Hull City 1 Lincoln City 1 - Tigers pay the penalty in Papa John's Trophy quarter-final

Tuesday evening's last-eight clash ended 1-1 after 90 minutes, and it was the visiting Imps who held their nerve when it came to spot-kicks.

With rain pouring down in East Yorkshire, the away side drew first blood on a sodden playing surface that was already badly cut up before the contest even got underway.

And it was all too easy for Lincoln to breach the home defence with just seven minutes on the clock as Anthony Scully delivered a low cross into the six-yard-box from the right flank.

Tigers centre-half Reece Burke switched off, leaving Harry Anderson the simple task of sweeping the ball across Matt Ingram and into the net at the near post.

Hull continued to look rather unconvincing at the back, though they weren't too far away from drawing level at the other end when Dan Crowley met the ball on the edge of the Imps' area and curled an effort narrowly the wrong side of Alex Palmer's upright.

Keane Lewis-Potter then drew a decent save out of the Lincoln custodian with a strike from a narrow angle, before the visitors seemed set to double their advantage.

Brennan Johnson dispossessed Burke and raced clean through on the Hull goal, but with just Ingram to beat, he took a horrible, heavy touch and the Tigers stopper was able to claim the ball.

With both sides continuing to engineer some decent openings, further goals seemed a certainty, but no more materialised before the interval.

Lewis-Potter did manage to get himself on the end of Callum Elder's inviting right-wing free-kick, only to send his first-time finish well over the cross-bar at the far post.

Hull found themselves very much in the ascendancy during the early stages of the second period, Josh Magennis drawing a fine reaction save out of Palmer with a close-range blast.

And, following a spell of pressure which saw the Imps struggle to escape their own half, the home team got back themselves back in the game on the hour-mark.

Greg Docherty seized on a loose ball before driving into the penalty area and firing home a left-footed effort.

Lewis-Potter very nearly completed the turnaround eight minutes later when he cut inside off the left flank and bent one around Palmer and narrowly the wrong side of the upright.

The contest opened up somewhat in the final 20 minutes with both teams apparently determined to try and win the game inside the regulation 90.

With the pitch starting to resemble a mud-bath, Hull continued to probe away and substitute Billy Chadwick was off-target with a shot from outside the area, while Lewis-Potter completely missed his kick when Docherty put the ball on a plate for him.

But with neither team able to muster a second of the night, penalties were required to settle matters.

Richie Smallwood and James Scott missed the Tigers' first two attempts from 12 yards before successful conversions by Chadwick, Lewis-Potter and Elder took the shoot-out into sudden death.

Needing to find the back of the net to keep his side's hopes alive, Jordan Flores' failure to stick number six away would however end Hull's participation in this season's tournament.

Hull City: Ingram; Emmanuel, Burke, McLoughlin, Elder; Slater (Chadwick 61), Smallwood, Docherty; Crowley (Flores 76), Magennis (Scott 61), Lewis-Potter. Unused substitutes: Long, Coyle, Mayer, Clark.

Lincoln City: Palmer: Eyoma, Montsma, Walsh, Edun; Anderson, Grant, Jones, Howarth (Hopper 64); Johnson, Scully. Unused substitutes: Long, Jackson, Roughan.

Referee: R Madley (West Yorkshire).