The second half took a while to get going, with neither side really creating much in the opening stages after the restart. Reading saw plenty of the ball but struggled to find a way through a well-organised City side, while the Imps looked to break when opportunities arose but could not quite turn transitions into clear chances.
Just before the hour mark, Ben House was caught late in a challenge and was unable to continue, with Rob Street coming on in his place. The game then briefly turned towards the referee, Simon Mather, with the home crowd growing increasingly frustrated. One incident saw the ball strike the referee during a Reading attack, only for him to award the drop ball to City, prompting loud boos from the stands. Moments later, the home supporters again voiced their frustration as Reading circulated the ball across the back line without making progress.
The atmosphere became increasingly tense as the half wore on. Dom Jefferies went down injured and took his time leaving the field, which only added to the frustration among the home supporters, who booed loudly as he limped off. He was eventually replaced by Deji Elerewe, while Alfie Lloyd also came on for Ryan Oné shortly after.
The game then became increasingly niggly, with a few late challenges and off-the-ball incidents creeping in as Reading tried to force the issue and City looked to protect their lead. Reading made further changes, introducing Will Keane and Haydon Roberts, as they looked for a way back into the game.
Despite Reading seeing more of the ball, clear chances were still hard to come by. The home side began to go more direct but struggled to get out of City’s defensive shape, and for long spells the game was low on quality, with Lincoln largely keeping Reading at arm’s length.
City had a chance to break with around 15 minutes to go when Street and Tendayi Darikwa combined down the left, but Darikwa’s final pass just failed to find Alfie Lloyd and Reading were able to recover. Reading finally created a moment of pressure shortly after when a cross was cleared by Sonny Bradley for a corner, leading to a brief spell of pressure, but the Imps eventually won a free kick for offside to relieve the danger.
As news filtered through that Bolton had levelled against Stockport, the travelling support began to realise what was happening elsewhere, and with around ten minutes to go the sense grew that something special might be about to happen. Around the same time, Jack Moylan and Tom Bayliss were introduced for Ivan Varfolomeev and Reeco Hackett as City looked to see the game out.
As the game moved into stoppage time, Reading got a goal, a Lewis Wing free kick curling past George Wickens to give them hope. Over in Bolton, there were just four minutes added on.
Alfie Lloyd got penalised for kicking the ball away late on, but then Jack Moylan happened. Jack Moylan.
City are going up!!!!!!!!!!
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