Lincoln City’s academy players have been urged to build on an encouraging opening pre-season performance after being tested physically by Lincoln United.
The young Imps were beaten 2-1 at the Sun Hat Villas and Resorts Stadium on Friday evening, with Kane Hutchinson-Wilkes scoring twice for the hosts before Kian Sagoo reduced the deficit with a fine long-range strike.
It was City’s first friendly of the summer and provided Sam Tillen’s players with an early opportunity to face senior opposition. Despite the result, Tillen felt the game delivered exactly the type of challenge the academy staff had wanted.
Speaking in his post-match assessment on the club’s official channels, Tillen said:
“I’m really pleased. We picked up no injuries, lots of minutes for the players and an intense game.
“I thought the intensity, especially in the first half an hour, was really high and it gave the lads a taste of what that would be like for them should they step up to that level.”
Lincoln United created several openings during an even first half, with Liam Moran lifting their best early opportunity over the crossbar. The breakthrough eventually arrived shortly before the interval when Hutchinson-Wilkes converted a free-kick from just outside the penalty area.
He added his second after the break as United enjoyed their strongest spell of the evening, but City responded and finished the game positively. Sagoo gave the visitors hope with 12 minutes remaining, finding the top corner from distance to bring the score back to 2-1.
The academy side included several young players, with Kenzie Oliver and Max Herbert featuring despite only recently completing year ten. Lewy Oliver also played alongside his younger brother Kenzie in defence, before taking a place on the bench at Boston United with the seniors on Saturday.
Sagoo also believed the test would prove useful as the squad attempt to move closer to first-team football. Reflecting on the game in his full interview, he said:
“We changed the formation, and I think we adapted really well to it. Going into the game, our first thought was to be relentless, and I think we were relentless throughout the game.”
The midfielder felt that facing an experienced non-league side offered a valuable introduction to the physical and mental demands expected at senior level.
“It is going to prepare us very well for the physical side of the game because we’re all going up to the first team now and we’re trying to adapt to a first-team environment with the physicality and mentality in the game,” he added.
City’s preparations now continue with a team-building trip to the Lake District before a fixture against Northampton Town’s under-18s. Further senior tests are also planned, including a meeting with Skegness Town.
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