Imps forward has last laugh as he celebrates in front of manager who released him

It was a night to remember for Lincoln City forward Chris Maguire, who scored a hattrick against his old side Sunderland, and rubbed salt into the wounds by celebrating in the face of Lee Johnson, the manager who let him leave.

Lincoln City continued their resurgence in style on Tuesday night, following up on Saturday’s impressive 2-0 win at home to Oxford with a 3-1 away win against promotion chasers Sunderland.

The star of the show was undoubtedly Imps forward Chris Maguire, who scored a famous hattrick at The Stadium of Light, the home of the club he spent three years plying his trade at.

Maguire, 32, was released by the Black Cats in the summer, allowing Lincoln to swoop in and bring the experienced forward to the LNER Stadium on a free transfer.

He said that he felt “hard done by” towards the end of his time at Sunderland, so after opening the scoring in the first half he set about producing one of the most memorable goal celebrations of the season.

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Initially muted, holding his hands up to show respect to his former club and their supporters, Maguire saw an opportunity to get one over his old manager and grabbed it with open arms.

He sprinted towards the touchline and cheered right in the face of Sunderland boss Lee Johnson, the man in charge at the time of Maguire’s departure, exchanging words with him in between spouts of celebration.

The moment has gone viral on social media, with many praising Maguire for seizing the opportunity to have the last laugh against the manager who let him go.

It went from bad to worse for Lee Johnson, who saw his side reduced to ten men in the second half, before Maguire scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-0.

Ross Stewart pulled a goal back for Sunderland, but a brilliant counter attack by Lincoln allowed Maguire to complete his hattrick and compile a miserable day for title-chasing Sunderland.

To cap it all off, Johnson was then sent off by the referee after squaring up to Imps midfielder Conor McGrandles, who himself got involved in some humorous gamesmanship after the third goal, waving goodbye to Sunderland fans as they left the stadium.

It is now two wins from two against high flying opposition for the Imps, as they rise to 16th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone. Next up is a home match against Cambridge United on Saturday.