Ali Smith notched his first City goal as he opened the scoring at St James Park against Exeter City on Saturday.
Having joined in the summer, the versatile midfielder believes the goal came from his hard work and earning his regular place in the side.
He said: “I was just in and around the box when it has fallen to me and I was happy to stick it away.
“I think from my celebration you can tell there was a lot of emotion there because I may not have started the season how I wanted to, but it’s not in my nature to give up and for moments like that it's all worth it.”
The Imps have won seven points from nine available and Smith is hoping he and his team-mates can take that into another tough test under the LNER Stadium lights.
He added: “The boys have put in so much effort over recent games. We have really come together as a team and we’re happy with the points we’ve picked up.
“Hopefully we can take that momentum and bounce into Tuesday and get the LNER Stadium going again because when it does, it’s like a 12th man to us.”
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