Alex Revell accepts Stevenage ‘weren’t at our best’ in loss to Lincoln

Stevenage manager Alex Revell admitted his League One high-flyers were not good enough after their three-game winning league run was halted 1-0 at Lincoln.

Rob Street scored the only goal after 69 minutes for the Imps, who produced a dominant performance in the lunchtime kick-off – and could have won by more.

Revell said: “We weren’t at our best. We lacked the real intensity they had. They started the game like we normally do and it took us a while to get into it. We had to withstand a lot of pressure in that first 15 minutes.

“We didn’t get going and if you don’t start right with that intensity, then it’s very difficult to pick it up. We are disappointed with that as we knew this was a tough place to come, although we felt confident coming here.

“We have to be at our very best to grab victories and results and we were not at those levels today.

“We didn’t create enough chances or keep the ball well enough and if you keep giving it away it’s going to keep coming back at you. We looked very lacking in intensity and it was a difficult afternoon.”

Lincoln had plenty of chances throughout, especially in the first half, and eventually secured victory through Street’s first league goal for the club.

It followed a melee in the Boro box which saw Ben House chopped down but, as he appealed for a penalty, the ball fell to the City striker who smashed a shot into the top corner.

Imps boss Michael Skubala said: “It was a big win. We knew we wanted to put it right after Exeter [1-0 defeat] and it was a result we wanted.

“I thought the performance was good. The plan was to get in behind them and get forward as much as we could and create chances. We had more shots, more chances and I don’t think they caused us too many problems.”

Lincoln created 18 chances to Stevenage’s five, with just one shot on target, stats that further pleased Skubala, who added: “Credit to the lads. The work they put in, the desire, they were solid and have got quality as well.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be the perfect game, they would have to scrap, that’s the nature of how they [Stevenage] play, but they’re a good team.

“I really liked our defensive structure, how we barely gave them a sniff at all and our professionalism to keep going in the right moments.

“It felt like two really good teams out there and a proper game of football.”