Gruelling, dirty and ugly — but Swansea get the job done to go top of the league.

The Imps brought the heat at the ProAmpac Stadium, and we struggled to keep up. The first half was bleak for the Swans. Lincoln's physicality and directness really caused us problems. We have some extremely skilful players, but the only ones who could match their physicality were Idah, Stamenić and Cabango, and combined with our sloppiness in possession, we were lucky not to fall behind earlier. Fortunately Vitor Matos (below) changed that at half time. It was one of our worst 45 minutes of the season; we struggled to progress the ball and, despite having 77% possession at half-time, created nothing, mainly because we didn't have the ball in the right areas. I have said before, and will continue to say, that I will only be truly concerned when problems become a pattern. Unfortunately, our inability to create chances and control games against physical sides that love to play without the ball has now become exactly that, and we need to fix it.

In the end, we did get punished for our sluggish start. A ball came into the penalty area and Tymon completely misread the situation; in trying to get back in front of his man, he gave the referee the chance to point to the spot, though many would argue it was a very soft decision. Either way, we went 1-0 down in the 39th minute (below) and looked short of both focus and energy. The penalty claim and award was soft referee Anthony Backhouse, who has haunted the Swans on many occasions before, he seemed convinced. It was far from that. But then, in the closing minutes of the half, something changed. We sustained an attack for two or three minutes, started winning the loose balls, threw ourselves into duels and kept pushing forward. The half-time whistle blew before we could capitalise, but the winds were changing.

And then the second half began, and we gave it everything.

The Swans established longer attacks, moved up the pitch and, most importantly, looked energised and focused. Widell picked up a loose ball, delivered it into the box and Yeo scored his second goal in two games to equalise; and we weren't done. With renewed energy, the Swans continued to push, and when Stephen Eustáquio saw his opportunity, he took it. With some help from a deflection, we had taken the lead just five minutes after going behind — an excellent showing of character.

To my disappointment, the game reverted to its previous pattern, with Lincoln pinning us in our own half and forcing us long. They delivered ball after ball into the box, but the boys in black stood firm and defied the Imps. Once again, the character and determination on display was very impressive; I thought Cabango (below), Welsh and Jenson Seelt, when he came on, stood up admirably against some imposing Lincoln forwards. It became nervy towards the end, but we held on, with some help from the commanding Lawrence Vigouroux.

After 93 minutes, the final whistle was a blessed relief, and you only need to look at the players' reactions to understand what this means to them. We did not put in the type of performance we want to see from this team, but all wins are worth equally in points. And to make everything sweeter, Middlesbrough dropped points away at Birmingham, meaning we sit alone at the summit of the Championship. Swansea are top of the league going into the international break. Let that sink in.

Just enjoy, my friends. Up the Swans !

⚽️ Imps : George Wickens, Adam Reach (Chieo Ogbene 64), Andrei Coubis, Ryley Towler (Rob Street 78) Reeco Hackett, Tom Bayliss, Conor McGrandless, Sonny Bradley (c), Ben House (Mikkel Ladefoged 64), Deji Elerewe, Freddie Draper.

Unused Substitutes: Joe Gauci, Dom Jefferies, Ivan Varfolomeev, Yunus Konak, Ethan Wheatley, Daniel Oyegoke.

⚽️ Swans : Lawrence Vigouroux 8, Filip Lissah 6 Ben Cabango 7 (c), Stephen Welsh 7 (Jenson Seelt 82), Josh Tymon 6 Marko Stamenic 7 Stephen Eustáquio 7 (Gonçalo Franco 78) 6 Elijah Just 7 (Joseph Opoku 60) 6 Melker Widell 7 Moussa Yeo 7 (Ronald 60) 6 Adam Idah 6 (Zan Vipotnik 60) 6

Unused Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Jay Fulton, Tom Iorpenda, Tiago Parente.

⚽️ Referee: Anthony Backhouse : Didn’t affect the game bar the penalty. Usual weird decisions especially for the corner award when Vigouroux was penalised for time wasting. The Lincoln keeper did the same and one occasion for longer and was allowed to get away with it. 5/10.

⚽️ Attendance: 10,559 (1,201 away)
This is an odd away attendance. The away area behind the goal was sold out as was the temporary stand. Questionable. However, you can only sell what you are given.

⚽️ Critical note : Swansea City would not have won this game at this point last season.

Photographs : TNTclick media. Artwork Xolin