Gainsborough Trinity manager Russ Wilcox was pleased with his sides performance as they overcame a Lincoln City XI 4-2 at the KAL Group Stadium last night.
The Holy Blues took the lead just short of the 25-minute mark as Javelle Clark slotted the ball past Jamie Pardington after being played through by new signing Jonny Margetts.
However, proceedings were level at the break as Josh Kennealey fired in from range on his left foot, Lincoln City under 18’s manager Sam Tillen said: “It was a fantastic strike from the edge of the box, and he has the ability to do that on a regular basis.”
The game saw an early change of formation from Wilcox’s side as they switched from a back three to a back four, a change that Wilcox said: “Worked really well and maybe something we have to do in future.”
His side then took control of the game in the second half as Frank Mulhern restored the lead when he finished on the rebound.
Ashley Jackson then quickly doubled the lead five minutes later as the ball bounced around in the area; before Mulhern put the game to bed with just over 15 minutes remaining as he bagged his second of the game.
The Imps pulled one back in injury time as the ball once again bounced around the penalty area before a Gainsborough defender turned it into their own net.
Overall, on the game Tillen said: “It’s a fantastic learning opportunity that the lads can’t get playing against their own age group.
“Plenty of positives to take in terms of things that we’ve done well, but there’s definitely things that we can look back on and do better.”
On the other hand, Wilcox said: “Plenty of positives against a group of young pros, they were quite strong through the spine, and it was a fantastic workout.”
Regarding his sides performance he said: “We showed our quality today, I thought we could have scored eight or nine because it was a bit like playing Basketball at times.
“It’s nice to get positive performances and wins because it breeds confidence into the group, it means nothing results wise, but it tells me the group are working hard.”
Interview Credit: Lewis Bathurst.