Despite a resilient performance, the young Imps suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Grimsby Town in the U17 PDL Cup.
Sam Tillen spoke after a disappointing evening at the Sun-Hats Villas and Resorts Stadium but highlighted the impact made by those who came off the bench as a real positive to take away from the game, including Alex McNicholas who was the sole goalscorer for the young Imps on his debut.
Tillen said: “I thought the lads continued to play and to work to get back into the game and I was delighted for Alex McNicholas. It’s his first game for us and since we signed him, he’s worked back from a long injury so for him to come on and score his first goal within 10 minutes, I’m delighted because he’s worked really hard.
"Jeremiah Odejayi is an U15 and he came on and looked very composed and competed very well at this age level. Alex really thrived on being part of a front two with Leo and that gave us a different dimension and Billy Evison worked really hard when he came on and tried to get on the ball and make things happen."
Tillen was keen to carry those positives into what will be a tough game against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday off the back of a quick turnaround.
He added: "We know Crewe are a very good side at our level and they've started the season extremely well so we're going to have to learn from this game on Saturday and the bonus of the quick turnaround is that we can hopefully move on quickly after we've reviewed and get ourselves back on that positive trajectory."