The beaming smile on head coach Michael Skubala’s face said it all after Lincoln produced a superb performance to beat Bradford 3-0 at the LNER Arena and enhance their Sky Bet League One promotion prospects.
First-half goals from Freddie Draper and Jack Moylan were added to late on by substitute Ben House, with the second-placed Imps stretching their unbeaten league run to 11 games in the process.
“It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant from the lads,” said Skubala. “You want to turn up for these big games and put on a performance and get the win and I thought the first-half display was electric.
“That was probably the best I have seen us play in that first half. There’s not many opportunities where you can just sit there and enjoy your team play, but we did that in that half.
“We got the two goals, but it could have been more and in the second half we just put on a professional performance, did the right things at the right moments. From a man to all the players and the subs who came on, it was electric.
“There were some top performances out there and we looked so dangerous and we just blew them away.”
Skubala had high words of praise for young striker Draper, describing him as “unplayable” after he scored his seventh goal of the season.
“He was leading the line well and they just couldn’t handle him,” he added. “They were fighting with him, trying to bully him, and he just rose about above it and when he’s in that mood he’s unplayable.”
Lincoln were in front after just seven minutes. Draper won a free-kick after being booted in the face by Curtis Tilt and then met Reeco Hackett’s pin-point set-piece to power a superb header past Sam Walker.
The dominant Imps doubled their lead four minutes shy of the break when Hackett had a shot blocked and the ball was recycled to Moylan, who smashed a low shot into the bottom corner.
House sealed the win when he headed home Tom Hamer’s cross in the 86th minute.
Defeat for Bradford meant a third straight loss as their challenge continues to fade and boss Graham Alexander admitted his side played second fiddle to their rampant hosts.
“It was a difficult game, like the previous two have been,” he said, referencing recent reverses against Cardiff and Huddersfield.
“We knew it was going to be a stern physical test, but unfortunately we didn’t pass it and they deserved to win the game.
“They scored from a set-piece early on, but I thought we responded well and then they scored just before half-time.
“Physically we are not as strong as Lincoln, they put us under severe pressure from set-pieces, long throws and goalkeeper kicks – they’ve been at this level for six and half a years and they’ve been doing well, we’ve only been here for five or so months.
“This game doesn’t define our season, it will be defined after 46 games.”
