Lincoln City battled bravely against Liverpool in their third round Carabao Cup tie, but were outclassed by superior opposition in an entertaining match.
Liverpool made 10 changes to the side that won 2-0 at Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, with imperious centre back Virgil Van Dijk the only one to keep his place in the team.
The Imps also made changes, with Max Melbourne and Alex Bradley coming in at full back and Anthony Scully starting up front in place of Tom Hopper.
Liverpool started the game on the front foot, as expected, and were rewarded with an early lead when Xherdan Shaqiri whipped a free kick into the top corner after just eight minutes.
๐ – ๐๐๐!
Xherdan Shaqiri gives #LFC the lead with a sensational free-kick! ๐ฏ
The Premier League champions doubled their lead on 17 minutes after a loose pass by Lewis Montsma was pounced on by the high press, before Takumi Minamino curled an effort past Alex Palmer.
๐ฎ – ๐๐ฝ + ๐ฝ
Lincoln City get caught out at the back and Minamino curls one into the top corner! ๐ฅ
A couple of half chances fell Lincoln’s way after the second goal, with good work down the left by Max Melbourne setting up a header for TJ Eyoma, who missed the target from close range.
It went from bad to worse at the half hour mark, when a long diagonal ball from Liverpool debutant Rhys Williams was nodded down by Divock Origi to find Curtis Jones, who fired into the top corner to make it 3-0 to the Reds.
๐ – "An absolute ๐ข๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐๐จ๐จ in finishing from Liverpool!"
The Premier League champions are putting on a show at Lincoln City! ๐ฅ
Jones, who absolutely ran the show, wasn’t finished there, a deflected shot from 25 yards hit the back of the net to make it 4-0 before half time.
Just before the break, a promising run from Tayo Edun got him into the box before testing Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian, coming the closest of all the Imps players to finding the net.
Liverpool weren’t in any mood to wait for more goals, with Takumi Minamino adding a fifth just 20 seconds in to the second half.
The Imps raced through a couple of minutes later, but both Harry Anderson and Edun were denied by some alert goalkeeping from Adrian.
Lincoln kept the pressure on and forced another save out of Adrian on 52 minutes, when he kept out an Anthony Scully effort from inside the area.
Eyoma again found space in the area but couldn’t find the target after a teasing Jorge Grant free kick at the hour mark.
The Imps’ second half efforts were met with a deserved goal, when Tayo Edun danced his way into space in the penalty area and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to make it 5-1.
Lincoln’s spirited fightback didn’t last long, as Marko Grujic’s low driven effort found its way past Alex Palmer for Liverpool’s sixth goal in 64 minutes.
The action continued just minutes later, when a Lincoln corner was met by Lewis Montsma who headed into the net off the crossbar, becoming the only player to score in all three rounds of this year’s Carabao Cup, 6-2.
Just when the game appeared to be dwindling and heading towards a finish, Divock Origi broke through the Lincoln defence and smashed the ball home to round off the performance and make it 7-2.
The Premier League side’s new ยฃ45m man Diogo Jota was given his first minutes at his new club, replacing teenager Harvey Elliott in the second half, but couldn’t score on his debut.
Lincoln never stopped pressing the ball and created plenty of chances in the second half, but Michael Appleton’s men were powerless to stop a vintage attacking display from Liverpool.
The focus now moves on to Sunday for Lincoln, as they look to continue their 100% winning start in League One at home to Charlton Athletic.
Lineups
Lincoln: Palmer, Bradley, Eyoma, Montsma, Melbourne, Anderson (Archibald 66), Jones (McGrandles 59), Edun, Bridcutt (Hopper 59), Grant, Scully
Liverpool: Adrian, N. Williams, R. Williams, Van Dijk (Fabinho 45), Tsimikas, Grujic, Jones, Shaqiri (Keita 74), Elliott (Jota 56), Minamino, Origi
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COVID-19 testing in Lincolnshire is being scaled back as part of government plans to expand home testing as children return to school.
The testing sites at the Lincolnshire Showground, and in Boston and Skegness, have started opening for half a day in order for parents and others to collect home-testing kits during a second session in the afternoon following a deep clean.
Health bosses are now also looking at how these changes will impact on rapid testing sites.
Under government plans for the return to school, young people have to take tests twice a week, with parents and carers also being asked to do the same.
Professor Derek Ward said: โWe don’t want them go into the same place that people who have got symptoms are getting their normal PCR tests at the same time.
โSo the governmentย changed our fixed sites that we’ve got – the two regional sites one in Lincoln, one in Boston, and another one in Skegness.
โIf you think you’ve got a symptom, you book yourself in a test you’ll be going in the morning, then at lunchtime they close and do a deep clean
โIn the afternoon they open up again, but only to allow people who haven’t got any symptoms to go and pick up their lateral flow testing kits.โ
Home testing kits will include two packs per person and will aim to last for seven weeks.
Professor Ward said bosses were in talks about where more sites could go in the next couple of weeks to increase coverage across the county.
โOur plan is to make sure that people will be in around within around five miles of somewhere that they can go and pick up a kit,โ he said.
A cricket clothing and equipment company born in Australia has expanded into the UK and established its headquarters in North Hykeham.
TNF Cricket was founded in Australia 10 years ago and has been providing cricket apparel to the UK market for four years.
It has now launched Tails Never Fails UK, with the new facility at the Leafbridge business park on Station Road in North Hykeham acting as its office and shop/warehouse.
The cricket clothing and equipment company born expanded into Lincoln in 2021.
It is solely online at the moment, but the shop is expected to open later this year.
Although it specialises in the manufacture of cricket products, TNF also produce merchandise and apparel for football, rugby, hockey and several other sports.
It also caters for the corporate apparel market and is working with local cricket clubs including Lindum, Gully Crickters, Market Rasen and Horncastle.
Tails Never Fails UK is working with local cricket clubs including Lindum. TNF’s Will Taylor (left) in action for Lindum, alongside Jack McLagan. | Photo: Andrew Scott
Michael Sheedy, Managing Director of Tails Never Fails, said: “For us to now have an HQ in the UK is a massive step for our brand and our growing base of TNF followers.
“We are now โlocalโ – we have a home! We have UK based staff that are hungry for opportunities across a variety of sports and are passionate about exceeding customer service levels that sporting clubs are not used to in the UK market.โ
The launch of TNF UK also comes with the appointments of Will Taylor as the new General Manager and Gareth Davies as Head of Sales and Business Development.
Will has been involved with the company since 2018, but has now joined on a full-time basis.
Will Taylor, General Manager at TNF UK, outside the company’s new headquarters in North Hykeham, Lincoln.
Will said: โWhen the opportunity came along for me to work for TNF, it was something I simply could not turn down. Itโs not every day you get the chance to mix one of your biggest passions in life with your day-to-day work and I am extremely grateful to Michael for the opportunity to do so.
“He, with the aid of a highly skilled team, has built a fantastic brand and service over recent years which the UK market has been lacking for some time, so itโs really exciting to have the chance to contribute on a full-time basis.โ
Gareth Davies, Head of Sales and Business Development and TNF UK.
Gareth added: โI am very excited to be a part of TNF. I have known Michael for eight years now and experienced the business first-hand out in Australia. To be a part of such an exciting time for TNF here in the UK is amazing.
“I believe there is a big gap in the market for sublimated apparel in the UK and the processes and commitments TNF are delivering will certainly change the face of the market.โ
Residents in Grimsby will now be able to order from Deliveroo, after the food delivery service launched earlier than expected.
The company said it would launch in March, but it was expected to be later in the month.
However, the date was brought forward “by weeks” according to Deliveroo, due to wanting to “help” restaurants and customers through lockdown.
A total of 71 restaurants will be at the disposal of Deliveroo customers, including chains such as KFC, Subway and Burger King, as well as local favourites.
More local businesses are being added to the list, and any restaurants, takeaways or grocery retailers can apply to become a Deliveroo partner here.
The service hopes to deliver food and groceries to people’s doors in as little as 20 minutes, and are looking for up to 50 people in the area to become delivery riders.
In celebration of the launch in Grimsby, Deliveroo are offering all customers 20% off orders until April 4, using the code: GRIMSBY10.
This is an offer for new customers only, with a minimum spend of over ยฃ15 for one redemption per person.
It has become the third area in Lincolnshire to have access to Deliveroo, following the launches in Lincoln and Scunthorpe.
Harrison Foster, regional director for Deliveroo UK, said: “Launching in Grimsby is a key milestone for Deliveroo. Grimsby has a thriving foodie community and a wide range of restaurants and retailers, so weโre excited to connect them.
“We look forward to working with our new partners to reach a new customer base and expand their businesses.”