Published 6 November 2026
Lincoln R.I.1 – 0
Hajduk SplitA completely bizarre situation unfolded at the match. Lincoln did not send a single shot on target, and they won.
Read that twice and it still sounds wrong. Lincoln Red Imps FC beat HNK Hajduk Split 1–0 in Gibraltar in the third round of the Conference League's league stage. The only goal of the night belonged to a Hajduk defender, Dennis Hadžikadunić, in the 89th minute.
Jaylan Hankins was named man of the match with a 7.6 rating, a reward for composure under relentless pressure rather than anything on the scoresheet. His concentration helped Lincoln Red Imps keep the clean sheet that turned one fortunate moment into three points.
Three weeks after Hajduk ended a 16-year wait by beating Ajax at Poljud, the Split club left Gibraltar with nothing. The Gibraltar champions had just 34% of the ball, and they took their first league-phase win of the campaign.
The goal came from the one weapon Lincoln could count on: a dead ball. Dario Marešić conceded a free kick on the right flank. Nano, Lincoln's 42-year-old left-back, curled the delivery into the penalty area.
Christian Rutjens rose above the Hajduk defence near the edge of the six-yard box and headed against the left post. The rebound struck Hadžikadunić on the knee and ricocheted into the bottom of the net from point-blank range.
That sequence explains the night's strangest number. Rutjens' header was the closest Lincoln came all evening, but it hit the woodwork, so it never counted as an effort on target. The ball crossed the line off a Hajduk knee, and the scoresheet records an own goal.
Lincoln did not win a single corner. They finished with five shots, none of them on target, and still walked away with three points.
The rest of the numbers describe a siege that broke nothing. Hajduk had 66% of possession, took 15 shots and won eight corners. Only one of those 15 attempts was on target.
That was the core of the criticism in the Croatian press afterwards. Index and Jutarnji list pointed to sluggish ball circulation and a complete lack of creativity in the final third against Lincoln's low block. They also attacked an approach too passive for a side with that much of the ball.
Hajduk still found things to argue about. A penalty appeal involving Marin Šotiček around the 70th minute was dismissed. Hajduk players also protested repeatedly to Polish referee Patryk Gryckiewicz that he was tolerating Lincoln's time-wasting on throw-ins, and none of it was punished.
In the 79th minute, a VAR check examined whether Graeme Torrilla deserved a harsher sanction before he was booked. The frustration reached the touchline as well, with Hajduk manager Gonzalo Garcia booked for dissent in the 95th minute. Lincoln finished with three yellow cards and Hajduk with four.
Through all of it, Lincoln's resistance held. Jaylan Hankins was the standout figure in a side that spent most of the night without the ball.
Garcia did not look for excuses. "We didn't understand the match, and we wanted to win it before we had fought to earn it," the Hajduk manager said.
Juan Manuel Pavón called it possibly the biggest win of his career. "I'm happy, and what pleases me most is the way my players handled this match against an opponent who surely expected things to unfold differently," the Lincoln manager said.
Hajduk's support played its part. Roughly 500 travelling fans marched through town under police escort before filling the away sector, and they kept up drums and non-stop chanting. Ticketless supporters watched through the perimeter fences. The hosts had warned beforehand that visiting fans caught in home sections would be ejected, and the evening passed without major security incidents.
On paper, the gap was enormous. Hajduk's squad carries a market valuation more than fifteen times that of the Gibraltar champions, which is exactly why this result landed so hard back home.
The defeat ended Hajduk's run of six matches without a loss in all competitions. It also ended a perfect start to the league stage after wins over Ajax and Thun. A third victory was a prime chance to all but secure early passage into the knockout rounds, and Hajduk let it slip.
Hajduk now sit 13th with six points. Lincoln are 22nd with three points from one win and two defeats, and they finally have a result to build the rest of their campaign around.
Croatian media quickly reached for the darkest chapters of Hajduk's European history, comparing the night to defeats against Gzira United, Tobol and Ružomberok. More analytical columns pushed back, arguing that panic and crisis talk would be unwarranted for a team that has already beaten Ajax and Thun.
Both readings hold some truth. The table remains kind to Hajduk, but the manner of this loss will not be filed away easily. A side that spent October convincing itself it belonged on this stage must now prove it can break down opponents who are happy to hand it the ball. In Gibraltar, Lincoln showed everyone else in the league how to play against them.
