Lincoln City captain Tom Hopper says his side have demonstrated solid foundations to build upon following a draw on the opening game of the season.
The Imps battled back to earn their first point of the 2022/23 campaign after falling behind early against Exeter City on Saturday, and Hopper believes his team-mates have learned some valuable lessons to take into Portsmouth next weekend.
He said: “We were a bit slow to get going and it was disappointing to go a goal down, but then we showed a good reaction and belief to comeback and end up with a point.
“We had chances to make it three points but ultimately, in a game like that on the opening day of the season, I don’t think a point is the worst result.
“It’s only game one, but we’ll look to improve and build on this with a lot of lessons to be learnt and we will move forward.”
Hopper, who was able to get off the mark himself with his first goal of the season, believes a slight change in style of play, as well as the backing of the Imps crowd, were key factors in getting back into the game.
He added: “I think in the second half we tried to be less precise with everything and actually created more opportunities through that because we were a bit sloppy to start with, but as the game went on we got stronger and stronger.
“The fans were brilliant today and really got behind us which was a help, but to top it off with a goal as well is the cherry on top.”