Lincoln City Striker Freddie Draper Claims Unusual Record

Freddie Draper claimed an unusual and tenuous Lincoln City record at Deepdale this weekend. 

The 22-year-old netted a late winner after coming off the bench, nodding home Andrei Coubis’ long throw to claim all three points in a tight contest against Preston North End.

It drew praise from one of his head coaches, Tom Shaw, who identified his hard work, as well as his finish, in his post-match press conference.

“Freddie’s done some amazing work for the team,” Shaw said post match.

“Really unselfish. He does some hard yards, takes some hits for everybody.

“I think he’s had a great start to the season, so everybody, the whole group, all the staff are delighted for him to get his goal.

“Last time we were here was in the Youth Cup, where we won 1-0 and Freddie scored as a 16-year-old, so maybe it was written in the stars.”

While Freddie’s goal gave Imps’ fans something to cheer, it also marked a remarkable first for the striker. He becomes the first player to score in three EFL divisions while on Lincoln’s books, heading upwards, not downwards!

His first EFL goal came for Walsall, but while on loan from Lincoln, in August 2023. He scored in the first minute as they ended up drawing against Crewe. After scoring ten for the Saddlers, he returned to the Imps and added his first League One goal before the end of the season, earning us a draw against Reading.

Finally, after 13 League One goals, he stepped up this weekend and netted away at Deepdale, giving him goals in all three divisions. It’s a little bit of a workaround given that he actually scored for Walsall out on loan, but he is still the first player to net goals in all three divisions while on our books and moving up (League Two, League One and Championship).

He is not the first player to score in all three divisions on an upward trajectory. That honour belongs to Harry Anderson, who scored against Macclesfield back in 2016 in the National League, although he was a Peterborough player on loan at the time. After he joined permanently, he netted against Forest Green in 2017 to open his League Two account, and then bagged in League One for the first time away at Rotherham early in the 2019/20 season.

There are a handful of Lincoln City players who have scored in three different divisions, all while playing for Lincoln and owned by Lincoln, but that is another article!