The Imps bounced back from the draw with Bolton to give a resounding and comprehensive display against struggling Northampton Town.
There was no happy return for ex-Imps Jack Burroughs and Jack Vale. The former had an okay game, the latter was anonymous and sent off midway through the second half as City threatened to run amok.
Goals from Ryan Oné, Jack Moylan, Ivan Varfolomeev and Rob Street sealed the win, but it could have been more as City ran riot against the ten men of Northampton.
“Really pleased with the lads performance today,” said Michael Skubala on YouTube after the game. “I thought they’re exceptional. Not just the starting 11, the bench coming on. I thought it was a really good performance.
“Again, great start. Great start to the game. I think we probably were better. We could have had two, I think that would have been fair at half-time. And then second half, I thought we looked good. We looked dominant. And then the sending off after that, we just blew them away.”
The red card didn’t exactly change the game: City were already 2-0 up against a side who’d offered next to nothing all game, but Kevin Nolan felt it was a major turning point. Skubala focused on the positives for City, which was four different scorers, taking the total of different League One scorers to 15.
“It’s brilliant. I love it, added Michael. “The way we play, it’s important. We don’t rely on one person to score goals and we have to be unselfish in times of how we want to play.
“But they will get the rewards if they work hard for the team they’ll get the goals and they’ll get the rewards and I think that’s what you saw tonight.”
One hugely popular scorer was Ukrainian midfielder Ivan Varfolomeev. He dropped to the bench as we sought a more attacking lineup against the Cobblers, but came on to great effect, scoring with his first touch of the game. It’s a goal many have sensed coming since he started smashing them around Christmas, and it came as no surprise to the head coach.
“He tries those shots 100 in training every day,” said Michael. “He’s got a great finish from the edge. We’ve seen his shots as well. He’s been desperate to get his goal.
“He’s been fantastic over the last few games. He’s really grown into that midfield unit with Tom (Bayliss) and Connor (McGrandles).”
It also helped cement him as a key City figure, something that has been building over the last few weeks. His song, to the tune of Kingston Town by UB40, was rattling around this reporter’s head deep into the night.
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