A devastating performance by Hartlepool substitute Joel Porter saw City crash out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy 5-2 at a soggy Sincil Bank on Tuesday evening.

Things started brightly for the Imps as Mark Stallard slotted home from the spot after Owain Warlow was upended by Gary Liddle but the visitors responded just before the half-hour mark with substitute Joel Porter, who then took centre stage in the second half.

The striker fired Pools in front five minutes after the restart before he set up fellow substitute Michael Mackay for a third in the 70th minute. Sixty seconds later Ian Moore fired home from another Porter centre whilst Porter's hat-trick came along four minutes later as he advanced down the middle before firing past Alan Marriott.

Stallard netted a spectacular second from 35 yards with 13 minutes remaining and both Lee Frecklington and Ollie Ryan came close to adding a third but in the end the night belonged to Hartlepool and in particular Porter who, after replacing Richard Barker in a tactical change in the ninth minute, scored three and made two more as City crashed out of the trophy on home soil.

MATCH FACTS

LINCOLN CITY
1 Alan MARRIOTT
14 Ryan AMOO
5 Lee BEEVERS
25 Hamza BENCHERIF
2 Paul GREEN
7 Lee FRECKLINGTON
11 Scott KERR
26 Jamie HAND
20 Owain WARLOW
9 Mark STALLARD
18 Ollie RYAN

subs
8 Jamie FORRESTER (for WARLOW 73)
15 Ben WRIGHT (for GREEN 73)
17 Dany N'GUESSAN (for HAND 73)
4 Adie MOSES
6 Nat BROWN

GOALS: STALLARD (4 pen, 77)

HARTLEPOOL UNITED
21 Arran LEE-BARRETT
2 Jamie McCUNNIE
3 Robbie ELLIOTT
6 Ben CLARK
7 Gary LIDDLE
9 Richard BARKER
14 James BROWN
15 Antony SWEENEY
19 Matty ROBSON
20 Godwin ANTWI
22 Ian MOORE
 
subs
10 Joel PORTER (for BARKER 9)
18 Ali GIBB (for LIDDLE 60)
24 Michael MACKAY (for BROWN 68)
5 Michael NELSON
17 David FOLEY

GOALS: PORTER (29, 50, 75), MACKAY (70), MOORE (71)

BOOKINGS: ANTWI (5), McCUNNIE (58)

MATCH OFFICIALS

REFEREE: Mike Thorpe (Suffolk)
ASSISTANTS: Mark Sutton & Jason Tyas
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Paul Martin

ATTENDANCE: 936 (93 visiting supporters)