Michael Skubala saw his Lincoln City side take three crucial points to keep the hunt for a play-off place alive for another week.
The Imps won 1-0 against sixth-placed Oxford United courtesy of Danny Mandroiou’s second-half penalty and hung on despite finishing a tense game with ten men. Dylan Duffy collected two yellow cards to receive his marching orders in an encounter littered with 12 cautions.
Despite only having three stands, the noise levels at the Kassam were immense, with both sets of supporters eager to see their side triumph. Oxford head coach Des Buckingham, linked with the Imps back in October, was eager to get his fans onside and was seen trying to get them to make noise on several occasions.
However, that approach only delighted Skubala, who referred to Buckingham’s efforts in his post-match interview.
“The fans were great, and he can gee the crowd up as much as he likes, our players love it,” said the former Leeds United man. “Bring more noise as much as you want, we get better.”
The Imps certainly dug deep to see off a talented Oxford side, who had scored 13 goals without reply in their previous three matches. In the same period, the Imps had won just once, losing their 16-game unbeaten run against Wigan this weekend.
That has seen Oxford seize the chance to cement their place in the top six, something Skubala recognises is still the case, despite the win last night. However, he called on an old rival of his club to do him a favour.
“Let’s be honest, they’re in the driving seat,” he added. “Let’s hope Steve Evans can do us a favour! They’re still in the driving seat, we know that, but at least we’ve come here and done our bit.”
“Let’s hope they can drop some points, and we go into Cheltenham next week looking for three points and still in it.”
The rivalry between the Imps and Steve Evans goes back more than 20 years when the controversial Scot was in charge of Boston United. At the time, they were a Football League side, and Evans often commented on his county rivals unfavourably, resulting in a long period of animosity between him and Imps supporters.
He takes his Stevenage side to the Kassam on Friday night, knowing only a big win will keep them in the hunt. Whilst they could match Oxford’s points tally, they’re currently 12 goals behind Buckingham’s team. Only a win by four or five goals would give them a real chance of finishing in the tip six.
Writer’s View
Michael Skubala rarely mentions other managers, so to hear him reference two in an interview was a treat. Interestingly, Buckingham was one of the men thought to be in the frame for the Imps job, and here he was, standing between his potential suitors and the club that ultimately has his heart.
The Imps still need the Gods to shine on them this weekend, but anything other than a win for Oxford, coupled with a Lincoln result at Cheltenham, will set up a tense final day. Considering Lincoln have made up 15 points on Oxford with a remarkable run, the head coach should be proud of his team, whatever the outcome.
Can they do it? It’s hard to rule anything out with Lincoln at the moment, and whilst the points advantage is with Oxford, perhaps momentum has just swung the way of the Imps. Over to you, Big Steve.
