Lincoln City striker Ben House was disappointed, but not defeated after Wigan Athletic ended their 16 match unbeaten run.
City were hit by a sucker punch Wigan winner in the 90th minute as captain Charlie Hughes volleyed into the net in front of the traveling support from Greater Manchester. The result leaves Lincoln five points off the play-offs, having picked up just one point from their last two games.
A frustrating afternoon:
The Imps had three goals disallowed throughout the afternoon, the most contentious of which came as Joe Taylor flicked back a cross for Reeco Hackett to finish. The linesman appeared to flag for the ball going out of play, much to the frustration of Lincoln head coach Michael Skubala.
On the incident, House said: “It’s hard to see obviously, the best angle are the fans on that side and the lino, so you have to trust in them to make sure thieve got the right decision.
“It’s tough because scoring those goals gives you that lift and getting them cancelled out it’s gutting, you have to go again and again, and the boys did we tried our hardest but unfortunately it didn’t come off,” he added.
Wigan a tough opponent:
Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, House was keen to emphasise the quality of opponent and that losing when trying to win is not a bad way to lose. He said: “We looked a bit tired out there to be honest with you, but we got back into the game and tried our hardest, pushed towards the end and that’s just cost us.
“The team is aggressive, we try and get after them teams are noticing that and changing their style of play, which I think is a compliment to us but in those moments, we have to be more aggressive and maybe even change the dynamic of how we play to counter them. But they’re a good team, a really good team,” the striker added.
The 16 game unbeaten run:
The loss ended a remarkable 16 match run, but the 24-year-old said the team should be proud of their recent achievements.
He explained: “Where we were, we weren’t really getting any wins so the change around we’ve had is incredible. I think that’s a credit to the gaffer and the staff and also to the players.
“We’ve given our all in the last 16 games I think you can see that, 16 games ago you wouldn’t have put us where we are and obviously it’s unfortunate that it has come to an end but there’s still three games to play.”
Injuries at the wrong time:
Lincoln are without several key members of personnel due to injury, House says they missed those players: “Definitely in midfield, obviously we miss Bish [Ted Bishop], Hammo [Ethan Hamilton] and Conor McGrandles. They’re three very big players for us and it’s unfortunate timing for all three of them.
“We had it with the strikers and that hurt us, but we’ve got a good group and we just need to recoup and go away to Oxford and hopefully do the business,” he added.
Previewing mammoth Oxford United clash:
The Imps travel to sixth placed Oxford on Tuesday evening, needing a win to keep their play-off hopes alive. Previewing the game, House said: “We have to recover and get our bodies right for Tuesday and do everything we can to get the win.”
When asked by LincSport’s Thomas Westcott if the game was now do or die he replied: “It’s exactly that.”