Salford City battle to win over Lincoln City and progress in FA Cup

Salford City 1 - 1 Lincoln City (Salford won 4-2 on penalties)

Daniel Udoh held his nerve to convert the winning penalty as Salford City edged past Lincoln City in a shoot-out to reach the second round of the FA Cup.

Author | Alan Thompson

Stadium | The Peninsula Stadium

The League Two side forced extra-time thanks to Kelly N’Mai’s dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time, cancelling out Erik Ring’s first-half opener for the visitors.

Closer look at what happened

Lincoln had looked set to progress after Ring broke through the Salford defence to finish neatly into the bottom corner midway through the first half. Karl Robinson’s side responded with attacking intent after the break, and a triple substitution early in the second half nearly paid off when Udoh headed just wide from Kadeem Harris’ cross.

Salford’s persistence was rewarded in stoppage time when N’Mai found the composure to slot home and send the tie into extra-time. Lincoln’s task was then made harder when Tendayi Darikwa was dismissed after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, one for dissent and another for simulation.

Both sides squandered golden chances to win it late on, with Tom Bayliss dragging wide when clean through and N’Mai blazing over from close range.

In the shoot-out, Bayliss struck the bar and goalkeeper Mark Howard denied Conor McGrandles before substitute Udoh stepped up to fire Salford into the next round.

After the match, Salford fans left the ground dreaming of a cup run and the potential of facing one of the Premier League's top sides away from home. 

Salford boss delighted with their progress

Salford boss Karl Robinson told the media: “It shows the type of football club we are becoming. We are very aggressive in all of our processes. I think we showed a tremendous sense of control today. I did not feel that we lost control of the game at any stage. We were very fluid in the way that we played, and from my point of view I’m really happy.

“We’ve got this internal belief that no game is out of our reach, ever. We go for everything. When you go for everything, you sometimes can be vulnerable and you can be exposed in that ability to be 100% on the front foot, but I’d much rather a team that know who we are, we’ll die with every ounce of energy going to the grass.”