Michael Skubala hails Lincoln youngsters in victory over Orient

Posted Sunday, October 06, 2024 by PA

Lincoln boss Michael Skubala hailed his academy players after his side’s 2-1 win over Leyton Orient.

The Imps maintained the pace in the early promotion race thanks to goals from academy products Jovon Makama and Freddie Draper at Sincil Bank.

Dan Agyei pulled one back late on, but goalkeeper George Wickens ensured all three points with some vital stoppage-time saves.

Talented trio Makama, Draper and Sean Roughlan have all come through the club’s academy.

And Skubala said: “Jovon looked like the only one for us in the first half and I’m pleased he’s got his goal. You saw his quality, you can see what he can do. He’s done the business out there.

“Their lad [Jack Simpson] could have been sent off first half because Jovon got around him a couple of times.

“It just goes to show that when he’s on it, the level, we’re working hard with him and he’s working hard.

“I’m proud he’s got his goal today. It was a superb finish. You saw what he brings.

“You look at Jovon, Freddie and Sean Roughlan – they’re Riseholme academy players and we’ve got to be proud of that.

“They’re not just leading the line, they’re looking threatening. When you look at it we’ve got three academy players in there, not just holding their own but causing damage.

“We’ve got to be really proud of that as a club.”

And on the game, which saw the Imps stretch their unbeaten league run to seven, Skubala added: “It was a tough game, we knew it would be a tough game.

“Sometimes the league table lies, they’re a good team.

“We weren’t at it first half, that’s the reality. We looked a bit jaded. It’s been a long week. Second half we came out fast and strong. It’s a good win for us.”

After a slow start to the season, Orient seemingly turned the corner with four games without defeat.

When asked about his players never giving up despite a second straight loss, Richie Wellens said: “That’s the bare minimum. We’ve had hundreds of supporters turning up.

“We’ve had 10 games now and that was a mirror image of probably nine of them. We should have got something out of the game.

“We dominated first half, we’ve hit the crossbar. But the amount of areas we get into and we don’t get a shot, it’s happening too often.

“We’re playing against a team who just wants to counter attack. What have they done today? Nothing. I’m not slagging them off for it because that’s what they do.

“It’s our fault. We’ve got a soft underbelly. We allow teams to score. They have a cross and we let a big centre forward run through our box free. It’s an unbelievable goal to give away and the second goal’s probably worse.

“I’m the biggest one to look in the mirror. If I asked someone to look at our first 10 games and critique us there wouldn’t be a lot wrong. But we don’t work the goalkeeper enough.”