Mikkel Ladefoged announced himself at Sincil Bank with his first Lincoln City goal, and Tom Shaw believes there is plenty more to come from the Danish striker.
The 22-year-old came off the bench during the 1-1 draw with Southampton and made a decisive impact late on, rising at the back post to head home Reeco Hackett’s cross in the 87th minute. It was Ladefoged’s first goal for the Imps, and one that sent Sincil Bank into rapture after City had spent much of the second half pushing for an equaliser.
Shaw was delighted with the moment, while also highlighting the part the crowd played in driving City on.
“Yeah, on Tuesday night and today, the fans were so loud,” he said in his post-match press conference.
“Obviously, we’re on the other side to the 617 and the gang over there, but it’s so loud.
“The atmosphere has been brilliant. I think the boys have earned that atmosphere with how they’ve gone about their performances.
“With Mikkel, we’ve got a player there who is a real problem in the penalty area. We’ve got to help him, and he’s got to help himself, in terms of getting up to speed and understanding what we want from our number nine.
“Championship centre-halves give you a good workout every week, and he’s got to adapt to that. But he has the physicality and mentality to do that. In the penalty areas, he’s shown in his two cameos that he is a nuisance.”
Ladefoged’s aerial threat was obvious in the build-up to the goal too. Shortly after coming on, he won a header from a long George Wickens free kick which helped create a chance for Andrei Coubis, and he continued to give Southampton something different to deal with inside the box.
Shaw hopes the goal can be the first of many.
“That’s the threat we’ve got. It’s very difficult to mark when someone is capable of getting that high above the crossbar.
“He’s got loads to work on. People inside and outside the building need to be patient with him because there’s going to be another period of getting used to what it is, but he’s an incredible threat. He’s the same with his feet as well.
“The obvious bit is his heading, and when you see his catalogue of goals, a lot of them are like that. But he’s really calm around the goal. He skied that one today, but he’s really calm around the goal every day in training. We’ve got a real threat in the penalty area.”
The challenge now is making sure that threat develops within City’s system. Shaw believes training against Lincoln’s own defenders should help accelerate that process, particularly given the physical demands Ladefoged will face every week in the Championship.
“Our lads aren’t far off his height, are they? They go after him, but our training ground will be brilliant for him.
“The way all of our back line compete every single day will give him a reality check every day. He knows he’s got to be on his mettle.
“But the early signs of him in that mid-back zone, when the cross is on the money, look incredibly exciting for all of us.”
It was only a cameo, but it was an important one. Ladefoged gave City a different dimension, scored his first goal for the club, and showed exactly why his presence in the penalty area could become such a useful weapon over the course of the season.
Mikkel Ladefoged — where he played this match. Brighter areas are where he spent most time; he is attacking left to right.
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