Lincoln's lead

A STIRRING County fightback saw The Hatters move into pole position to secure a third-placed finish in League One, after a 3-2 victory over Lincoln City at Edgeley Park on Saturday.

- SAM BYRNE

Trailing 0-2 at the break, Dave Challinor's side memorably rallied to take all three points - owing largely to substitute Jayden Fevrier's stunning second half, scoring one and making two to move The Hatters into third with one game to go.

The comeback victory also briefly extended County's chances of automatic promotion via a second-placed finish but Wrexham's 3-0 thrashing of Charlton Athletic in the evening kick-off soon confirmed the Welsh side's third successive promotion.

Challinor's men will now head to fourth-placed Wycombe Wan-derers in the final league fixture of the regular season this Saturday, knowing that a point would be enough to effectively confirm third place, and a two-legged clash against either Leyton Orient or Reading in the play-off semi-finals.

Ahead of this rousing fightback, boss Challinor had opted for four changes to the side which edged past Huddersfield Town on Easter Monday.

Benoný Andrésson, Kyle Knoyle, Owen Moxon and Ethan Pye were brought in, replacing Jack Diamond - who was missing his first game under a retrospective three-match ban imposed following the clash with the Terriers - as well as Fevrier, Jay Mingi and eventual match-winner Tanto Olaofe.

Fevrier and Olaofe were both named for a bench that also included Ryan Rydel who, like Knoyle and Pye, had returned to the squad following recovery from an injury.

Lincoln sitting just above mid-table but arriving in SK3 on the back of a five-match unbeaten run throughout April - started brightly in the initial stages.