Lincoln City vs West Ham: Two Red Cards as Lincoln City Down to Nine Men

Lincoln City were reduced to nine men inside 23 minutes against West Ham at the LNER Stadium, and Nuno Espírito Santo’s side made the most of it just before half-time when Konstantinos Mavropanos headed them in front.

Full-time: Lincoln City 0-6 West Ham. The nine men held out until the stroke of half-time, but West Ham scored five more after the break. Read our full Lincoln City 0-6 West Ham match report.

The Championship game was barely under way when Tom Hamer was sent off. The Lincoln defender caught Joël Veltman with a lunging challenge in the third minute, and the referee showed him a straight red card.

McGrandles red card leaves Lincoln with nine

Twenty minutes later it got worse for the home side. Conor McGrandles tried to play the ball back to his goalkeeper, Jarrod Bowen nipped in, and McGrandles pulled him back as the West Ham winger raced through on goal. With Bowen clean through, the referee had little choice: a second red card, for denying a goalscoring opportunity, and Lincoln were down to nine men with 67 minutes still to play.

West Ham had already wasted a big chance moments earlier, when Mohamadou Kanté headed wide from three yards after Bowen’s corner.

“As a coach you cannot legislate for this. How do you plan with nine men?”

Andy Hinchcliffe, Sky Sports Football

Mavropanos breaks the resistance

For all their numerical advantage, West Ham struggled to turn possession into chances. They had 81 per cent of the ball in the first half but did not test George Wickens until the 38th minute, when the Lincoln goalkeeper got down well to stop Veltman’s drive from the edge of the box.

The breakthrough came from a set piece. Bowen whipped a corner into the six-yard box and Mavropanos nodded in on the stroke of half-time, his fifth goal of the season, to make it 0-1 at the break.

First-half key moments

• 3′ Red card: Tom Hamer (Lincoln City), foul on Joël Veltman
• 22′ Chance: Mohamadou Kanté heads wide from close range
• 23′ Red card: Conor McGrandles (Lincoln City), pulls back Jarrod Bowen when through on goal
• 45′ Goal: Konstantinos Mavropanos (West Ham), assisted by Jarrod Bowen

Half-time stats

Lincoln City		West Ham
19%	Possession	81%
4	Shots	13
0	Shots on target	3
2	Corners	6

How it finished: West Ham win 6-0

West Ham made the extra players count after the break. Half-time substitute Edvin Austbø scored three minutes into the second half, and Jarrod Bowen added a third two minutes later.

Pablo made it four on 75 minutes, and substitute Tomáš Souček scored twice, on 79 and 89 minutes, to complete a 6-0 win. Bowen finished with a goal and two assists.

• 48′ Goal: Edvin Austbø (West Ham), assisted by Joël Piroe, 0-2
• 50′ Goal: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), assisted by Arne Engels, 0-3
• 75′ Goal: Pablo (West Ham), assisted by Edvin Austbø, 0-4
• 79′ Goal: Tomáš Souček (West Ham), assisted by Jarrod Bowen, 0-5
• 89′ Goal: Tomáš Souček (West Ham), 0-6

West Ham finished with 83 per cent possession and 32 shots to Lincoln’s five. For the full story of the second half, the reaction and what the result means in the Championship table, read our Lincoln City 0-6 West Ham match report. Every update from the night is in our Lincoln City vs West Ham live match centre.

Before the game: West Ham XI vs Lincoln: Piroe and Kanté start as Nuno makes four changes.