Bradford City came from behind to defeat the Imps at Sincil Bank on Friday evening following a pulsating Coca-Cola League 2 game between the two sides.

The Imps took the lead in the 26th minute when Louis Dodds rifled through a crowd of players; his shot going over the line before it was blocked by a Bradford defender but within nine minutes the Bantams were level after the lively Omar Daley outstripped Ryan Amoo to set up Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu.

The second period was just as exciting as the first with Lee Frecklington rattling the woodwork with a 25 yard volley midway through the half but it was left to winger Joe Colbeck to secure the points in the 79th minute for the Bantams when he latched on to a through ball from Ndumbu-Nsungu before slotting under the body of Alan Marriott.

Match report by John Vickers at Sincil Bank Stadium:

Manager John Schofield was forced to make one change to his starting line-up for this Coca-Cola League 2 game against Bradford City at Sincil Bank with Adie Moses (sickness) being replaced by Gary Croft. The change saw Lee Beevers move across to centre-back with Croft starting at left-back. Paul Green returned to the bench.

Play commenced after a minute's silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the Bradford fire; the match at Valley Parade in May 1985 being the last time the two sides met in the Football League.

It was the Bantams who got the game underway and they were the first to threaten with Joe Colbeck seeing his second minute swerving drive tipped behind well by Alan Marriott for a corner which came to nothing.

City's response saw Dany N'Guessan force a corner at the other end but Lee Frecklington's low delivery to the near post was poor and the Bradford defence cleared with ease.

The Imps' next attack saw Jamie Forrester dummy before latching on to Mark Stallard's lay-off only for the ball to just run away from him whilst at the other end good pace from Omar Daley saw him win the third corner of the evening with the game in its eighth minute. This one was headed clear by Nat Brown.

Good strength from N'Guessan then saw him muscle his way past a plethora of home defenders but the final product from the big Frenchman failed to materialise. A simple ball to Stallard would have been the better option but N'Guessan took one touch too many. Stallard then flicked a Gary Croft centre inches past the upright as the Imps pressed for the opener on the quarter hour mark

Bradford's reply saw Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu head a Colbeck cross well wide whilst the Imps were quick to respond themselves with visiting 'keeper Donovan Ricketts somehow managing to get down and palm a net-bound Jamie Forrester drive behind for a corner.

Midway through the half, N'Guessan and Dodds swapped flanks before a Forrester cross led to a third City flag-kick and this one was a peach of a delivery by Frecklington and it led to the opening goal of the game with 26 minutes on the clock.

The ball in from the Lincoln-born midfielder was nodded back across the box by Forrester at the back stick, N'Guessan saw his goalbound drive blocked on the line and when it ran loose, LOUIS DODDS blasted goalwards and although his shot was also blocked, the assistant referee was on the spot and quickly indicated that the ball was over the line.

City were buzzing now with Forrester firing wide before N'Guessan won another corner but it wasn't long before the Bantams were on the attack with some outstanding pace from Omar Daley seeing him fly down the flank and into the penalty area. It looked for a minute as if Daley had taken the ball too far but, as Marriott came off his line, he managed to poke the ball to GUYLAIN NDUMBU-NSUNGU who brought the ball under control before firing into a virtually empty net. The Imps had led for nine minutes.

The equaliser seemed to quieten things down a bit after a fast and frenetic opening but things got going again a couple of minutes before the break when a great ball from Stallard set N'Guessan off an running down the left but his final pass to Forrester was intercepted well by Wetherall for a corner.

Two minutes of added time came and went without incident so an entertaining opening half came to a close at one goal apiece.

HT: IMPS 1 BRADFORD CITY 1

The teams emerged unchanged for the start of the second period with the Imps now kicking towards the Stacey West Stand as they restarted proceedings.

A foul on Peter Thorne by Lee Beevers gave the visitors a free-kick in a dangerous position four minutes into the second half and when Eddie Johnson set his sights, Alan Marriott had to be at full stretch to tip the ball behind. At the other end a deflected Dany N'Guessan effort led to a corner for the Imps and after this came into the area Dodds let fly with Ricketts springing up to brilliantly tip the ball over.

It was end-to-end stuff now with Bradford, roared on by their 1,000-strong band of travelling supporters, forcing their fifth corner of the game nine minutes after the restart. High feet from Lee Frecklington then saw him pick up the game's first yellow card.

Forrester then sliced an effort wide after N'Guessan played the ball into his path before Stallard had a shot blocked after Forrester played him in on the edge of the box. A long throw from Amoo then ended up with Frecklington seeing his powerful volley crash against the right hand upright before bouncing clear to safety.

Just after the midway point in the second half an injury to N'Guessan saw him receive treatment from Michael Wait before making his way off the pitch and back on. When he did return in the 73rd minute the Frenchman saw yellow after leaving his foot in on Johnson. A minute later N'Guessan was replaced by Owain Warlow to bring an end to an incident-packed couple of minutes for the big number 17.

After a quiet couple of minutes, the Bantams pressure, which had seen them enjoy plenty of possession without really threatening, paid off when Ndumbu-Nsungu picked up possession in the middle before spotting the run of Joe Colbeck. Colbeck did the rest, taking a couple of touches before slotting the ball under the body of the advancing Marriott. The goal came with 11 minutes remaining.

Two minutes later Barry Conlon replaced Peter Thorne in a straight swap up front for the visitors whilst Omar Daley made way for Kyle Nix six minutes from time.

City responded by bringing Steve Torpey and Scott Kerr on for Gary Croft and Louis Dodds, whose last act was to pick up a caution for a late challenge on Johnson.

Torpey and Warlow immediately had shots blocked as City poured forward in search of an equaliser whilst in the first of four added minutes Craig Bentham replaced Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu for Bradford.

City's next foray forward saw Scott Phelan see yellow for a foul on Jamie Hand with the free-kick probably the Imps last chance to grab something from the game. Frecklington's effort crashed into the Bradford wall though and that was that.

FT: IMPS 1 BRADFORD CITY 2

MATCH FACTS

LINCOLN CITY
1 Alan MARRIOTT
14 Ryan AMOO
5 Lee BEEVERS
6 Nat BROWN
3 Gary CROFT
7 Lee FRECKLINGTON
26 Jamie HAND
19 Louis DODDS
17 Dany N'GUESSAN
8 Jamie FORRESTER
9 Mark STALLARD

subs
20 Owain WARLOW (for N'GUESSAN 74)
10 Steve TORPEY (for CROFT 86)
11 Scott KERR (for DODDS 86)
2 Paul GREEN
18 Ollie RYAN

GOAL: DODDS (26)

BOOKINGS: FRECKLINGTON (56), N'GUESSAN (73), DODDS (86)

BRADFORD CITY
1 Donovan RICKETTS
3 Paul HECKINGBOTTOM
5 David WETHERALL
6 Mark BOWER
7 Omar DALEY
8 Eddie JOHNSON
10 Peter THORNE
15 Joe COLBECK
17 Thomas HARBAN
20 Scott PHELAN
24 Guylain NDUMBU-NSUNGU

subs
9 Barry CONLON (for THORNE 81)
22 Kyle NIX (for DALEY 84)
14 Craig BENTHAM (for NDUMBU-NSUNGU 90+1)
12 Matthew CLARKE
30 Ben SAYNOR

GOALS: NDUMBU-NSUNGU (35), COLBECK (79)

REFEREE: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
ASSISTANTS: Geoff Law & Wayne Porter
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Paul Barnes

ATTENDANCE: 5,286 (1,064 visiting supporters)