Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala reviewed a “great win” for his team, as they beat Exeter City to record another win.
The Imps are now unbeaten in seven games, winning three of their last four SkyBet League One outings.
Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Skubala said: “It’s a great win for the lads. I thought they were brilliant throughout. I thought we dominated most of the game.”
Exeter sat back during the first-half, as neither side managed to notch a shot on target before the break.
“We were better with the ball…forcing their backline back and then when it landed we were counter-pressing really well. So, I think part of it was that they sat back, but part of it was that we forced them back in the second-half, which was great,” Skubala said to LincSport.
House and O’Connor among the big performers:
The headlines go to Joe Taylor, who scored his first Imps goal. But, strike-partner Ben House shone in the tight 1-0 victory too.
The Lincoln boss said: “Ben [House] and Joe [Taylor] today were leading from the front. Ben is magnificent at that, for me he’s one of the top strikers in this league and one of the top strikers I’ve seen do it. He’s fantastic in the press.”
It was a first full game for House since August, as he continues his staggered return to the first-team after his long lay-off through injury.
“He’s tried, he’s really tired. It’s his first 90 in a long, long time. We had to push him through it, but I thought he was magnificent,” Skubala said.
The win meant that the Imps secured a fourth clean sheet in six games, something which the head coach was happy with.
“I’m really pleased with all the defenders that are coming in. You only need to look at TJ [Eyoma], who we brought on in the last moments, and he wins headers and he gets out. They did their job really, really well,” he said.
Captain Paudie O’Connor had a clash of heads with Exeter counter-part Pierce Sweeney within the first five minutes of the game. However, the Irishman carried on to complete the full 90 minutes.
Skubala said: “We assessed him and we knew he was okay to carry on, it was on whether he wanted to or not and he made the decision that he wanted to. It just shows his mentality as well.”
An improved second-half:
LincSport asked the former Leeds United under-21s head coach what he said at half-time to spark a much livelier second-half display for his side.
He said: “We thought we could’ve just trapped them quicker with our press, and we thought we could’ve stopped them playing a little bit earlier. The way they were rolling in with the left-back into midfield, creating a box, we needed to manage that situation better.”
“I think when we got out there, we managed the situation better. You saw how aggressive we can be in the second-half and they struggled to play out then,” he added.
Over 7,500 were inside the LNER Stadium to see Lincoln recorded back-to-back home wins for the first time since April 2023.
Skubala was complimentary of another strong backing, saying: “They’ve been magnificent all season, or at least when I’ve been here. So, it’s brilliant to see and I just think the lads love it and the lads feel it, so it’s great to have good support no matter what.”
News on the injury front:
Michael Skubala provided an update on a couple of Saturday’s absentees.
On Reeco Hackett, he said: “He’s okay. He came off against Charlton and he came in to training, we thought he’d be okay and then something flared up. We think it’s just a bit under his knee and it’s one of those decisions: do we play him and risk him, or because he’s just come back from a big injury, he’s probably going to get a few niggles.”
He confirmed that he will likely be back in training midweek, with a view of making the trip to Port Vale on Saturday.
On Freddie Draper, Skubala added: “Freddie is a bit longer, we’ll still waiting. It could be a few weeks, same with [Adam Jackson], obviously he has his broken nose, so we need to wait if he can do it in a couple weeks.”
Lincoln return to action on Saturday, travelling to Darren Moore’s Port Vale, before Shrewsbury Town visit the LNER Stadium on Tuesday, February 27.