Lincoln City go into this weekend’s home game with Plymouth Argyle off the back of a very encouraging performance and win in midweek away at Harrogate Town in the Carabao Cup and will be looking to build on that to maintain a solid start to the new season at Sincil Bank.

The result against Harrogate Town followed on from a disappointing display in the league last weekend when the Imps suffered a 2-0 defeat to Wimbledon. The key moment in that match came mid-way through the first half, when Adam Jackson was red carded, leaving City with an uphill struggle to retrieve anything from the game.

On initial viewing, I thought the decision to send Jackson off was a little harsh and that the Wimbledon player involved in the challenge had made the most of the situation. It felt like a definite yellow card offence but one that could have gone either way in terms of whether the referee deemed it to be dangerous or reckless. However, in retrospect I think it was worthy of a red card and neither Jackson nor the team can have too many complaints.

There is always a natural element of bias involved watching your team, constantly feeling like decisions are going against you and that the other team seems to be getting the rub of the green. But I know for a fact that had it been the other way around, a Wimbledon defender making that type of challenge on one of our players, every City fan would have been incandescent had a red card not been awarded.

To be honest, City never threatened to get back into the game once Wimbledon took the lead shortly before half-time. Their promotion from League Two last season was built upon a solid defence and we never really looked like penetrating their backline, especially with the deficit of being down to ten men. It was a disappointing day after the promise we had shown in our opening fixture of the season against Reading.

Fortunately, things were much better on Tuesday evening when City visited Harrogate and recorded a 3-1 victory. Both teams struggled to create much in the way of chances for half an hour, before the Imps got their opening goal, keeping the ball alive following a corner, with Moylan slamming the ball home brilliantly following good work from Hamer and Street. After that, City always seemed well in control, dominating the game, and put the match to bed mid-way into the second half when Draper grabbed his first goal of the season, followed closely by a finish from Rob Street after great work down the left between Moylan and Collins.

The late goal we conceded in injury time but a slight dampener on proceedings, but the main concern was the injury suffered late in the game to Jack Moylan. It was a poor challenge, and he appeared to be in a great deal of pain when he received treatment and subsequently hobbled off down the tunnel after being substituted. According to reports, the club are waiting for swelling on Moylan’s ankle to reduce before an MRI scan is completed to clarify what the damage is. Fingers crossed it is nothing too serious and he is back in action again soon, but it does look a little worrying that he may be out for some time.

Jack Moylan’s injury certainly magnifies the issues the Imps currently face with the lack of depth in the squad. Michael Skubala has outlined that the club are working hard to recruit players to positions where we have seen recent departures – namely a left-back, central midfielder and a wide attacker – but alongside our current injury list, the lack of additions this summer has left the squad threadbare. Apparently, Ben House and Reeco Hackett both returned to training on Thursday, but whether either of them will be available on Saturday appears unlikely.

Tom Hamer came into the starting line-up against Harrogate Town on Tuesday night in place of the suspended Adam Jackson and I’d expect the back four to remain the same for the visit of Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. I was a little surprised that he was only on the bench in our opening game of the season and Hamer will be looking to cement his place in the starting eleven now that he has been given his chance following Jackson’s red card and three-match ban.

In midfield, Ethan Hamilton was brought in for his first start of the season, with Connor McGrandles dropping to the bench. Hamilton had a long spell out with injury, missing much of the first half of last season, and he has mainly been used off the bench since his return. I’ve always liked what I’ve seen from him, and I think he’s more than capable of being a regular starter at this level. However, I’d expect McGrandles to return to the starting line-up in his place against Plymouth Argyle, unless Tom Bayliss is asked to push further forward into the space vacated by the injury to Jack Moylan.

Freddie Draper and Erik Ring both also came into the side on Tuesday night, and they may well continue in the starting eleven based on their performances, as well as the notable fact that there may well be a limited number of alternative options. I thought Draper looked very good in the game, his best performance for some time, and he marked his appearance with a goal, which will do his confidence the world of good, you would expect. He certainly looks leaner and fitter and hopefully this can be his breakthrough season, as last year he really seemed to struggle and I was quite surprised the club rejected the January window transfer bid they received for him from Walsall, where he previously had a successful loan spell.

It was interesting to see the City formation alter slightly, with Rob Street playing alongside Draper more centrally as a two up front, and Moylan drifting into the wider positions. Are we likely to see the same again on Saturday? The expectation is that James Collins will be back into the starting eleven against Plymouth. With Moylan definitely out, it is more than likely that the other three attackers who started on Tuesday night – Draper, Ring and Street – will retain their places.

It was noticeable that Freddie Draper dropped a little deeper later in the game, so it may be that he takes up a position in behind James Collins as a direct replacement for Jack Moylan if we return to our usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Should either (or both) of Hackett and House be deemed fit enough, that could obviously change matters.

In terms of our younger squad members, Zane Okoro got some more minutes on the pitch, and you have to think that this will continue, especially with the current shortage of available players. Having signed a new contract with the club despite lots of speculated interest in him from Premier League clubs, it seems inevitable that he will be expecting to be in the thick of first team action this season. There were also debut appearances late on for two other young players, with both Gbolahan Okewoye and academy prospect, Noah Simmons, getting their first taste of professional action in an Imps shirt.

In terms of our opponents on Saturday, recently relegated Plymouth Argyle have not exactly hit the ground running under new manager, Tom Cleverley, losing both of their opening two League One fixtures this season. However, they too may take some confidence into the game following their own midweek performance in the Carabao Cup, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Championship side QPR 3-2.

While not one of the pre-season favourites for promotion, Plymouth fans will surely be hopeful that they can challenge towards the top end of the table once Cleverley has had time to instil his own philosophy on the team. Hopefully City are meeting them while this remains a work-in-progress and can take advantage of that, as well as use the confidence gained from the midweek performance to bag another three points in front of the Imps fans at Sincil Bank.