The Imps travel to the Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday 22 October to face Crawley Town in Sky Bet League One action (7.45pm KO).
Catch up on the thoughts of Michael Skubala and skipper Paudie O’Connor as well as getting clued up on vital match information in this preview.
Skubala’s thoughts:
“This game is worth the same amount of points as Saturday, even though Birmingham were a big club with a very good team, the same amount of points is at stake so we have to treat it exactly the same.
“Crawley is a very tough place to go, they’re good with the ball and dominate it, so we’re going to have to be chasing the ball at times, but if we’re like ourselves we can dominate in different ways.
“They really dominated the ball when they came up from League Two last year, they’ve had changes in their squad and a new manager coming in so he’s still finding his feet, but the style is very similar. We’ve got ways we can hurt them and take the game to them. We’re away from home so we have to respect them but we’ll definitely try to be the aggressors in the game.”
O’Connor’s take:
“The performance against Birmingham was there, that was clear to see. We had a game plan to put pressure on them high up the pitch and in the first half we were able to do that. We were disappointed in the manner we conceded the goals, we’ve been very good at defending the goal at all costs. They were always going to have a lot of the ball but I thought we limited them throughout the game, and ultimately it was a game of sliding doors moments.
“International breaks do break the fixture list up and momentum can stall. We’ve got three games back-to-back now in the league and it’s a chance to get a bit of momentum starting on Tuesday night against Crawley. As players you always want a game around the corner to put things right, and hopefully we can do that.
“We’re not getting too down about the Birmingham defeat, on another day it could’ve been a slightly different result. It’s a good opportunity on Tuesday night with a competitive squad and everyone vying for places.”
A look at the opposition:
Despite a positive start to life in Sky Bet League One, Crawley Town have struggled of late with the step up to the third tier.
After taking six points from six to start the campaign, the Red Devils have picked up just one more point since, suffering six consecutive defeats coming into Tuesday night.
Manager Rob Elliott was appointed at the start of October with the former Gateshead man overseeing Crawley’s past three league fixtures.
The last time City visited the Broadfield Stadium they left with maximum points in a 3-0 win back in 2019.
Top scorer: Armando Quitirna (4 goals)
Form: LLLLL
Match information:
The Imps will sport their white away strip in Crawley which can be purchased HERE.
Carl Brook is the match referee for Tuesday night’s fixture with Alex Bradley and Paul Lister-Flynn named as his assistants, while Aaron Farmer will support as the fourth official.
Back the lads at the LNER Stadium against Stockport County by purchasing your ticket HERE.