to Omonia saw Hankins produce two outstanding saves on his line. However, the Lincoln defence were unable to prevent Maric from smashing the loose ball home on the half-volley. A lengthy VAR check followed before the goal was awarded.

Lincoln now head to Cyprus having surrendered their slender advantage with virtually the last kick of the match.

Although it was far from their most convincing performance, the Imps can at least take encouragement from the fact that their defence was only breached deep into injury time.