Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala has urged his squad to start performing like they did in the final stages of their 4-3 defeat against Barnsley on Saturday afternoon.
The Imps have been in a poor run of form as of late, winning just one of their last seven games. After four winless games, a 3-0 win over Mansfield Town sparked optimism that they were about to turn a corner, but it proved to be yet another false dawn.
They followed that victory at the One Call Stadium with a poor 1-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Burton Albion before heading to Yorkshire to face a rejuvenated Barnsley. Skubala’s starting lineup raised eyebrows with supporters, with the likes of Reeco Hackett, Sam Clucas and James Collins all left amongst the substitutes.
The Tykes immediately took the game to the visitors and entered the half time break two goals to the good. They added a third in the 53rd minute, sparking a host of changes from the Lincoln boss.
Substitutions Raise More Questions Than Answers
The changes sparked Lincoln into life, and they pulled one back through Tendayi Darikwa in the 67th minute. Barnsley restored their three goal lead nine minutes later, but Hackett made it 4-2 in the 84th minute. The visitors continued to rally and deserved their third in added time when Jovon Makama prodded home, although it proved too little, too late.
Speaking after the game, Skubala praised his players second half performance but accepted they need to start performing for 90 minutes:
“The performance in the last 35 minutes is what we want to look like and what the fans want it to look like, we can’t let it get to being 3-0 down.
“We were too passive in the first half, but we had to show character in the second. We gave ourselves too much to do at the end.”
Continuing, he singled out the performances from substitutes Reeco Hackett, Jovon Makama and Joe Gardner:
“Jovon Makama and Reeco Hackett got at the back four and changed the game. Joe Gardner looked young and exciting.
“How the game ended is how we wanted it to look at the start. Our structure was strong and we looked threatening. That takes individuals’ actions to be able to do that.”
Writer’s View
Skubala’s comments raise more questions than answers. His team selection before kick off was certainly baffling and it is no surprise that when changes were made, they looked far more competitive. Lincoln were set up defensively and were punished accordingly. Expect wholesale changes when Crawley Town visit the LNER Stadium on Tuesday night.
