Lincoln City forward Hakeeb Adelakun spoke to the media after scoring a brace against Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night, in what he called “a big performance.”
Tom Shaw maintained his 100% record as Imps’ interim head coach, beating former City manager Michael Appleton 3-1 at the LNER Stadium. A brace from Adelakun and Sean Roughan’s first league goal of the season was more than enough to overturn Alfie May’s opener for the visitors.
It is the first time Adelakun has scored a brace for the Imps, in what can only be described as a turbulent Lincoln City career until this season, and there was a certain amount of relief for Hakeeb.
He said: “I have been waiting for a tap in. I had one disallowed for offside the other week. I’ve been dying for one and thankfully it came. From the first game I played this season, the fans have backed me and I’m just happy I can them back with this and the win.”
He added: “It’s a big thing to get the goals, first time getting a brace, and I’m happy with the goals and the performance. I’m happy today, we will recover tomorrow and train Thursday. Focus moves to Saturday.”
It was another team-uniting performance, following the impressive defensive effort away to Fleetwood just over 72 hours before. Adelakun said: “The boys showed a big spirit. We have shown that we can fight back in games but to do it in this manner today was massive for us. There’s a big buzz around the training ground and the changing room.
“The boys have all got around each other in the last few weeks. We keep each other going and you can see there’s a good spirit around the camp, everyone is talking to each other, which makes my job easier.”
It has been a breakthrough season for Adelakun at the Imps, after a poor loan spell at League Two side Gillingham last season, scoring just once in 31 appearances. This season alone ‘Haks’ (as he is sometimes referred as) has scored four in ten appearances.
He spoke about the difficulties he has faced during his time at City: “It’s tough at the beginning, obviously there’s a bit of luck, but everything just clicked together and thankfully it is working for me. You have to get back to basics and keep yourself pushing. I still love football, which kept me going.
“For me it is a great position. I know the people on the other side of the luck, and have some friends that are struggling from it, but we bounce off each other and we help each other through it.”
Speaking to LincSport’s Spencer O’Leary, Hakeeb ranked his performance against Charlton, as one of his best: “Its definitely up there. First time I’ve scored two goals, and this last run I have had in the team is probably the best I’ve had, so need to keep it going.”
Much like Hakeeb’s season, the Imps needed a comeback to overcome Michael Appleton’s Charlton on Tuesday. Adelakun described his sides’ performance: “We started well and the game plan was working. It was a sucker-punch the goal they got, and we felt they got a bit lucky. We knew we had to grind it out and the chances would then come. You can see from the next two goals how it happened.”
The Imps are next in action on Saturday, as they make the long journey down to Devon, to play Exeter City. They are next at home on Tuesday (October 31st) as they entertain Oxford United