Nine-man Lincoln swept aside 6-0 by West Ham

West Ham United thrashed nine-man Lincoln City 6-0 at the ProAmpac Stadium in the Championship, English football's second tier. Lincoln were down to nine men inside 23 minutes and never recovered BBC Sport.

Tom Hamer was sent off after only 160 seconds. Conor McGrandles followed him before the game had reached the 23-minute mark. Both were straight red cards, immediate dismissals with no prior warning.

Remarkably, Lincoln held out for the rest of the first half with two players missing. The resistance broke in the 45th minute. Konstantinos Mavropanos opened the scoring for West Ham.

The second half told a different story. Edvin Austbo, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo all scored after the break to stretch the lead. Tomas Soucek then struck twice late on to complete the 6-0 win.

It was Lincoln's heaviest defeat of the season. It also extended their losing run to three matches in the league.

Joint head coach Tom Shaw, who shares the role with Chris Cohen, spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire after the defeat. He said the result "won't define anything" BBC Sport.

That defiance makes sense in context. Lincoln are back in the second tier for the first time after a 65-year absence. Before this run of defeats, they had won away at Preston North End and Bristol City.

For West Ham, it was a return to winning ways in the Championship Sky Sports. The club said the 6-0 victory matched its record away league win West Ham United.

What makes this stand out is the shape of the night. Two early red cards decided the contest long before the goals arrived. Lincoln defended with heart for 45 minutes, then the extra space told and West Ham kept finding it.