Category Archives: Lincoln Red Imps FC

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Lincoln in 4-goal victory over Mons

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Lincoln Red Imps made it six league wins on the spin as they beat Mons Calpe 5-1 last night in the final part of Saturday’s triple-header

Photo (C) Rough & Ready

Lee Casciaro returned to the Lincoln starting eleven from the last league game, replacing Tjay De Barr in the only Lincoln change, while for Mons, Nathan Santos and Diego Diaz replaced Ashley Rodriguez and Elyakim Musoni from their 4-0 win vs Lions in the league.

With Europa and St Joseph’s having won earlier in the day, Lincoln were expected to make a mark on this match as they looked to take their place on top of the league back, and they did just that, taking a two-goal lead in the opening half hour thanks to the combination of Kike and Lee Casciaro. Casciaro squared the ball to Kike for the opener, before the veteran Gibraltarian attacker made it 2-0 when he scored from the rebound of his Spanish team-mate’s earlier shot.

The second half went in much the same pattern as the first, with Lincoln suffocating Mons out of the game with three further goals. Luke Wall, who scored his first for the club in the cup win vs Lynx in midweek, made it two in as many games when he scored to make it 3-0. Andre Dos Santos was then sent off for Mons against his former club for denying Lincoln a clear goalscoring opportunity, and from the resulting free kick, Kian Ronan eventually scored to make it 4-0. Kike then got his second to make it 5-0, from the penalty spot, before Lincoln took their foot off the gas slightly and saw Ayoub El Hmidi grab a consolation for Mons, heading in from a corner.

The result did little to change the league table from before Saturday’s games – Lincoln remain two points clear of Europa at the top, while Mons are in 4th, three point ahead of Lynx in the battle for a potential final European spot.

Lineups:

Lincoln: Chino; Ronan (Moreno, 70), Wiseman, Lopes, Casciaro, Chipolina (Sergeant, 75), Toscano, Carralero (Britto, 70), Yahaya, Kike (Omoregie, 74), Wall (De Barr, 74)

Unused Subs: Henderson, Torrilla

Mons Calpe: Fraiz; Dos Santos, E. Santos, El Hmidi, Caballero, N. Santos, Ojeda, Ballester, Diaz (Musoni, 61), Ronco (De Los Santos, 53), Mallemaci (Bernardes, 74)

Unused Subs: Montano, Pinero, Boulaich, El Andaloussi

Yellow Cards: Yahaya; E. Santos, Caballero, Diaz

Red Cards: Dos Santos

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Lincoln put seven past Lynx

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Lincoln moved two points clear at the top of the Gibraltar National League after a resounding 7-0 victory over Lynx yesterday evening.

Photo (C) David Roberts

The last time these two sides played, Lynx shocked Lincoln when beating them, but this time out Lincoln ensured there was to be no repeat, especially given the earlier result that day between Europa and St Joseph’s meaning they could move two points clear.

Kike and Fernando Carralero scored in quick succession just after the half-hour mark, before the floodgates opened in the second half. Carralero got his second and Mustapha Yahaya also scored, before Lynx, who had used all five subs, saw keeper Bradley Banda come off injured with 20 minutes to go, meaning winger Jaydan Parody had to take up the gloves as a makeshift keeper.

Parody was understandably unable to further keep out Lincoln, who added a further three goals through a second from Kike, as well as strikes from Sunday Omoregie and Diego Gamiz, to wrap up the game at 7-0. Lincoln remain first, extending their lead over Europa to two points, while Lynx stay fifth and will be looking for Lions to do them a favour when they play Mons Calpe this afternoon.

Lineups:

Lynx: Banda; Serra, Power, Hartman, Caravaca, Hernandez (Valdivia, 61), Gonzalez (Morente, 56), Espinosa, Chuky (Hanglin, 56), Victory (Parody, 61), Bauti (Santos, 26)

Unused Subs: Avellano, Parkinson

Lincoln: Chino; Ronan, Wiseman, Lopes, De Barr, Chipolina, Toscano, Carralero (Coombes, 59), Yahaya, Kike (Omoregie, 71), Wall (Gamiz, 65)

Unused Subs: Soler, Torrilla, Moreno, Sergeant

Yellow Cards: Espinosa

Red Cards: None

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De Barr: “Mick is a legend of football in Gibraltar”

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After Lincoln’s 3-0 victory vs Europa last week, we caught up with Lincoln and Gibraltar’s Tjay De Barr to get his thoughts on the win, manager Mick McElwee and more.

Photo (C) Black & Burst

De Barr played practically the whole of Lincoln’s victory, coming off at the end for Jack Sergeant – how did the 21-year-old view the victory: “I think the team who wanted it more won the game. At parts Europa dominated the possession of the ball but we controlled the game defensively throughout the whole 90 minutes. It was a big game where we knew there could only be one outcome & it was to go home with 3 points so we are very happy with that.”

Lincoln now sit top of the league, level with Europa, but Lincoln importantly hold the better head-to-head record with just one meeting to go – how important does De Barr feel that is psychologically to Lincoln? “Knowing that we are ahead after the win has given the squad a boost for what’s left of the league. There are still many games to be played so we need to focus on ourselves and build on every performance, with our heads down, working hard and remaining focused.”

Mick McElwee returned to Lincoln as manager this season and is one of the key figures in the clubs history – how does the Lincoln and Gibraltar attacker feel McElwee has done so far in his return? “At the moment I think Lincoln as a whole have underperformed. I can imagine it hasn’t been easy for Mick after being out of management for a few years and coming back to work with a new team who signed many new players.

However, now everything is starting to click now and that’s thanks to Mick, his technical team and all the players. We know how special Mick is, he is a legend of football in Gibraltar for his years spent at Lincoln and all the titles the club has thanks to him. I hope we can add another league title under Mick McElwee.”

Finally, De Barr is expected to play a key part in Gibraltar’s internationals this year, starting with the triple header vs Norway, Montenegro and the Netherlands later this month – how much is the 21-year-old looking forward to getting back together with the national team after last year’s Nations League success: “These are my first Fifa World Cup qualifiers and it feels special to be part of this. Three big games upcoming and the squad will prepare with everything we’ve got like always. This is another level completely to the Nations League so as always we will work hard, remain humble and learn from this amazing experience we are about to earn.”

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Mustapha Yahaya is FG Player of the Week

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With the leagues now split, FG Player of the Week makes a return and will replace Team of the Week – Lincoln Red Imps midfielder Mustapha Yahaya wins it this week for his powerhouse performance against rivals and former club Europa.

Mustapha Yahaya – Lincoln Red Imps (1st)

Yahaya put in one of his usual performances which most of us are so accustom to nowadays. The midfield battle between himself and Carrascal was interesting to watch but the Ghanaian made sure Liam Walker would not have enough time on the ball to damage Imps.

Jesse Victory – Lynx (2nd)

One of the best in his position, Jesse has gone from strength to strength and become a vital part of Lynx’s plans. Normally just sitting in front of the defence, Jesse has found himself in a more attacking role this season which he has flourished in. The 24-year old controlled the midfield alongside Bauti, great in possession and scored the winner in Lynx’s win over Lions.

Roy Chipolina – Lincoln Red Imps (3rd)

Age is just a number after another stellar performance. After missing most of Round One through injury, the Gibraltar captain would make his return and has looked a very strong figure in Lincoln’s defence – great news for the National Team also ahead of the internationals.

Andrew ‘Pishu’ Hernandez – St Joseph’s (4th)

Pishu only played 45 minutes, which shows how well he played to make it into the top 4 this week. The 22-year-old replaced Sykes Garro at half time, and with Julio Ribas in the stands, Hernandez looked like a player possessed playing on the wing, putting in a stellar performance and making a late push to return to the national team for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.

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Kike brace sends Europa to defeat

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Two goals from Kike against his former club saw Lincoln cruise to a 3-0 victory over Europa last night.

Photo (C) Black and Burst

David Polaco returned to the starting lineup for Europa, while Lincoln were unchanged from the victory vs St Joseph’s, but saw Graeme Torrilla and Ethan Britto return to the matchday squad.

Kike gave Europa a warning when he hit the crossbar after a counter attack, but the Lincoln striker went one better moments later. Europa failed to clear their lines, and Kike, who had a successful spell at the club before leaving for Linense, tapped in to give Mick McElwee’s side the lead.

The goal woke up Europa somewhat, who had efforts from Dylan Borge and Alejandro Carrascal, but they needed a great challenge from Ethan Jolley to stop Lee Casciaro going in on goal just before the break. At half time, Europa manager Rafa Escobar made a quadruple substitution, replacing Dylan Borge, Jesus Romero, Jayce Olivero and Blas Alvarez with Mohamed Badr, Christian Lopez, Chico Diaz and Marco Rosa.

Five minutes after the break, Kike had a great chance to double Lincoln’s lead but put his effort wide, while on the hour mark Rosa saw his effort saved by Chino in the Lincoln goal. Then, a few minutes after Liam Walker went close to an equaliser by hitting the woodwork, Lincoln made it two – Fernando Carralero’s ball over the top caught the Europa defence sleeping, and Kike got his second of the evening to wrap up the three points.

There was time for Carlos Martinez to get a third for Lincoln, and Chino saved well from a Walker free kick in injury time, but Lincoln cruised to three points in the table-topping clash. They now sit top courtesy of the head to head record over Europa, who lost for the first time domestically since May 2019, which was also to Lincoln. The result would have also been looked at favourably by St Joseph’s, who are third but only three points off the top now.

Lineups:

Europa: Romero (Jolley, 45); Jolley, Olmo, Alvarez (Rosa, 45), Juampe, Walker, Yome, Olivero (Badr, 45), Carrascal, Borge (Diaz, 45), Polaco

Unused Subs: Ayew, Gallardo, Willy

Lincoln: Chino; Wiseman, Lopes, L. Casciaro (Torrilla, 77), De Barr (Sergeant, 90), R. Chipolina, Toscano, Carralero (Britto, 87), Martinez (Moreno, 87), Yahaya, Kike

Unused Subs: Soler, Coombes, Wall

Yellow Cards: Yome, Olivero, Polaco; De Barr, Kike

Red Cards: None

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Chino: “We needed those points”

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FG caught up with Kyle ‘Chino’ Goldwin to talk about Lincoln’s win over St Joseph’s, the league split and more.

Imps beat St Joseph’s 4-2 last week to finish the first round of fixtures in second place, Chino reflected on the result – “The team put in a shift and dominated the first half. In the second half, St Joseph’s upped their game and we held them well away from those crazy 5 minutes. Overall a solid performance.“

We asked Chino how important the win over Saints was as the league headed into a split, “We needed those points to continue to stay close to Europa and keep the pressure on.“

The international break is edging towards us and Gibraltar have a triple header to look forward to. We asked Chino how he is feeling ahead of the internationals, “Personally, I feel great and really looking forward to meeting up with the squad to prepare for these games. It’s what any player dreams of.“

Chino told us what he hopes to achieve this season, “Winning the league and cup is what a club like Lincoln strives for and expect. Having said that it’s also my personal objective.“

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Lincoln end on a high

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Lincoln ended their first round of fixtures with a 4-2 victory over St Joseph’s yesterday.

McElwee made three changes to the side that beat Glacis last week with Sunny Omoregie, Jamie Coombes and Ethan Britto being replaced by Kike, Carlos Martinez and Jesus Toscano.

Several injuries meant the former Imps boss Raul Procopio had to make four changes to his team with Domingo Ferrer Lopez, Jamie Serra, Boro and Federico Villar all missing out.

Despite earlier claims for a St Joseph’s penalty, it was Lincoln who took the lead. Fernando Carralero’s well-worked free-kick caught out the Saints defence and Bernardo Lopes was unmarked to head the ball past Jamie Robba after 27 minutes.

All the action was left for the final ten minutes when Lincoln made it 2-0 in the 80th minute when Mustapha Yahaya picked up a loose ball in the box and fired it past Robba which was shortly followed by a red card to St Joseph’s defender Aymen Mouelhi.

Lincoln had thought they put the game to bed five minutes later when Fernando Carralero danced through three defenders in the box and dinked the ball over Robba to make it 3-0.

Two goals in as many minutes saw St Joseph’s bring the score to 3-2 but Lincoln eventually put the game to bed in the 94th minute when Carralero sent Kike through on goal and slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

Important win for Lincoln as they move up to second, three points behind leaders Europa. For St Joseph’s, this is not the result they would have been hoping for and leaves them in a complicated situation heading into the league split.

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Glacis pay the penalty in Lincoln defeat

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After a goalless first half, Glacis were left to rue two second-half penalties given away in an eventual 3-0 defeat to Lincoln yesterday.

Photo (C) Elton Duarte / Lincoln Red Imps

Glacis saw debuts handed out to Jamie Bosio, Alessandro Borghi (brother of Stefano who left the club for St Joseph’s) and Lython Marquez from the start, while Lincoln welcomed back Lee Casciaro and Roy Chipolina to the starting eleven, with the veteran duo both getting 90 important minutes ahead of the upcoming internationals.

Both teams were dealt a first half blow when Ethan Britto and Salvatore Gallo came off early into the game, replaced by Jesus Toscano and Michele Di Piedi respectively. Otherwise, it was a half where neither keeper was overly tested, and the scores were goalless at the break.

Lincoln found the breakthrough they were looking for just before the hour mark – Julian Brinkman fouled Casciaro in the box and Tjay De Barr, who had been featuring in midfield, stepped up to put Mick McElwee’s side ahead. They then grabbed a second five minutes later as Carlos Martinez, who had just come off the bench, doubled the lead – the perfect start for the former Recreativo winger who signed in February.

While Glacis battled until the end, Lincoln would get the icing on the cake of their victory when they gained a second penalty – this time Kike stepped up and made the final score 3-0. The win keeps Lincoln in third ahead of their game vs second place St Joseph’s next week, while Glacis’ first round is now over and they will be preparing for the Challenge Group which is upcoming, a group they’ll fancy their chances of doing well in.

Lineups:

Glacis: Zappacosta; Smith, N. Castle (Ramos, 80), Derksen, Brinkman, Bosio, Borghi, Witbreuk, Marquez (Currer, 73), Gallo (Di Piedi 28 – Galliano, 80), Londero

Unused Subs: Fluka, Brennan, Kaleba

Lincoln: Chino; Wiseman, Lopes, L. Casciaro, De Barr, R. Chipolina, Omoregie (Kike, 60), Carralero (Ronan, 72), Yahaya, Coombes (Martinez, 60), Britto (Toscano, 8)

Unused Subs: Soler, K. Casciaro, Wall

Yellow Cards: Bosio, Ramos

Red Cards: None

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Chipolina the second highest scoring defender of the last 10 years

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A report by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) shows that between 2011-2020, Lincoln and Gibraltar’s Joseph Chipolina was the second highest-scoring defender in world football, only behind Sergio Ramos.

Photo (C) Johnny Napoli

The organisation, founded in 1984, collated data on goals in top national divisions, national cups, official international club tournaments, official games between national teams, and concluded that at 78 goals, Chipolina was second in the list, 11 behind the Real Madrid defender.

It isn’t clear if the statistics for Chipolina only cover from 2013 onwards, when Gibraltar became UEFA members – if so it would be even more impressive given the left-back also missed the entirety of 2020 with injury, so amassed his 78 goals counted in this list between 2013-2019.

No timeframe has been given for the return to action of the 33-year-old, who suffered his injury against Manchester 62 back in December 2019, but he has been pictured visiting training sessions at times for Lincoln, and his absence has been clearly felt by his club side.

For a full list of the players in the IFFHS rankings, click here

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Clinton: “Being around players with that much experience really helps me”

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FG caught up with Kyle Clinton to talk about making his senior debut at 16, Lincoln’s season so far and more.

Kyle made his debut in early December, coming on as a second-half substitute in Lincoln’s 6-1 win over Europa Point. The youngster reflected on this achievement, “Making my senior debut at 16 is a very proud moment for me personally and it is testament to my hard work this season.”

Lincoln currently find themselves in third place after eight games, Clinton reflected on their league campaign so far – “At the moment, we are sitting in 3rd place and 1st place is still in reach. There is plenty of work still to be done and we need to keep working hard.”

Being able to work alongside players like Roy Chipolina, Lee Casciaro and Scott Wiseman is a dream for any 16-year old and one which Kyle Clinton gets to do nearly every day. We asked Kyle how being surrounded by those players has helped him, “Being around players with that much experience really helps me as a player. They offer so much, for example, guidance on the pitch particularly from Scott who is very encouraging and it gives me a confidence boost.”

Lastly, we asked Kyle what he hopes to achieve this season – “Individually, I am hoping to improve and mature as a player. As a team, I am hoping to win the league, qualify for the Champions League and restore Lincoln’s former glory.”