Fortunately the forward came away from the collision unscathed and actually managed to break the deadlock just minutes later firing past substitute stopper Oliver Sinclair. Albion went on to comfortably seal their fifth straight away win after Aiden Savory struck low into the bottom corner. The result sees Tadcaster move joint second in the Ev-Stik East level on points with Pontefract and Brighouse ahead of an important festive period.

Four changes were made by the Brewers with Aiden Savory, Ellis Barkworth and Corey Roper all returning to the starting line-up. With Michael Ingham injured and James Hodges back with Hyde, Tad turned to the i2i Soccer Academy third year Leon Pöhls to make his debut in between the sticks.

With the Ashby Avenue pitch passing a morning inspection, the contest got off to a very even opening on a difficult surface which has clearly seen a lot of water in recent days. Albion were the side looking slightly the more dangerous but several good crossing opportunities were wasted by Billy Whitehouse and Jack Walters.

The first noteworthy shot of the 2nd vs 3rd encounter came 33 minutes in as United’s Josh Nichol fired over with the outside of his foot. With this being a half chance at best, Taddy should have grabbed the lead three minutes later after a rapid counter-attack from a Lincoln corner saw Howarth pick out an unmarked Ellis Barkworth at the back post but he slid agonisingly wide of the upright. This was by far the only clear-cut opening of the first 45 but Emery had to be alert four minutes from the break as he avoided a Pickford-esque blunder by carefully tipping over Chris Howarth’s swirling header.

Emery’s opposite number Leon Pöhls was untested in the first half but he too had to come up trumps two minutes into the second half. Taddy’s back-line were caught out appealing for offside but were saved by the German debutant who made an excellent stop to keep out Paul Grimes from point blank range. The resulting corner saw the hosts go remarkably close again as captain Sean Wright headed just wide with the rain now coming down in stair rods.

Taddy’s odds to win were then slashed on 53 minutes as Emery was sent for an early bath. Top scorer Joe Lumsden latched onto a ball over the top and bravely put his head in where it hurts taking an almighty whack from the goalkeeper who could have no complaints with the decision. However the visitors could be somewhat disgruntled with the decision to award a free-kick rather than a penalty as the incident looked to occur inside the box.

Thankfully it wasn’t to be pivotal though as that man Joe Lumsden went from having his head knocked off his shoulders to smashing the correct round object into the back of the net. A supreme ball onto the foot of Lumsden from Billy Whitehouse was kept out by Sinclair but only as far as the striker who lashed the rebound into the net for goal number 14 of the campaign.

Despite the man advantage, the Whites, who’s shirts were rather more a murky colour due to the mud, weren’t prepared to roll over as Pöhls was their kryptonite again. The giant German maestro did brilliantly to deny Grimes for a second time.

The importance of your goalkeeper making saves at crucial times came to fruition on 74 minutes as Aiden Savory doubled Taddy’s lead controlling and caressing cleverly into the bottom corner. It was another self-less performance from the versatile forward who capped off his display with his fifth goal of the season.

Lincoln should have probably pulled a goal back just a couple minutes later as Michael Jacklin escaped his marker on a corner but failed to direct his thunderous header on target. With the hosts down to ten and down two goals, the game started to open up with Lincoln throwing bodies forward which allowed the Brewers to exploit gaps going the other way. They somehow didn’t manage to net a third goal when substitute Stewart danced in between two and pulled back to Howarth who set Aiden Savory but his effort was expertly saved by Sinclair from six yards out.

Full-Time: Lincoln United 0-2 Tadcaster Albion

Lincoln: Emery (OFF 53), Blunden, Matthews, Wright©, Jacklin, Wilson, Nichol, Williams, Cotton, Grimes, Garrick

Subs: Smith, Karkach, Hemagou, Norris, Sinclair

Tadcaster: Pöhls, Barkworth, Walters (Hardy 84), Roper, Coates, Barrett, Whitehouse (Stewart 85), Davidson©, Lumsden, Howarth (Howarth 80), Savory

Unused: Mycoe