The Imps will be without another striker for the trip to Blackpool tomorrow night, and while it’s a blow for the squad, Michael Skubala was quick to wax lyrical about the depth across the front line this season.
Ben House, the Imps leading scorer with three goals this campaign, came off early in the 2-0 win against Cambridge, with his replacement, Freddie Draper, opening the scoring, Jovon Makama started the game and he too came off, with his replacement, Bailey Cadamarteri, adding a second for the Imps.
That depth is certainly going to be needed, as Michael revealed that Ben House suffered a broken nose, and will definitely miss the trip to Bloomfield Road.
“Ben’s been to the hospital, and it looks like a broken nose, so it could be a while,” the Imps head coach told the media today. “It might be a couple of weeks, or it could be longer, but we need to get it fully assessed.”
He isn’t the only one missing for tomorrow night – Tyler Walker, Reeco Hackett and Ethan Hamilton are longer term injuries, while Skubala also revealed another absentee.
“Dylan Duffy is still out and struggling with injury. The good news is the lads with the flu are back, so we’ve got a few bodies returning. Hamo and Rico are still not quite ready yet, but they’re getting there.”
With so many players out, you could be forgiven for thinking it was all doom and gloom, but far from it. Michael was quick to discuss his striker, with four of the five now having found the net after Freddie and Bailey opened their accounts this weekend. However, it isn’t just the forwards scoring goals, another aspect that pleases our head coach.
“It’s always good when strikers score goals, but I like to see the whole team chipping in. It’s important for the strikers to score, but everyone needs to contribute with goals and assists. It’s great that the lads are off the mark, and House has scored. Jovan could have as well – no doubt about that – but he’s creating chances and doing really well. We’ve got good depth in the striker department, as with most of the squad this season.”
Jovon came off at half time of the Cambridge win having spurned two good chances, or to look at it another way, worked incredibly hard to create two chances. He did pick up an early booking, and it seems that was the reason for his withdrawal, as Michael explained.
“The decision to take Jovan off at halftime was because he was on a yellow, and we didn’t want to risk giving Cambridge an advantage with a silly tackle and a second yellow. Jovan was very good in the first half, both with and without the ball. He didn’t get his goal, but he played well.”
Finally, Michael revealed that there is no ‘preferred’ two up top, and his decision on who plays will be based on numerous factors, not just a first-choice pairing.
“Striker decisions are based on how they complement each other and what we think they’ll face tactically,” he concluded. “It’s great to have five strikers in the squad who all offer something different. Rob Street, who’s been training really hard, is electric. Freddie Draper got his goal and is still growing into his role. Jovan is fantastic with link play, Bailey offers something in behind, and Ben House is one of the best pressers in football, not just in League One.”
City travel to Blackpool tomorrow night looking to extend the unbeaten away run to 14 matches. The Tangerines, managed by Steve Bruce, were the last side to defeat City on our travels, winning 2-0 in January. The Imps have only won one of four trips to Bloomfield Road this century, that courtesy of Lewis Montsma’s late winner back in 2020.
The other three results? All defeats, 2-0 last season, 2-1 in 2019 in Michael Appleton’s first game in charge, and 2-0 way back in 2001.
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