City defender Sean Roughan has expressed his pride in reaching a personal landmark after he netted his first professional goal for the club.
The Ireland U21 international struck the Imps’ third goal in a 4-2 win against Everton U21 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Papa Johns Trophy, and Roughan explained the significance of his strike.
He said: “It feels very good, it’s a proud moment for me.
“When my grandad passed away a couple of years ago, I always said my first goal would be for him. I thought of that in the car on the way to the game, and I just had a feeling I might score.
“I heard Mark in the background telling me to go and make the back post. I did that and it was a difficult finish, but I focussed on keeping the strike low and luckily it went in.”
Tuesday evening’s opponents had some success in the competition leading into the match after topping their group and then knocking out football league opposition in Mansfield to make it to the round of 16.
Despite the young Toffees side causing some concerns for City, Roughan says the belief and togetherness within the group ensured the Imps were able to secure their progression in the competition.
He added: “We knew from our analysis they were going to be tough and so we came into the game with the same focus we always have.
“They looked like a proper team, and they showed they were tough. They won a lot of duals, countered well, and managed to score two goals against us which many teams haven’t managed to do this season.
“We’ve been under the cosh a lot of times and I guess we have learned how to deal with that. We always believe in ourselves and knew if we were compact and stuck together, we’d be able to soak up that pressure and cause them more problems.”