Michael Skubala said he was “really pleased” with his team’s response to a poor first-half, after Lincoln City beat Leyton Orient 2-1.
Goals from young strikers Jovon Makama and Freddie Draper put the Imps 2-0 up and seemingly cruising before a Dan Agyei goal brought Orient back into the game. However, City did just enough for three points, and hung on through a late barrage of pressure.
A Flat First-Half:
Lincoln, after three games in seven days, looked understandably lacklustre in the first-half.
The Imps boss said: “I thought first-half we weren’t at it, that’s the reality. We were second to duels; we looked a bit jaded you know from the week, it’s been a long week with travelling back from Blackpool and I just thought we lacked a bit of energy.
“At half-time we talked about that, about energy and desire, and before the tactics stuff works we have to be on those things and I thought second half we looked a threat.”
Super Strikers:
With Ben House out with a broken nose it was down to young duo Jovon Makama and Freddie Draper to lead the line for Lincoln. They showed their quality with two brilliantly taken goals, and impressed Michael Skubala in the process.
He said: “I thought Jovon today, you saw his quality, he was the only one for me in the first half that really looked like he was going to do something for us. I’m proud of him because he’s got his goal, and you can see what he can do.
“But, then you look at Jovon, Freddie, Sean Roughan they’re academy players and we have to be proud of that because they’re not just leading the line, they look a threat and Freddie took his goal fantastically.”
The only negative on the attacking end was that both strikers came off with slight injuries.
Skubala explained: “That’s probably the most ‘lets see through the day’ because you never know. They’ve both got pulls a little bit so we don’t know how bad they are. It could be a week, it could be less than a week, it could be four weeks.”
A Nervy Ending:
A well taken Dan Agyei goal put the cat amongst the pigeons late in the day as he halved the deficit for Leyton Orient on 80 minutes. It created a nail-biting finish for Imps supporters, but their defence did just enough.
“I trust the lads, I think we’re good aerially, I just think the lads have been fantastic with set-pieces we’re a real threat you know. We’ll win more than we lose in that moment,” Skubala said.
Conor McGrandles cleared one off the line with his head deep into stoppage time to see out an important victory.
Depth and Ethan Hamilton Returns:
With so many options in attacking areas Skubala has already had a few selection headaches this season, but with current injuries the depth brought in is proving to be worthwhile.
He said: “It’s important to have the depth, it’s important to have the structure and I think they’re all doing really well at the minute. Obviously Jovon and Freddie scored today but Bailey [Cadamarteri] came on and did a job for us, Ben House has been fantastic, Rob Street is ready in the wings waiting, so I’m really pleased with all the units of the team.”
Ethan Hamilton returned to action for the first time since February on 82 minutes, and was given a warm welcome back by the 9,500 strong LNER Stadium crowd.
The Lincoln City chief said: “It was good to see him in there, good to get him out there, I think it was fast and he might not be used to the tempo but I thought to get through a few minutes was great.”
The Imps now ready for a trip to Grimsby Town in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, before a week away from games due to the international break.
Feature Image Credit: Graham Burrell