Appleton pleased with new signings as resurgent Lincoln down Blackpool
Posted Sunday, January 19, 2020 by PA
Michael Appleton praised the impact of his new signings after Lincoln continued their resurgence with a 1-0 win over Blackpool.
Striker Tyreece John-Jules scored the only goal after 63 minutes in his second appearance since arriving on loan from Arsenal.
He was set up by Tyler Walker, who saw a first-half penalty saved by keeper Mark Howard.
Max Melbourne, whose loan spell from West Brom was made permanent earlier this month, came in at left-back for Harry Toffolo, who left for Danny Cowley’s Huddersfield on Friday.
Midfielder Tayo Edun, meanwhile, impressed on his debut after starting in place of fellow January recruit Conor Coventry.
“It was a hard-fought win but it would have been a travesty if we hadn’t won it if I’m being honest,” said Appleton.
“I knew Blackpool would be dangerous from set-plays, simply because they were miles bigger than us. That was a challenge for us.
“But for the majority of the time the lads dealt with that well. The younger players making their debuts grew into the game.”
The Imps thrashed Bolton 5-1 on Tuesday night but for Appleton this narrow win was even more pleasing.
“In a way I’m more satisfied because we kept clean sheet. It was a different kind of challenge,” he added.
“When we went ahead in the game, they went even more direct with [Joe] Nuttall and [Gary] Madine [coming off the bench].
“But we managed the last 10 minutes well and that was the young ones as well as the experienced ones.”
There was an element of fortune about the goal. A clearance from Ben Heneghan struck team-mate Jay Spearing and fell to Walker. He picked out John-Jules, who produced a classy finish beyond Howard.
“I’ll give H [Harry Anderson] a bit of credit. He put them under severe pressure to force the error and the weight of pass from Tyler was very good,” added Appleton.
“With Tyreece, obviously the finish was very good – nice and composed – but his first touch gave him the chance to do that.”
The defeat extended Blackpool’s winless run to eight games, increasing the pressure on manager Simon Grayson.
The Seasiders boss was disappointed his side could not build on a strong start to the game.
“It’s been frustrating for a few weeks now,” he said. “For the first 15 to 20 minutes, we were the better team.
“We hit the post from a corner. The game changes a bit if that goes in. We then made some poor decisions.
“We were doing OK but we didn’t do enough. The players are obviously not playing with as much confidence as they were a few months ago.
“We’ve all got to take responsibility and dig deep. When things are going well you’ve got to work even harder.
“We know we’ve got the players and staff to get out of this position.”
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