Lincoln Red Imps one match away from Knockout stage of Conference League

The warning bells had rung before with Lincoln Red Imps. Already having drawn one and won one in the league phase of the Conference League, Sigma Olomouc’s coach had said himself that they could not underestimate Lincoln following their win against Poznań. But Sigma did underestimate Lincoln in the end, as they found themselves on the wrong end of a defeat.

Lincoln pulled out another historic moment, making this their second victory in the league phase and now just a match away from the knockout stages.

Two nervy minutes followed in which Lincoln lost their nerves and were sending Kike through, only for him to be brought down by Sigma, who got their fouls for similar play just moments later.

After eight minutes, the simplest of mistakes in a clearance was punished in style with a dipping curler into the top corner, fingertips above Hankin’s reach. It could have been two as Sigma pushed forward immediately and caught Lincoln napping, the final shot going wide.

Lincoln, knowing they needed to equalise, pushed forward and Nano won a corner, putting pressure on their opponents.

Sigma were quick on the break, but Lincoln were not sitting back and continued to probe at their defence.

On 17 minutes, De Barr put a good ball into the edge of the six-yard box, but nobody was there to head it in, and an attempted layoff did not quite work.

Just moments later, keeping the pressure on, Nano sent a long throw-in which reached Lopez. His flick-back sent the ball looping over the defence and away from the keeper, dropping in at the far post for the equaliser. Lopez scored once again, adding to his goals against Hamrun and others in the domestic league.

Lincoln were back into a confident stride, having broken Sigma’s defensive shape and showing they could hurt them.

A whiplash push in the back of De Barr, followed by an elbow to Manny’s face, did not receive more than a warning, leaving Lincoln fans angry at the referee.

With 26 minutes played, Sigma were no longer as confident, feeling Lincoln’s strength on the field and looking on par with them. The big question was whether the referee was seeing the match the same way, appearing more lenient towards Sigma and harsher on Lincoln.

By 32 minutes, Sigma had not had a shot since immediately after scoring.

Lincoln were doing very well to keep Sigma in the middle third and pressing their opponents, trying to break and push them at the other end.

Sigma got a shot in at the near post from a tight angle along the touchline, but it was easily collected by Hankin.

Toni, injured in a tackle, had to be strapped and was then taken off, substituted in the 37th minute.

De Barr grew increasingly frustrated as fouls on him were not given.

The first yellow card came for Sigma in the last minute of the first half, following a foul on Dabo.

There were chances at both ends in the dying minutes. Hankin clutched a ball inside the six-yard box, preventing a free man at the far post, and at the other end De Barr linked with Kike, only a toe-poke away from scoring, the Sigma defender doing just enough to stop him without conceding a penalty.

Lincoln, at halftime, were looking at potentially earning a further €133,000 if they could finish with a draw.

Up to now, they had earned just over half a million with their results alone, not taking into consideration the participation payment.

The participation in the league phase alone was €3,170,000. This was already making Lincoln a frontrunner by some distance in the financial stakes in the Gibraltar domestic league. Even with hosting costs between €44,000 and €150,000 depending on venue, Lincoln had far outstripped what they were expected to earn this time round, and still the marketing monies were to arrive. Reaching the league phase and getting closer to the knockout phase was adding significantly to their revenue.

Not the best of starts in the second half, with some misplaced clearances in the first minute, but nothing came from them.

Lincoln then won a free-kick for a foul on Kike at the edge of the box. Nano’s curler bent just wide.

At 69 minutes, Kolega came on for Rutjens, who had been injured in a collision.

Sigma looked uneasy and, although they had more possession, lacked the edge in the final third, giving Lincoln more confidence to continue playing their game.

On 72 minutes, the match began opening up. Tijay tested the keeper, who had to stretch to keep the ball from entering at the far post. The ball fell to Pozo who, hungry for goals as always, did exactly what he said he would do — try to score. And score he did. Lincoln took the lead, giving fans another moment to sing their songs with belief that something big was coming.

Sigma were now panicking. This was unexpected, and they were staring at defeat with seemingly nothing to respond with.

Lincoln tightened their lines and pressed high, reducing their opponents’ space.

On 77 minutes, Hankin was tested but the shot lacked the power to beat him.

Pozo tested the opposition keeper just moments later.

On 79 minutes, Hankin reacted quickly, stretching to fingertip a curling, head-high shot heading for the far post. A brilliant save to deny Sigma the equaliser.

After a good string of passes across the width of the pitch, Lincoln saw Nano hit a firm shot on goal, but it was held well by the keeper.

Sigma found themselves chasing back as Lincoln used their possession to search for a third goal.

The final five minutes were intense. Sigma hit the post and saw the follow-up cleared off the line. Hankin was injured diving to stop a header by the post but did enough to make his opponent miss the target, with defenders quickly clearing the danger.

Lincoln were heading for another historic moment and put men behind the ball to keep Sigma away, forcing their opponents to build from the back.

With five minutes added on, Lincoln held firm, although their effort was beginning to show.

De Barr took the knocks as he held the ball up, forcing fouls.

Sigma had one final chance in the last seconds, a ball across goal that skidded past the forward.

Lincoln held on, winning 2–1 and placing themselves just one match away from the knockout playoff stage.

From the €133,000 they could have earned from a score draw, they were now cashing in on their success. The win brought them a €400,000 bonus, taking their total earned — including participation — to over €4 million. Win or lose against Legia Warsaw in their final match, Lincoln were already reaping the benefits of success at this level. Progress into the knockout stage would place Lincoln, both financially and in sporting terms, head and shoulders above all other clubs in Gibraltar for many years.