Cowley relieved as League Two leaders Lincoln hit back to edge Macclesfield

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2018 by PA

Lincoln manager Danny Cowley praised opposing goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara and left Macclesfield smiling after a 2-1 win took his side three points clear at the top of League Two.

Dominant throughout, the Imps had been frustrated by O’Hara’s string of top-class saves.

Tom Pett handed Lincoln a first-half lead but – after Jamie Grimes forced a late equaliser – they still had time to snatch victory as Jason Shackell fired the winner through a crowd of players.

“The overriding positive is we actually played really well, other than us not being clinical enough,” said a relieved Cowley.

“You have to credit their goalkeeper – he made some unbelievable saves, but we need to be more clinical and more ruthless. I’ve been around long enough to know – you miss that many chances they’re going to find a goal.

“You could see it coming and they scored with their first shot on target which is hard to take but I have to credit the players for their response because a lot of the time you could lose that game after conceding.

“Normally you have an onslaught and lose focus but we responded really well and it was great to win right at the death.

“You have to win games in different ways and that will give us confidence that we have that resilience as a group, it gives us something to build on.”

Macclesfield boss Mark Yates is still waiting for their first win and he admitted they had been second best to the league leaders.

“Obviously it’s not the result we wanted,” he said.

“In the first half, for whatever reason, we didn’t work hard enough or attack the game hard enough and the goal summed us up, a hopeful ball into the box and a little knock-down to an unmarked man – it was poor to be honest and I’m so disappointed. We weren’t at the races.

“We had to rally in the second half but they’re top of the league, they’ve got a squad that probably every other club in this league would like to have.

“We showed great character to get back in it but we didn’t mark properly at a set piece, and that’s my fault I suppose.

“I’m not a manager that will hang his players out to dry, we just have to – as a group – make sure we do our jobs properly, which we didn’t do.

“We got a lesson in how to finish a game off and in how to approach a game in the first half.”