The young Imps are back in action as they take on Salford City in a preliminary round of the Youth Alliance Cup on Tuesday 12 August (12noon KO).
City head into the fixture off the back of a dominant display, emerging 3-0 victors over Port Vale in the opening game of the 2025/26 Youth Alliance North campaign.
Josh Kennealey and Dan Vanderpuye were on the scoresheet at the weekend as the Imps will be looking to carry that momentum into a cup tie against a fellow Youth Alliance North rival in Salford City.
Sam Tillen's thoughts:
“It’s really important we celebrate the victories, and the lads need to make sure they enjoy it. They also need to make sure they rest and recover before they’re back in the building when we turn our attentions to preparations for a very good Salford side which we know will be a tough game but one we're looking forward to it.”
Josh Kennealey:
“I’m excited for the challenge, we know if we lose then we’re out of the cup which makes it an important game where we know we have to win and hopefully all of us can carry the momentum from this game into Tuesday and pick up a win to advance into the next round.”
Opposition information:
Salford City head into the 2025/26 season with changes in abundance, Chris McCann steps in as Lead PDP coach following Dean Marney’s move to Stoke City. The Ammies have also been settling into their new home ground at Hopwood Hall ahead of the new campaign.
Their first league outing at their new venue was a successful one as they matched the Imps opening day victory with a 3-0 win of their own as they played host to Notts County to kick their season off with three points.
The last meeting between these two sides came in February where the Imps made the journey to Salford and emerged as 2-1 winners with goals from Zane Okoro and Will Cowin.
Match information:
This match is being played behind-closed-doors. In previous years the Youth Alliance Cup has worked in a group stage format however, for this campaign the competition heads straight into knockout rounds meaning a loss would put an end to the Imps' cup run.