LINCOLN CITY 2 COLCHESTER UNITED 1

League Two

Courtney Senior stepped off the bench to be a goal hero for Colchester United, but Lincoln City had the last laugh in their League Two clash at Sincil Bank.

Despite being reduced to ten men with six minutes to go and the score locked at 1-1, the Imps kept their promotion push going as Luke Waterfall headed home a dramatic late winner in time added on at the end of the game.

Senior’s goal had come on 60 minutes when he turned the ball in after good work from Mikael Mandron to have an almost instant impact just four minutes after coming on as a substitute.

It was an equalising goal for the U’s that came only six minutes after Lincoln had taken the lead from a penalty by Elliott Whitehouse.

It was a frantic spell of action after a first half that had lacked quality in the final third of the pitch at both ends and set up a tense final part to the game.

With the scores tied at 1-1 still, it got even tenser when Lincoln’s Michael Bostwick was sent off for a foul as the last defender on Mikael Mandron to leave the Imps with ten men.

However, it was the home side who kept their nerve as Waterfall bundled the ball in from a last-gasp move in time added-on at the end to deny the U’s and give Lincoln a precious three points in their promotion push.

There had been just one change for Colchester from the side that was beaten 3-1 at home by Notts County in their last outing seven days earlier.

That saw Sammie Szmodics, the man who had scored their goal in the 1-0 home win against the Imps in November, drop to the bench as Sean Murray returned to the starting line-up.

It also meant there is a second start for QPR loanee Olamide Shopido, after he made his first start in that game against Notts County.

The Imps, meanwhile, had just the one change themselves from their previous game - a 0-0 draw against Wycombe Wanderers - as Elliott Whitehouse came in for Luke Waterfall.

The game started with the home side seeing more of the ball, but it was the U’s who had the better of the early chances.

There wasn’t even a minute on the clock when Murray lifted the ball over the Imps back line for Shodipo to run on to but he fired over the bar when he should have tested Ryan Allsop in the home goal.

Then on five minutes, a corner was taken short by Ben Stevenson to Shodipo, who returned it and Stevenson chipped the ball over Allsop, but also over the bar.

There wasn’t the early breakthrough they wanted to quieten down the large and vocal home crowd, but the U’s continued to hold a threat going forward, with Shodipo involved in some good play down the left.

The necessary cutting edge in front of goal was lacking in the early stages, though, with a couple of ambitious efforts from Ryan Jackson heading over the target.

At the other end, Lincoln struggled to exert too much consistent pressure in the opening half hour and it was only Harry Anderson’s wayward drive and a shot from Elliott Whitehouse, that was well blocked by Sam Walker, that gave the visitors cause for concern.

However, the home side looked more likely to break the deadlock towards the end of the half as Matt Green saw a shot deflected just wide and striker Matt Rhead fired over the target, but it remained 0-0 at the break.

Both sides knew that a more clinical edge in the final third was needed to profit from the chances they created in the second half.

It started with Lincoln on the attack and that led to them taking the lead on 55 minutes but it wasn’t from open play.

The goal came when Jackson tangled with Ollie Palmer in the area and referee Darren Handley pointed to the spot as the Lincoln man went over.

There was a bit of a discussion among the home players over who should take the spot-kick but Elliott Whitehouse eventually had the task and made no mistake in drilling the ball into the bottom corner.

Having fallen behind, Colchester knew they had to get into gear themselves and manager John McGreal made a telling substitution as Shodipo was replaced by Courtney Senior.

And it was the new addition who pulled Colchester level – just four minutes after joining the action.

The equaliser came on 60 minutes when a lovely move down the left saw Mickael Mandron play the ball low across the Imps area and Senior turned it in from close range to dampen the home fans’ enthusiasm.

The goals did lift the tempo of the game somewhat and Lincoln went close when Ollie Palmer curled a wonderful shot past Walker from outside the box that clattered off the woodwork.

There was still nothing between the two sides heading into the final stages, but Lincoln found themselves down to ten men for the final five minutes as Bostwick was shown a red card for a foul on Mandron as the last defender back.

It set up a tense finale but Lincoln kept pressing and got their reward in the 92nd minute when Waterfall bundled the ball in from a late move to lift the Sincil Bank roof and send the home fans into wild celebrations at the final whistle just seconds later.

Colchester United: Sam Walker, Ryan Jackson, Tom Eastman, Luke Prosser, Kane Vincent-Young, Brandon Comley (Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe 88), Drey Wright, Sean Murray (Sammie Szmodics 68), Ben Stevenson, Olamide Shodipo (Courtney Senior 56), Mickael Mandron.

Unused subs: Dillon Barnes, Frankie Kent, Doug Loft, Liam Mandeville.

Lincoln City: Ryan Allsop, Sam Habergham, Elliott Whitehouse (Tom Pett 70), Scott Wharton (Luke Waterfall 74), Matt Rhead, Matt Green, Michael Bostwick, Lee Frecklington, Neal Eardley, Harry Anderson (Ollie Palmer 45), Alex Woodyard.

Unused subs: Paul Farman, Jordan Williams, James Wilson, Cameron Stewart.

Referee: Darren Handley.