Source: FOOTYMAD
City's good four-tune continues. Can they make it a famous 5?
Welcome to Andrew Aboott our new columnist What’s going on? Lincoln City were a basket case when they finally emerged from the ice age losing four on the trot to slump to the very foot of the table prompting hilarious “strongest team in the league” jibes from those not of an Impish disposition. It’s tempting, when you are in the position City were to hope that one win will light the blue touch paper and all will be well. It often doesn’t work that way but it has in this case and Lazarus has well and truly jumped from his bed and is giving all and sundry a good kicking. Steve Tilson must have been wondering whether this day would ever arrive when City couldn’t buy a win but he stood by his principles and you have to say, even though they weren’t winning, no one gave them a pasting, Bury excepted. Defensive malfunctions were very much the order of the day though and often all their good work came to naught as the opposition waltzed round a static defence to claim another three points off our hapless heroes. Tilson was understandably delighted with the teams performance at Valley Parade although clearly not with the first half and yet another early goal. He was man enough to admit his own part in the lack lustre first period; "It was a good win, but I was disappointed with the opening 45 minutes because I felt we never got to grips with it," he said. "It was made even more difficult in the fact Adam Watts had to withdraw from the warm-up with a hamstring injury. "I decided to put Patrick Kanyuka in midfield and, if I am honest, it didn't work. "But I put Ali Fuseini on and I thought he was a different class. "He kept things nice and simple and helped it on when he had to, but as bad as we were in the first half we were as good in the second and played some good stuff. "We had a right go and won our battles." There was another goal for Gavin McCallum, now establishing himself amongst the first team regulars and the gaffer appreciated his contribution; "It was a fantastic goal by Gavin, but it was his defensive work too," he said. "Even down to the last minute when Julian Kelly showed his lad outside, Gavin came in and nicked the ball and cleared it. "His work-rate has improved, but it had to. Now he deserves to be in the side. "He's put in four good performances and now he has to push on." Once again, a word of praise for the fans from the manager, could it be that we have a true inheritor of the Graham Taylor mantle? "The fans were magnificent, but there is a long way to go," he said. "If you have a bad week, you can soon get dragged back into it at the bottom. "That's where we have to keep going. We can't sit on our laurels. "We don't want to go the wrong way." Absolutely; and now for a familiar opponent, Hereford. Can the Imps expunge the memory of that cup defeat and claim three more much needed points? One thing’s for sure, Tilson won’t tolerate the sort of Keystone Cops defending fans had to sit through last time, not that there were that many there to see it. Twelve points from four games is a magnificent achievement but such is the hole they got themselves in, promotion form is going to be required until the end of the season if City are going to be clear of the mire come May. At least they have shown that they are capable of it.
