The Imps manager, Michael Appleton was in a buoyant mood after seeing his side pick up three points in the victory over Burton Albion on Saturday, not only in scoring two goals but also to keep a clean sheet after some sterling defensive work.
“It was good, it always helps to get an early goal there’s no doubt about it and it was one that we had worked upon.”
Harry Anderson opened the scoring within 90 seconds of the game getting underway and Michael admitted it was just the shot in the arm which the squad deserved after working so hard in the build up to the trip to Staffordshire.
“We got our noses in front and that’s key, it gives you something to grab a hold of against a good side who certainly, in the first half put us under bits of pressure where your thinking that the team have to be resolute and I felt much more comfortable in the way we defended.
Michael continued: “We knew what type of outfit we’d come up against, we would come up against a side who have lots of possession but at the same time put crosses into the box in the final third and they did that but we were resolute and were in good places on the field. Then when we won the ball back we broke and we broke quickly and looked dangerous.”
Much of that counterattacking threat came from Anderson who was just one of a number of players who the City boss thought stood out in a confident and rewarding performance against The Brewers.
“I thought ‘H’ was outstanding, there were three or four performances that really stood out in the game. But I thought Harry was outstanding, I was thinking with ten minutes to go, if he’d run out of gas? But he kept going, he was mature and had to defend at times with Eards as a pair and they had to deal with their full back and winger and did really well.”
Next up is a return home for City as we welcome Tranmere Rovers on Saturday and the Imps’ manager is looking for the support to be as vociferous as it was last weekend to give the side the perfect platform to build upon.
“The support was fantastic last Saturday, it felt like a home game at times. It [the noise] really filled the stadium and there’s no doubt they will have travelled back home with a smile on their faces as we did.”
Tickets are still available for this weekend’s game against Tranmere Rovers which is the last home game before Christmas. You can secure your seat by visiting the club store at Sincil Bank or going online via Eventbrite - HERE