After the all the talk and controversy all the talking was done on the pitch on Saturday. A Kolyn Patterson goal 8 minutes from time put Lincoln through and inflicted the first defeat on Newtowne since August 20 th .

Games between these two are never dull and the last time they met it finished 5-5 and on Saturday it could have been 8-8. The huge crowd were entertained by a game which was anything but predictable; it would have made a great final.

The weather was lovely, the pitch was heavy and referee Gary Crawford from Ballymena was superb. He let the game flow but never let this potentially volatile game get out of hand.

Newtowne almost scored at the off, Martin Harkin going close. Conor O'Hara also had a gilt edge chance for Newtowne in the first 10 minutes. Lincoln also went close twice in this period, Mickey O'Brien twice clearing off the line from Godfrey and Patterson.

The first 30 minutes was played at a frenetic pace. Newtowne started slowly and allowed Lincoln too much possession early on. As the half progressed Blain Morrison began to pose a threat to the Lincoln defence.

During the first half hour Lincoln had the 3 best players on the pitch, Craig, Simpson and Godfrey. The latter two combined to score the first goal. Simpson's excellent pass freed Godfrey and he slipped the ball under Norris. A fine goal.

Lincoln were buoyed by the goal and dominated the rest of the half. Despite this O'Hara missed another great chance before half time.

The second half started pretty much as the last one ended. Simpson orchestrating proceedings, prompting the pace of Stephen Mooney and Godfrey with his vision. While Loughery tried hard he found it hard to get support.

Newtowne began to make an impact on the game with the arrival of John Deighan. He began to ask questions of the visiting defence.

In the 53rd and 55 th minute Lincoln had two successive penalty claims turned down. Soon after Patterson was clattered by Norris outside the box. Referee Crawford decided a yellow card was the correct punishment and I would agree with that.

In the 64 th minute the large home crowd were given something to cheer about when Mickey O'Brien equalised from a scrambled corner. The same player saw a scrambled effort go wide soon after.

In the next ten minutes both teams exchanged excellent opportunities. Mooney was one on one but fine defending from Ryan Magee and Mickey O'Brien denied a score. At the other end Walsh had an open net but the soggy pitch sapped the energy out of his shot.

With 10 minutes left on the clock I told the person beside me that Newtowne were about to dominant the game for the first time and nick the game. Seconds later my forecast was proved wrong as Kolyn Patterson poached a spilled ball to tuck it into an empty net.

Newtowne threw caution to the wind in the last 7 minutes in a desperate to salvage a draw. Deighan had a header just wide and in added time a cross agonizingly missed the toe of Loughery.

Lincoln held on to reach the quarter final. Overall they had more players on their game and deserved their victory Simpson and Godfrey were the two dominant figures in the game. Newtowne started slow and their key players didn't impose themselves on the game.

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