Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala was delighted with his side’s hard-fought victory over Stockport County in response to back-to-back defeats.
The Imps had enjoyed an excellent start to the season that had seen them on the cusp of the automatic promotion places prior to last weekend’s clash with Birmingham City. Ultimately, the Blues’ class shone through and they left the LNER Stadium with a 3-1 victory.
Lincoln had an excellent chance to bounce straight back midweek when they travelled to struggling Crawley Town. However, they suffered a shock as Rob Elliot’s team recorded their first league win since August.
A return to home soil represented an opportunity for the East Midlanders to return to winning ways. They dominated the early exchanges but found themselves a goal behind after just nine minutes when Isaac Olaofe slotted home.
Ben House did restore parity shortly before half time with his first goal of the campaign, forcing the Hatters to change their shape in the second period to combat the threat from the hosts. This changed the complexity of the game, but Sheffield Wednesday loanee Bailey Cadamarteri headed home the winner in the 66th minute.
“Magnificent” – Skubala Praises Imps
Speaking to official club media, Skubala was full of praise for his team:
“We showed we can play different options, and to a man I thought we were magnificent.
“We got caught early on for their goal, but what I really liked is that we were calm, we played and work our way in. We looked threatening.
“They changed things at half-time and went more direct because they couldn’t deal with us and our speed on the top line, and the way we were building.”
Good Response After Defeats
Continuing, the former Leeds United coach said:
“It’s a response (to the defeat at Crawley) but the reality is I thought we were good in the first half there. We just didn’t score the goals our play warranted and had a bad second half. At times, there will be moments like that. It won’t go perfect for us all the time, but the response was really good and shows what this group has got and the belief in what we’re doing.”
Writer’s View
Lincoln remain one of the most efficient teams in League One and they showed their class at times during yesterday’s victory. They are a team that will be there or thereabouts come May and it was important to recover from Tuesday’s shock defeat here. A win over Northampton Town on Tuesday could see them move back into the play-off places.
Head of Writing
