Middlesbrough 2-1 Lincoln City: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings

How Middlesbrough won it

Adam Reach put Lincoln City ahead in the 12th minute, set up by Tendayi Darikwa . Middlesbrough levelled at 1-1 in the 62nd minute through Will Lankshear. Middlesbrough turned it round: Will Lankshear made it 2-1 in the 90th minute (+1), set up by Riley McGree. It came late, and it settled the match.

It was 0-1 at half-time, and the second half turned the match the other way.

Will Lankshear scored twice.

The lead changed hands once.

The referee, R. Madley, showed 2 yellow cards: 0 to Middlesbrough and 2 to Lincoln City.

Middlesbrough: K. Hellberg, 4-2-2-2 · Lincoln City: C. Cohen, 5-3-2.

Moneyball's prediction against the result

Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.

Why it went this way

On the day the expected goals were 0.87 for Middlesbrough and 2.60 for Lincoln City.

Middlesbrough scored about 1.1 more than their chances were worth: clinical finishing, or a goalkeeper having a bad day.

Lincoln City left about 1.6 goals' worth of chances on the pitch.

Lincoln City created the better chances, 2.60 xG to 0.87, and still lost. On chances alone, the result could easily have gone the other way.

Middlesbrough had 7 shots on target, Lincoln City 2.

Lincoln City's goalkeeper made 5 saves.

Middlesbrough had 76% of the ball and turned it into the win.

Where the two sides stood before this match

Middlesbrough came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 2.3 and conceding 1.4 a match, with 2.10 expected goals for and 1.07 against, and had won 58% of their matches.

Lincoln City came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 1.1 and conceding 1.7 a match, with 1.49 expected goals for and 1.60 against, and had won 33% of their matches.

Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City: the match in numbers

Team statistics from Sportmonks.

Player ratings and man of the match

Man of the match: Will Lankshear (Middlesbrough), rated 8.8 by Sportmonks, with 2 goals.

Middlesbrough

• Will Lankshear 8.8 2 goals
• Adilson Malanda 7.7
• Sebastian Berhalter 7.4
• Riley McGree 7.2 1 assist
• Abdoulaye Kanté 7.1

Lincoln City

• George Wickens 7.2
• Ben House 7.2
• Ivan Varfolomeev 7.2
• Adam Reach 7.0 1 goal
• Deji Elerewe 6.9

The lowest-rated starter was Kyle Joseph at 6.3. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.

What comes next

• Middlesbrough: Middlesbrough vs Charlton Athletic Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship
• Lincoln City: Lincoln City vs Birmingham City Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship

Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.

Questions about Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City

What was the score in Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City?

Middlesbrough 2-1 Lincoln City (half-time 0-1), Championship, Saturday 15 August 2026.

Who scored in Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City?

Adam Reach 12', Will Lankshear 62', Will Lankshear 90+1'.

Did Moneyball predict Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City correctly?

Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.

Who was man of the match in Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City?

Will Lankshear, rated 8.8 by Sportmonks.

Who refereed Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City?

R. Madley.