BARNSLEY ended 2025 the same way they played for much of the year - with a disappointing defeat and being booed by the fans as they walked off the pitch.
It's fair to say it's been a disappointing year for the club after failing to reach the play-offs last campaign and it now looking increasingly likely they'll be unable to push towards the top six again this time around.
They've won 15, lost 19 and drawn seven of their league games in 2025 in what can only be described as an incredibly frustrating year for both the fans and the club itself.
And this game told a story of how the year has gone.
A series of poor errors, starting with Jonathan Bland giving the ball away needlessly and Reyes Cleary committing a foul, led to the opener on eight minutes.
Adam Reach faked to shoot from the free kick from the right before Ivan Varfolomeev crossed for Tom Hamer to head home for the Imps.
The hosts came close through Patrick Kelly and Cleary in the first half but it was Skubala's side who came the closest through Reach whose 20-yard strike went narrowly wide.
The hosts were booed off at half-time but they started the brighter after the break coming close through Cleary and then substitute Adam Phillips' wicked half-volley.
But it was the Imps and Reach who sealed the win in style with 18 minutes to play.
A long-throw was headed out to the former Sheffield Wednesday man 25 yards out and he unleashed a lethal volley which cannoned in off the underside of the crossbar.
The transfer window couldn't be any more important.
Get it right and the Reds could still have an outside shot at the top six given the amount of games they have in hand.
Get it wrong and the club could be facing a relegation battle in the third tier.
Reds head into new year just two points above drop
There's an expectation at Oakwell - rightly or wrongly - that Barnsley should be fighting for promotion from the third tier.
But Conor Hourihane said this week that the Reds are no longer the 'powerhouse' they used to be in League One.
And that's a fair assessment.
After losing in the play-off final under Michael Duff then the semi-finals under Neill Collins and Martin Devaney, last season's mid-table finish was hard to take for fans.
But the team seem to be going in the wrong direction.
If they carry on this form - coupled with how tight the league table is - Barnsley could genuinely be looking at a scrap at the wrong end of the table.
This game left them just two points off the relegation zone and in the bottom half of the table for the first time in months.
Something needs to change - and fast.
Individual errors
On far too many occasions this season it’s been individual errors that have been hindering the Reds.
And it was no different on Monday night.
The Imps were awarded a free-kick after Jonathan Bland gave the ball away in the middle of the park and Cleary hacked at a Lincoln midfielder on the right-hand side of the box.
Varfolomeev made no mistake with an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Hamer who put the Imps in front.
But it happened far more frequently.
On multiple occasions a midfielder or defender’s pass would be wayward and lead to a chance for the away side.
Hourihane has said previously he needs his players to cut that out - and he does.
Because as it stands, the Reds are looking shaky and poor at the back.
And they’re far more likely to be facing ar relegation battle at the end of the season than a play-off push.
Reds booed off
After a string of poor results it’s clear that the Reds’ faithful are at their wit’s end.
The team were booed off at half-time and full-time in this fixture.
The positivity and real belief that the Reds could mount a promotion charge that was there at the start of the season is slowly withering away.
The official attendance announced by the club on Monday night was 10,711 - but it seemed far fewer than that.
The ground was silent for much of the game and it's understandable why given the early sucker punch.
Hourihane said after the Mansfield loss on Boxing Day that fans are entitled to their opinions and he's right.
But one thing's for sure - it's certainly not helping anyone.
The Reds need a good January transfer window or Oakwell could become as hostile as it did in the Darrell Clarke regime.
Barnsley poor but better than previously
When all's said and done, all that really matters is the result - a third straight defeat.
And for much of the game Barnsley were really poor.
But not for all of it.
In spells, especially at the start of the second half, the Reds looked like they could have mounted a comeback.
Substitute Phillips came close, as did Cleary and Keillor-Dunn after the break but Reach's superb strike was a real sucker punch that took everything out of the Reds.
They were in the game for some spells and were much better than the two previous matches against Exeter and Mansfield.
But they need to do it for 90 minutes again - but it seems that's something they're struggling to do.
Barnsley (4-2-3-1): Cooper 6 (mark out of ten); Watson 6 (Jalo 65), Roberts 5 (de Gevigney 70), Shepherd 5, Earl 6; Connell 6, Bland 5 (McGoldrick 87); Yoganathan 5(Phillips 46), Kelly 7, Cleary 6; Keillor-Dunn 6.
Unused: Flavell, Farrugia, Vickers.
Yellow cards: Earl, Bland, Connell, Kelly.
Lincoln (4-4-2): Wickens; Darikwa, Hamer, Bradley, Reach; McGrandles, Varfolomeev (Lembikisa 88), Jeffries (Towler 61), Moylan (Hackett 61); Street (Ring 88), Obikwu (Draper 70).
Unused: Jeacock, Okoronkwo,
Yellows: McGrandles, Hamer.
Goals: Hamer 8, Reach 72.
Attendance: 10,711 (1,529 away supporters).
Referee: Paul Howard (Kettering).
