Michael Skubala was in a jubilant mood after yesterday’s 1-0 victory against top-of-the-table Stevenage.
City turned in an excellent display against Alex Revell’s outfit, but after a flurry of chances in the first 15 minutes, the game remained 0-0.
It took Rob Street’s strike with 20 minutes to go to raise the roof at Sincil Bank and give us a first home win against Stevenage since Boxing Day 2018.
“It’s a fantastic win,” Michael told John Helm on Imps+ “I think the result was really good after the Exeter game, where I thought we were really good and deserved the win. It’s really important to follow another home game with a win and that’s the most important thing. But I thought the performance was top as well.
“When you look at our performances across the season, we’ve had some really good ones, and today was probably one of the most solid performances from us — where the league leaders come to town and you don’t really give them a sniff. I think they had one chance.
“But we had to be really professional and diligent. So I think the performance was top — and a great win.”
The game had a feel of Exeter City, with us on top and missing chances. The key difference was that Stevenage’s one chance came early, and on this occasion, Adam Reach blocked it.
Michael wasn’t surprised with how the game panned out, knowing it would be tight against a side unbeaten in seven (before yesterday) with four wins on the spin.
“We thought the game would pan out more like this. We thought it’d be tight — we said it’d probably be one goal that wins it, maybe a set piece or a scrappy goal.
“They’re a really solid team, really well coached, hard to play against. You can see why they’re top because they wait for their big moment and usually take it. We had to be mindful of that, not overcommit at times because that could leave big spaces for them.
“I thought the tactical plan worked really well and the lads implemented it sensationally. Even at half-time we said, “Just keep doing what we’re doing, but make sure we’re solid.” And in the end, yeah, we got the goal that wins it.”
The win keeps City in sixth in the table, but opens a four-point gap between us and Bolton, with a game in hand. Looking up, four teams above us are on 25 points, two of whom have played a game more.
The gap between us and new leaders, Cardiff City, is currently just two points.
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