Former Imps Loanee Wins Silverware, Only Told He Was Starting Two Hours Before!

Former Lincoln City loanee Dan Nlundulu lifted the Scottish League Cup yesterday, despite only being told he was starting at 12:30.

He’s currently with St Mirren, who went into yesterday’s game against Celtic as massive underdogs. Nlundulu, who played for City in the first half of the 2021/22 season, is currently with the Buddies following his exit from Bolton and a failed loan spell at Cambridge United.

The 26-year-old was scheduled to be on the bench, but former Sunderland striker Mikael Mandron declared himself unfit just hours before kick-off, with Nludnulu coming in to replace him.

“We got a phone call at half seven this morning from Mika to say he’d been throwing up all night,” St Mirren head coach Stephen Robinson, once of Morecambe, said. “He was really, really struggling. I think that takes a real man, a real professional to do that.

“It’s easy not to tell the truth, it’s easy to try and battle through. But he still played a huge part in this today. His honesty probably describes the whole group. They’re just honest boys with real talent who work for each other.

“Mika was starting. We only told Dan (Nlundulu) at half twelve, when we got into the club, that he was starting. I thought he was magnificent. I told everybody, ‘If you get 30 minutes or 96 minutes, be the best version of yourself’. And Dan certainly did.”

Celtic were rocked as early as the second minute when Marcus Fraser scored, but Reo Hatale levelled on 23. It was then left to Jonah Ayunga, recently at Morecambe and Bristol Rovers, to do the damage, adding a second-half brace to pile misery on new Hoops boss Wilfred Nancy.

It was also a big day for Mark O’Hara, another former Imps loanee. He was a League Two title winner with us during a loan spell from Peterborough, and he now adds a Scottish League Cup medal to that collection, albeit as an unused sub in the final.

Nludulu had a tough time during his Imps spell, picking up an early injury, then finding himself rushed back to face Man Utd U21S, where he got injured again. He was then asked to play a different role than one he was used to, as well as having the pressure of replacing Brennan Johnson as our A-star loan.

He returned to Southampton with one Imps’ goal to his name, later playing for Cheltenham, before his move to Bolton Wanderers.