City fashioned the first half-chance of the second period on 47 minutes when Elder’s long throw was flicked on by Ladefoged, but Di Gregorio gathered comfortably.
A minute later, Jefferies went into the book after Gannon-Doak escaped down the flank and threatened to get away from him. The foul was obvious and so was the yellow card, although Cook’s resulting free kick was blocked comfortably by Konak.
Bournemouth were soon back on the front foot. Gannon-Doak drove forward from the right and saw a shot deflected off Rodríguez and over the bar, before Oyegoke played City into trouble moments later. The hosts streamed forward, but Christie opted to shoot from distance and sent his effort well over.
City then temporarily lost Honohan after a head injury on 53 minutes, and Bournemouth immediately looked to exploit the space on the right-hand side before forcing a corner. The pressure continued, with Gannon-Doak again involved two minutes later, although Oyegoke closed him down well enough to ensure the eventual effort cleared the crossbar.
The hosts went even closer on 56 minutes. Honohan headed clear, but the loose ball fell for Hill, whose strike clipped the frame of the goal. Bournemouth were almost incessant by that stage, and a minute later Brooks escaped down the right, cutting inside Honohan before finding Rodríguez, who fired over.
City responded with a double change on 58 minutes as Coubis and Street replaced Ladefoged and Honohan.
Silva was booked two minutes later for a challenge on Konak, at least offering Lincoln a chance to relieve some of the pressure. Gauci’s long kick was cleared, before Jefferies curled an inswinging delivery towards goal which Di Gregorio claimed without difficulty.
Kluivert made way for Alex Tóth on 62 minutes, before Elder was fortunate to remain on the field two minutes later. The defender hauled Brooks down after he had got away, but no foul was given, despite the challenge appearing worthy of a second booking.
Bournemouth continued to create the clearer openings. On 65 minutes Brooks again got the better of Jefferies and delivered an excellent low ball into the area, where Rodríguez met it with his head but could only steer wide.
Oyegoke became the latest City player booked two minutes later. He first made an excellent challenge inside the area, but followed it almost immediately with a late one and was shown a deserved yellow card. Tóth whipped the resulting free kick into the box and Gauci was forced to push it away.
The second Bournemouth goal arrived on 69 minutes, and again City were guilty of leaving Christie with too much space. From the resulting corner he was left unmarked and headed home to double the hosts’ advantage.
City made a triple change four minutes later, with Bradley, House and Elerewe replacing Oyegoke, Konak and Elder, but the pattern of the game had long since been established.
Bournemouth freshened things up themselves on 78 minutes, introducing Tavernier, Rayan and Jebbison in place of Brooks, Rodríguez and Gannon-Doak. Sánchez followed three minutes later, replacing Silva.
By then the contest had largely petered out from Lincoln’s perspective, although Bournemouth still looked far more likely to add to the scoring. Rayan curled an effort towards Gauci on 83 minutes which the goalkeeper held well, before Tóth teed up Cook two minutes later and he rifled over.
The dominance continued. Tóth shifted the ball onto his left foot inside the area on 87 minutes and shot, only for Coubis to make an important deflection and send it wide.
There was no reprieve from the resulting pressure, though, and Bournemouth made it 3-0 in the 88th minute. Gauci could only produce a weak punch from the corner, the ball dropping kindly into Christie’s path, and he finished through the middle of the goal to complete his hat-trick and underline the home side’s dominance.
Rayan added a late fourth with a smart finish from a breakaway, and while at the time, 4-0 felt harsh, it certainly reflected the top-flight side’s quality, number of shots and possession dominance.
It ends cup competitions for the Imps in 2026, and attention now turns to Preston North End this weekend, a chance to try to pick up three points and maybe, one day, allow us to sign a 20-year-old, £25m Brazilian World Cup star.
That’s the level, and we’ve seen it this evening.
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