Lincoln vs Port Vale talking points as Mandroiu dazzles in topsy …

Lincoln City made it three consecutive League One victories as they edged a five goal thriller against nine man Port Vale.

The Imps looked in control when Lasse Sorenson slid the ball past Aiden Stone from Danny Mandroiu’s superb through ball.

Yet Carl Rushworth’s sending off flipped the script, and Vale equalised from the penalty spot before going ahead through Danny Butterworth’s crisp volleyed finish.

In the aftermath of Vale’s second, Tom Conlon was shown a straight red card, evening the contest up again, and Mandroiu picked out Ben House’s run, with the striker finishing emphatically to send City into the break level.

Lincoln then won the game late on when Dylan Duffy whipped in a dangerous delivery which Adam Jackson pounced on to head into the bottom corner.

These were the talking points from the game…

Dominant start

The opening exchanges of this game showed no indication of the madness that would ensue throughout the contest.

Vale started brightly without creating any opportunities, and Lincoln looked comfortable, slowly working their way forward and showing a fluidity in attack that has been present since the Fleetwood defeat.

City took the lead through Sorenson’s calm finish, the Dane’s first goal of the season and from that moment it seemed like the afternoon would be a canter for the Imps.

They nearly had a second goal when Matty Virtue pulled the ball back to House. City’s top scorer opted to dummy the delivery with Mandroiu lurking behind him, but the Vale defender was able to nip in before the winger to clear the danger.

Mark Kennedy’s side looked to be brimming with confidence, and heading into the break two or three goals up didn’t look out of the question at that stage.

Rushworth red card changes game

For all City’s good work in the beginning of the game, the match was turned on its head when the referee dismissed Carl Rushworth.

Having been given the ball by his defender Rushworth dallied, perhaps complacent given City’s controlled start, the ‘keeper took too long in clearing the ball and Matty Taylor pounced.

Taylor stole the ball away, and in his effort to recover, Rushworth ended up on the floor in a heap with Taylor, and the referee was decisive in awarding the visitors a penalty.

Just to compound Lincoln’s misery, Rushworth was also sent off reducing the Imps to ten men for the remaining hour.

This sequence of events understandably changed the game considerably with Taylor putting away the penalty.

Immediately after equalising Vale were ahead when David Worrall picked Butterworth out in acres of space, and the midfielder showcased his quality with a sumptuous volley into the bottom left corner.

Fortunately for City, Conlon’s red card switched the momentum once again and allowed them to get back into the game, but after such a dominant start it was shocking to see how quickly the game had changed.

Mandroiu dazzles

Mandroiu had arguably his best display in a Lincoln City shirt against Vale on Saturday.

The Irishman was dazzling in possession, hard-working out of it, and supplied Sorenson and House with two of the best assists of the season.

In the first instance, Mandroiu slid the ball perfectly into the path of Sorenson who duly slid the ball past Stone.

But he wasn’t done, and just before the half-time break, Mandroiu beautifully lifted a ball over the top of Nathan Smith and onto the chest of House.

His forward partner brought the ball down before thumping the ball into the back of the net, giving the pass the treatment it deserved.

Mandroiu is finding the form that saw him become one of City’s best players earlier in the season, and when he is picking out passes like these, he is utterly unplayable.

Jackson grabs late winner

If one player deserved to score the late winner and bask in the City celebrations it was Adam Jackson.

The centre-half was a rock all game, winning every header, making every clearance and being an integral reason as to why City were able to keep out the visitors for the entirety of the second half.

And when the game needed a goal, Jackson supplied it despite it being just his first goal of the campaign.

He rose dominantly to power a header into the bottom corner from Duffy’s cross and win the game for the Imps – and it was a richly deserved moment for a key cog to Lincoln’s consistent defensive unit.

Duffy impresses off the bench

Despite playing just 12 minutes on Saturday, Dylan Duffy made his mark on the game with a positive performance.

Following his January move to the Imps, Duffy has not had many minutes to showcase what ability he has.

But it was plain to see against the Valiants that the Irishman is a direct winger, with a knack for producing a quality delivery.

Duffy had already whipped in a couple of sizzling crosses into the 18-yard box before he set up the winning goal for City.

The youngster certainly looks to have potential, and could be another quality pick-up by Mark Kennedy, who seems skilled in picking out young talents.