Michael Appleton was pleased with his side's second half performance as the Imps managed to grab a leveller against Scunthorpe United before beating them 4-2 on penalties in EFL Trophy action.
“We were a little bit slow with our passing in the first half, we played it infront of them too much,” explained the Imps boss.
"When a back three becomes a back five it is difficult to break them down and we didn't have enough runs in behind. We needed to shift it quickly and we didn’t do that.
"In the second half we did much better, we created a number of chances and I’m sure we will get better as the season goes on. We did the work getting the ball forward, but it was just when we were inside the box.
“We tried to isolate their wingbacks and we did that in the second half. The subs brought quality and they will be pleased to have some minutes which has set them up nicely for Saturday.”
Appleton continued by explaining how he hopes his side can take tonight's second half performance into Saturday’s Sky Bet League One opener against Oxford United at LNER Stadium.
“Both second half performances have been very good, but the first half could have been better. We need to start the game on Saturday like we have started the second half in the last two games.
"I was very pleased we managed to score but disappointed we couldn't quite get the second one we deserved because we kept attacking them in waves towards the end."
Michael finished by turning his attention to Saturday's fixture saying: "We will now look at Oxford and see how they have played over the last few games. We will look to come up with the right strategy to get the best result at the weekend.
"There are a few players who can play various positions and it is a nice thing to have. Jorge (Grant) did well when he came on tonight and he can play a number of positions."
