Young attacker Jovon Makama was more than happy with his contribution to Lincoln City’s win against Leyton Orient.
The striker scored in the 90th minute of the match as a packed-out LNER Stadium witnessed a tough affair against the East London outfit. The win lifts City into the final play-off spot.
Speaking after Lincoln’s 1-0 win, Makama said: “Drawing 0-0 with the game getting towards the end and I came on from the bench to make an impact, and that’s what I did. I’m buzzing.”
Reflecting on the goal, he added: “The ball came over the top and I’ve gone to hold it up, but I’ve been dragged to the side a bit so I counter-pressed and I didn’t lose my head, I managed to block his pass then drove inside and struck it into the bottom corner.
“The boys all came over buzzing, it was a big three points and of course we’re now in the top six,” he added.
Having come on in the 88th minute of the match, today’s goal was the first look the attacker had of the ball.
It was just the second goal Makama scored this season, with the first coming on March 9, in Lincoln’s 5-1 win away to Barnsley, the team now sat directly above them in the league.
He wasn’t the only young attacker brought on to change the game, however, with Freddie Draper coming on in the 64th minute to try to affect the match.
“Freddie is a big guy, so he manages to use his size really well. He got some shots off as well, but it was good for us both to come on and make that impact.” Makama said.
The job Michael Skubala has done at Lincoln has not gone unnoticed, with a real positive feeling all around the club, from fans to players to the coaches.
Makama spoke about how they communicate, and how he is well drilled to what they ask of him.
“They all believe in me; we have conversations all the time. I just have to keep my head down, stay focused, and keep working hard every single day and that’s what I’ve been doing, and now obviously you can see an improvement in me.
“It’s all about counter pressing, instead of dropping your head when you lose the ball you go straight back for it and win it straight back, and that is exactly what I did which obviously led to the goal.”
But Makama will hope that this start to an impressive form can convince his manager of a start.
“Being on the bench is frustrating so I couldn’t wait to get on and obviously I got the winning goal, and I’m buzzing with that”, he said.
A packed out LNER Stadium went into ecstasy following the Englishman’s goal, something that Makama noticed.
He said: “As soon as that ball went in I couldn’t hear a thing. It was a top atmosphere.”
Next up for Lincoln is a trip north to Carlisle on Easter Monday, as they look to continue their rich vein of form.
Makama is confident of producing a win on Monday, saying: “We go into the game like we go into every game, we need three points at the end of it so that is exactly what we will do.”
With Carlisle sat bottom SkyBet League One, 13 points behind Burton in 20th, Lincoln will be looking to make it five wins in a row, and 15 games unbeaten.
It won’t be easy for them, however, as Carlisle shocked most with an impressive 3-1 win away to play-off side Peterborough United on Friday.