City’s new U18 head coach Sam Tillen was pleased with his side’s intensity which saw them to a 3-1 victory over Harrogate Town.
Denny Oliver, Russell Berko and Kelly Fombad scored the goals to guide the young Imps to victory in their first fixture of 2024.
Tillen said: “The intensity and work rate of the players was a real positive alongside the fact we ended the game with three under 16s and three under 15s on the field.
“We started well and scored from a well-worked training ground set piece, Denny Oliver finishing well.
“We were the better side in the first half but we created some good chances which we didn’t execute efficiently.”
Harrogate levelled the score on the stroke of half-time, but Tillen was pleased with the fight shown to go back in front with well-taken goals from Berko and Fombad.
Tillen added: “Harrogate equalised just before the break but we responded well and went ahead straight after the restart following Russell Berko’s clinical finish.
“The second half followed the first in terms of creating chances but not converting them and our profligacy nearly cost us towards the end as Harrogate had a great chance to equalise.
“However, Kelly Fombad’s excellent individual goal capped an impressive performance and took us to an unassailable 3-1 lead.”