Lincoln City wing-back Jack Burroughs spoke to the media following his first goal for the club, helping the side progress into the knockout stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
Burroughs opened the scoring in the 6th minute, after a bright start against Notts County. He said: “The goal was a long time coming and put us off to a good start to the game, and we managed to get the win to see us through to the knockout stages. So I’m really happy inside. I had a lot of time to think about it, I wasn’t sure where to put it at first but thankfully I put it in.”
Notts County dominated the ball throughout the contest, but it was the Imps who would score the only other goal of the game via Jack Vale’s first goal for the club.
On the second goal Burroughs was relieved. He said: “We needed that cushion, because we were under pressure for a lot of the second half. They’re a good team, in possession. Thankfully, they didn’t create too many clear-cut chances and with a cushion you would always back us with our defensive record to see out the game.”
It turned out to be a quiet night for goalkeeper Jordan Wright, with the Imps keeper barely challenged, despite City’s lack of possession.
Burroughs said: “It’s a credit to the defence, especially the centre-backs that headed everything and got in the way of everything that came towards them, and it’s always a good sign when your keeper doesn’t have to make too many saves.”
“Notts County are known, especially in recent times for being a team that likes to play out from the back and have loads of possession and its on us to make sure we stay concentrated. We know that no matter what team we play, even Premier League teams, when we play on the break, we can punish teams, and two of our goals were from winning the ball back and doing that, it’s credit to us that we have done that.”
Burroughs has played multiple positions for the Imps since his loan move from Coventry City in the summer, and has adjusted well to life at Lincoln City. He said: “I’m loving it. You come as a loan player looking for that game time and thankfully I have had it in abundance. I like to think I am quite a versatile player, in terms of getting games and mins on pitch.
“Wherever the manager wants to put me I am happy to play. A lot of people have adopted that style of play. It can catch you out at times like it did on Saturday, but when you get a foothold on the game, it gives you a lot of freedom to play.”
The win came with plenty of positives, ending a small losing streak as well as advancing in the competition.
When addressing these points, he said: “The competition is important now, it is the knockout stage. It’s a chance to create some momentum which can be taken into the league. After a couple of defeats, and a performance like Saturday, it’s nice to bounce back and do it in style.
“It’s the contrast to Saturday. We had loads of chances on Saturday and didn’t really take them, and tonight we had two or three chances, and we took them. It shows how football can flip. We would have liked to have done it Saturday, but we have done it tonight and it keeps us in another cup competition.”
Lincoln City return to the LNER Stadium on Saturday, as they welcome Port Vale in SkyBet League One.