Lincoln City reached the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win away at Derby County in the first round at Pride Park. Ben House gave the visitors an early lead inside the opening two minutes, steering in a corner that took a deflection off Derby defender Matt Clarke. Dom Jefferies doubled Lincoln's advantage in the 22nd minute, finishing a pass from Freddie Draper into the bottom corner. Derby pulled a goal back through Sam Szmodics in first-half stoppage time, but could not find an equaliser after the restart, and Lincoln held on to progress.
Derby had much the better of the ball, holding 71% possession to Lincoln's 29%, but were outshot by the visitors, managing eight attempts on goal to Lincoln's 14, with both sides registering four efforts on target. Lincoln also had the edge at set pieces, winning six corners to Derby's three, while fouls finished level at 12 apiece. Derby picked up one yellow card in the match to Lincoln's two.
The win extended a strong start to life back in the Championship for Lincoln, who returned to the second tier this season after winning last season's League One title with 103 points. Derby and Lincoln had been paired together when the Carabao Cup first round draw was made in late June, one of five all-Championship first-round ties that also included Middlesbrough against Wrexham, West Ham United against Portsmouth, and Birmingham City against Swansea City. Lincoln's reward was a second round trip to League One side Blackpool. For Derby, the defeat brought an early exit from the competition as attention turned back to the Championship table.