Lincoln City cruised into the Emirates FA Cup Second Round with an assured 4-0 victory over Chesham United.
On a weekend of First Round shocks, Lincoln avoided a potential banana skin in the form of National League South side Chesham, instead setting up an all-League One tie with Crawley Town in the next phase.
Two goals in five minutes either side of half time put Lincoln in the driving seat with Jack Moylan opening the scoring via a devastating strike before Jovon Makama slotted home from a one-on-one opportunity.
The final tie of the #EmiratesFACup first round 🏆@cheshamutdfc 🆚 @LincolnCity_FC
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) November 4, 2024
Watch the game live on @itvfootball 📺 pic.twitter.com/49uQ83VatL
Conor McGrandles then made the game safe via a deflected strike in the 65th minute for his first goal since rejoining the club in the summer before an own goal at the death added an extra sheen to the scoreline.
A bumper crowd packed into The Meadow, hoping to see the home side recreate the magic of eight years ago when they knocked out League Two Bristol Rovers at the same stage of the competition.
Club director and comedian Alex Horne was kept away from proceedings due a gig in Edinburgh but he would have been relatively happy with his side’s start.
A special stop from George Wickens for @LincolnCity_FC 🧤 #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/VgP441Eyim
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) November 4, 2024
The best chance of the opening half hour fell to the Imps’ Makama but he was denied by a determined block as the hosts kept their opponents at arm’s length.
A warning shot arrived on the 30-minute mark as Moylan’s opportunistic shot from just shy of the halfway line had Chesham goalkeeper Benjamin Goode backtracking but he returned to his line just in time to make the save.
But the first hair-raising moment of the game came at the other end when Samson Esan lifted the ball high into the middle of the box for Nathan Minhas to put in a powerful nod at goal but George Wickens managed to parry it away on the stretch.
It felt as though a moment of quality would be needed to break the deadlock and it arrived just before half time and unsurprisingly through the lively Moylan.
🎯 Target: hit.#WeAreImps | #CHELIN pic.twitter.com/SG0veGmYpF
— Lincoln City FC 🇺🇦 (@LincolnCity_FC) November 4, 2024
The former League of Ireland top scorer showed his class when outfoxing defender T'Sharne Gallimore twice before unleashing a classy curling strike into the far top corner.
Lincoln then struck again just after the interval to take full control of the tie. Freddie Draper’s dinked ball over the top of the Chesham defence gave Makama the freedom of Buckinghamshire and he kept his cool, firing into the bottom corner of the net.
Lincoln’s progression was then made safe courtesy of a huge deflection after McGrandles took aim from the edge of the box.
Chesham posed some problems from set pieces and Lewis Rolfe’s long throws but they were the length of the woodwork away from conceding a fourth when JJ McKiernan’s effort was tipped onto the bar by Goode.
A fourth goal for the visitors finally arrived in the 87th minute as a save from Goode rebounded off the feet of the unfortunate Callum Adebiyi and into the empty net.
