Lincoln City were dismissed from the League Cup with ease by Premier League Bournemouth on the south coast, with two late goals adding gloss to a scoreline that, in truth, reflected the game.
It remained 1-0 for much of the game, but the latter stages saw Ryan Christie add to his early opener, before Rayan finished it off in injury time, making it the biggest defeat City have had since August 2022.
The Imps made ten changes to the side which drew with Southampton, with only Ryley Towler keeping his place. Daniel Oyegoke made his first appearance for the Imps, while Chiedozie Ogbene and Mikkel Ladefoged made their first starts.
There was no place in the squad for Mason Melia, again, as he missed out as the sixth loan signing. Reeco Hackett picked up the captain’s armband for the first time. As for the home side, they went quite strong, looking to put the tie to bed early.
City made a steady start on the south coast, settling into the contest without creating anything clear-cut during the opening exchanges. However, Bournemouth took the lead with seven minutes played. Ben Gannon-Doak found space to deliver from the right and Ryan Christie arrived unmarked to convert, with Tom Bayliss and Yunus Konak both in the vicinity but neither close enough to prevent the Scotland international from scoring.
The goal appeared to settle the hosts, who began to dominate possession and looked increasingly comfortable as City struggled to get enough of the ball to build any sustained pressure. Julio Soler almost profited from a lofted pass into the Lincoln area on 19 minutes, but he could not quite get a toe to it and Joe Gauci was able to gather.
City should have been level a minute later. A Bayliss free kick created problems inside the Bournemouth penalty area, with Daniel Oyegoke bundling the ball into goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. It dropped invitingly for Ryley Towler, but the defender could only send his effort high into the night sky with the goal at his mercy.
Gannon-Doak continued to cause City problems down the Bournemouth right. On 24 minutes he sent a dangerous cross towards David Brooks, whose header back across the six-yard box threatened to find a team-mate before Towler got across to clear.
Callum Elder collected the game’s first booking three minutes later after pulling back Justin Kluivert, with few complaints from the City defender.
Bournemouth then demonstrated that City were not the only side capable of causing problems from long throws. A huge delivery into the penalty area was flicked on by Bafode Diakite and bounced dangerously across the six-yard box before Lincoln managed to clear. James Hill then tried his luck from distance moments later, but his effort sailed over.
Christie almost added his second on 34 minutes, controlling the ball before cleverly stabbing an effort towards goal, although it cleared the crossbar. There was an obvious quality about Bournemouth when they moved the ball in attacking areas, while City were finding it increasingly difficult to make any real impression at the other end.
Soler was presented with another opportunity five minutes later when a cleared corner dropped his way invitingly, but after lining up the strike he dragged it well wide.
Kluivert became the first Bournemouth player booked on 41 minutes after crashing into the back of Bayliss with a raised elbow, but there was still time for action.
A late Bournemouth corner brought a flurry of chances, resulting in Christie striking a lovely clean effort at goal, which Gauci saved well. Finally, the referee blew his whistle bringing a competitive first half towards its closing stages with City still trailing by Christie’s early goal.
Each bar shows the two sides' share of that row's total, so it says who had more — not whether it was good, which would need a league-wide distribution this one match cannot provide.
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