Lincoln City v Hartlepool United RECAP: Graeme Lee wins his first game as Hartlepool manager edging out Lincoln City in the FA Cup
Lee watched on from the stands at Hillsborough in midweek as Pools secured a remarkable 3-0 win over League One side Sheffield Wednesday in the Papa John’s Trophy, but now he must look to replicate that in the FA Cup this afternoon against another League One opponent.
Pools are well versed in dealing with higher level opposition having knocked out League One promotion chasers Wycombe Wanderers in the previous round.
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Hide AdMark Cullen’s goal was enough to settle the replay at Adam’s Park after the two sides shared four goals at the Suit Direct Stadium.
And all eyes will be on Lee’s first team selection as Pools boss after the 43-year-old suggested this afternoon’s tie was a chance to evaluate his squad.
"This week with the Sheffield game and the Lincoln game it’s a great opportunity for us to have a look at the squad and what we’ve got with a big focus on Wednesday night. That’s our main thing,” said Lee.
“The league form isn’t where we want but this game in the FA Cup we’re desperate to win it. We really want to win it and we’re going to go in to it and give everything we can but it’s probably one of them, we’ve all played in them games, where League One are expected to win.
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Hide Ad"So we go there and the pressure is all on them and we’ll just go and see what we can do.”
While there can be no guarantees over who will start this afternoon’s FA Cup tie, one thing we can be assured of is the pride Lee will feel when he takes to the away dugout at Sincil Bank.
“It will be a bit surreal. I’ve envisioned it for many years. It’s a proud moment for both of us, you just want to get started. Being on the grass with the lads was fantastic, the response from the lads was fantastic. Stood there on Saturday I’ll be very proud.”
Stay tuned to the Hartlepool Mail for live updates throughout Pools’ FA Cup tie with Lincoln.
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Lincoln City 0-1 Hartlepool United LIVE: Updates from Sincil Bank
Key Events
- Lewis Fiorini own goal gives Hartlepool the lead
- Hartlepool United XI: Killip, Ogle, Byrne, Liddle, Odusina, Ferguson, Featherstone, Shelton, Daly, Cullen, Molyneux
- Subs: Mitchell, Hendrie, Francis-Angol, Jones, Smith, Holohan, Crawford, Goodwin, Fondop
- Lincoln City XI: Long, Poole, Montsma, Jackson, Maguire, Bishop, Adelakun, McGrandles, Fiorini, Nlundlu, Robson
- Graeme Lee takes charge of Hartlepool United for the first time
Warm-ups complete
The two teams head down the tunnel on a cold and wet afternoon at Lincoln. Kick -off in 10
Team news reaction
Timi Odusina and Mark Shelton are the only two who keep their place in Graeme Lee’s first Pools line up following the midweek win at Sheffield Wednesday.
David Ferguson returns to the left wingback role in place of Eddy Jones having played a more advanced position in last week’s defeat at Port Vale.
Mark Cullen, who got Pools into the second round, starts up front alongside Luke Molyneux who was forced off at half time in that defeat at Vale Park last week which suggests his calf injury is not too serious.
As for the home side, former Sunderland man Chris Maguire starts for Michael Appleton’s side with another ex-Black Cat among the substitutes in Liam Bridcutt.
𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚
Graeme Lee was an interested spectator at Hillsborough in midweek as Hartlepool eased by League One Sheffield Wednesday in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Lee and his assistant Michael Nelson were both in attendance in South Yorkshire as they got their first glimpse of their new squad up close and it was hard not to be encouraged by what they saw.
“You can’t not be impressed with how they performed,” said Lee.
“We’ve looked at many games prior and we spoke about what we’ve seen previous and what we want to impact and what we want to improve and the team did a lot of that.
“There was a few little things where I spoke to one or two of the players after the game to congratulate them, but there’s still things to improve on.
“But in general we were nit-picking because the performance to go to Sheffield and win 3-0 you should be patting them on the back.”
𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙇𝙚𝙚
Graeme Lee revealed it has long been his ambition to manage Hartlepool United after beginning his career as a player at the Suit Direct Stadium with this afternoon’s FA Cup tie set to be a proud moment for the 43-year-old.
“It’s amazing, absolutely fantastic. It’s a very proud moment for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted, I’ve planned it in my head since I was a player. I always wanted to come back to Hartlepool.
“It will be a bit surreal [against Lincoln]. I’ve envisioned it for many years, I’ve been doing it for Middlesbrough but to go into the Football League I’m just very proud. It’s a proud moment for both of us.”
Hello and welcome to Sincil Bank for this afternoon’s FA Cup second round tie between Lincoln City and Hartlepool United.
It’s a new era for Pools as Graeme Lee takes charge of his first game for the club and he will be hoping to build on an impressive display in the Papa John’s Trophy in midweek.
Stay tuned to our live blog throughout the day for all the latest news and updates from Lincoln including team news at around 2pm.