Ash Foyle was pleased with his young side's attacking display as they overcame Hartlepool in a six-goal thriller despite going 1-0 down on Saturday afternoon.
The young Imps fell behind before equalising one minute later through Bailey Adamson. Russell Berko gave the Imps the lead on the edge of half-time, before Adamson added to his tally from the spot in the second half, and Zane Okoro later got the fourth.
Foyle said: "I don't think we deserved to concede the initial goal. We controlled the game up until that point, and we looked like the most likely team to score, so it came out of the blue.
"Credit it to the lads because that can affect their concentration and focus as young lads, but they haven't let it do that. They have shaken that off quickly and got back into the flow of things. They regained control of the game, took it to Hartlepool, and scored a good couple of goals."
City only had one second-year scholar on the pitch, with the rest being made up of first-year scholars and then using players from the U16 and U15 age groups to field their side.
Foyle added: "Our demand is high on our attacking players and we have some exciting attacking prospects within the team. We have scored 50-odd goals in 17 games so we know we can do it, but we have to be far more ruthless.
"It's pleasing that the group can come together so quickly. We're keen to push our best players and stretch them as best we can. This shows that the young players can step up and take hold of the games despite their tentative years."