Lincoln City 1 Shrewsbury Town 5 - match report

Electrifying, exhilarating, scintillating and sensational.

Take your pick from any of the above adjectives because they all tick the box on an evening which will be talked about in Shrewsbury circles for many years to come.

A quite exceptional first half display saw Graham Turner's side systematically pick holes in a Lincoln side whose five straight League wins made them one of English football's hottest properties before last night.

Aided by a 13 minute Lionel Ainsworth hat-trick, Shrewsbury produced a mesmerising opening blitz packed with breathtaking attacking football to not only seal a third successive League Two victory but also issue a major statement of intent to their promotion rivals.

Town are now back in the top three and anything approaching a repeat of this performance between now and the end of the season will make them very difficult to dislodge.

Patches of Town's football in those pulsating early stages - which brought all six goals in the opening 35 minutes - would have graced a higher level.

With the link-up play of Matt Harrold providing the attacking fulcrum, Ainsworth, Jon Taylor and Mark Wright were chiefly responsible for the providing the type of movement, penetration and pace which meant Town could have forged an even greater advantage than the 5-1 cushion they enjoyed by half-time.

Ainsworth was to prove the chief beneficiary with a finishing masterclass and display to be proud of.

Ironically, the former Hereford man would almost certainly been restricted to a place on the bench had James Collins not been summoned on international duty or had the unfortunate Tom Bradshaw avoided an ankle injury in the closing stages of Monday's training session.

But football has a knack of throwing up such stories and Ainsworth will today be hoping a performance which was at times unplayable has now made him undroppable for this weekend's visit of Stevenage.

Playing in the attacking role he occupied as a youngster before being shifted out wide, Ainsworth's confidence visibly rose from the moment he dispossessed Justin Hoyte on 22 minutes and then finished coolly to put Town 3-1 to the good.

It got better less than two minutes later with a well directed half volley from 15 yards after a shell-shocked Lincoln defence failed to clear a Mark Wright cross, and a three minute hat-trick was nearly completed when Trevor Carson tipped his shot onto the post.

But the Ainsworth treble, and Shrewsbury's fifth, arrived on 35 minutes when a fine lay-off from Harrold sent his strike partner free to apply another sublime finish from just inside the box.

At that stage, a record breaking night — Town have never scored more than seven in a League match — appeared on the cards.

That more goals didn't materialise didn't detract from a display which enjoyed a flying start thanks to Jon Taylor's sixth minute opener.

The 18-year-old winger continues to ride the crest of a Football League wave and this was the pick of his four goals in his first three senior starts, controlling a cross from Mark Wright and turning bemused Lincoln left back Stephen Hunt in the same movement before drilling a left foot shot into the top corner.

Lincoln were to equalise two minutes later thanks to an Ashley Grimes header, but Town were back in front on 13 after an own goal from Julian Kelly, who put into the wrong net after deflecting a header from Mark Wright.

The starting credits of the Lionel Ainsworth Show then began to roll and, while the Town goal-rush didn't continue in the second half, patches of their performance remained refreshingly eyecatching.

Ainsworth produced one extraordinary piece of skill which forced another fine save from Carson, while the final 20 minutes will also be remembered for the Football League debut of Connor Goldson.

That would have fulfilled the dreams of the young defender on a night to cherish for all connected with Shrewsbury Town.

By JAMES GARRISON