Southampton 2-1 Lincoln: Che Adams double sends Saints into EFL Cup quarter-finals

Che Adams’ double helped Southampton come from behind and avoid a shock against League One Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

His side fell behind early when Gavin Bazunu failed to deal with Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ sliced ​​clearance.

But Adams scored either side of the break to see Southampton through.

The two goals represent the first time Southampton have scored more than one in a game since their win over Chelsea on August 30.

It is the first time they have reached the quarter-finals of the competition since they lost to Manchester United in the 2017 final.

Having waited more than six weeks for his home bow after joining from Luton, Jones would wanted a better start, but Bazunu, under pressure from Paudie O’Connor, failed to deal with the miscued clearance and the ball bounced in.

It took Southampton a while to settle but they found an equalizer when Mohamed Elyounoussi found space on the right side of the area and dinked into the box for Adams – who may have been offside – to power a header home.

Lincoln, playing in the fourth round for the first time since 1967-68, were the better side at the start of the second half, but Jones made a triple substitution and changed from 5-3-2 to 4-3-3.

It brought immediate improvement, and the second goal arrived when Elyounoussi’s acrobatic effort was blocked and then bundled over the line by Adams for his second double in the competition this season.

Lincoln pushed for an equaliser late on leaving gaps for Southampton to exploit, with Samuel Edozie and Adams both missing gilt-edged chances to add to the scoring for Saints.