IMPS ARE SO CLINICAL AT BARNSLEY
LINCOLN City put on a counterattacking masterclass to beat Barnsley 5-1 away in their sixth victory in their last eight league games.
It is now also 11 games unbeaten for Michael Skubala’s side, with all the improvements they have made as a team in recent weeks seemingly coming together on one afternoon in a perfect way at Oakwell Stadium.
January acquisitions Joe Taylor and Jack Moylan scored three of the five goals, with Danny Mandroiu and Jovon Makama rounding off a brilliant performance against promotion-chasing Barnsley.
Skubala said: “We started the game well.
“Our press was a little bit different to try and deal with Barnsley’s way of playing. I thought second half we were bang on.
“What pleased me was, that the whole team was connected.
“We were really good out of possession, we were aggressive when we needed to be aggressive, and we didn’t give second balls up.
“Our energy and intensity was a little bit too much for them.
“I’m really pleased with all the goals. All the goals were good finishes. What’s really pleasing is we took our chances.
“We feel like sometimes we’re getting into the final third and we just need a bit more quality. Today I thought they showed the quality in the final third which is brilliant.”
After a tough December and January, early in Skubala’s reign, which saw Lincoln really struggle to find the net consistently, things are certainly improving on that end for the Imps.
Mix that with how solid they have been defensively, then the recipe is there.
Joe Taylor
Skubala highlighted some of the goalscorers at Barnsley, with the wide-ranging strengths of the squad on show.
The Lincoln boss added: “Daniel Mandroiu is a good player.
“We’ve had to play him a little bit lower, but again we trust him with what to do. Another player who’s been out of the team for a bit, not getting the minutes he wants. He came on and I thought he did a brilliant job.
“Jack [Moylan] was perhaps frustrated because he didn’t start but that’s what the group has got – everyone wants to be a part of this team.
“We know he has the ability to be really good out of possession, and what pleased me was how connected we were without the ball.
“Jovon [Makama] held the line for us during a tough time. He’s a super talent with high potential, so he just needs to keep growing with the minutes he gets, but it was great for him to get his goal.”