Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala has hailed his team after they extended their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions with a 1-0 win over Burton Albion yesterday.
The Imps have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and currently sit seventh in League One. They’ve also progressed to the Carabao Cup third round where they will meet Premier League giants and World Champions Chelsea at the LNER Stadium later this month.
Despite their good start, Lincoln travelled to Staffordshire on the back of three successive league draws. Three points was always the aim, having already won at the Pirelli Stadium this season when they beat Burton 1-0 in the League Cup.
It was a case of history repeating itself here, with Skubala’s team winning by the same scoreline courtesy of a first half Sonny Bradley header. However, it’s fair to say that the score flattered the hosts in a largely one-sided contest.
Skubala Delighted With ‘Top Performance’
Lincoln now sit just outside the play-off places on goal difference and will be hoping to continue their push up the table when they welcome promotion rivals Luton Town to Sincil Bank next Saturday. Speaking after yesterday’s victory, Skubala couldn’t hide his delight:
“I thought it was a top performance from us. It was a good game, that had everything.
“It was scrappy in the first half and we couldn’t really get into our flow, but we got the goal and made some big blocks, which is great.
“In the second half we opened them up a couple of times and should have had a second and a third.
“In this league you have to be good in both boxes. We work really hard on set-pieces at both ends and I think that shows.
“We expect to score from them, because we work hard on them. There were a number of pleasing things from today.
“We looked really solid, these lads will throw themselves in front of anything to win us points.
“When I think about it, there weren’t many occasions that George (Wickens) was tested. Overall, it was a brilliant away performance and a fantastic three points too.”
Writer’s View
Lincoln have built a reputation in recent years of being a strong, physical team that are hard to beat. This season is no different and they look like they could stake a genuine claim at a top six finish. They’ve arguably been lucky to escape with a point against the likes of Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic in recent weeks but they have shown just how resiliant they can be. Next weekend’s visit of Luton will be a tough task and will give us a real indication of just how far they are off from the top teams in the division.
