Lincoln boss Mark Kennedy was cautious about looking at the Sky Bet League One table after his side cruised to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Blackpool.
The win moved the Imps up to fourth and extended their unbeaten run to four.
“Where we are in the league at the moment is not important,” Kennedy said. “We spoke to the group after the game and told them to not get carried away and stay grounded.
“We don’t want to be fooling ourselves. We’re not a top-four team.”
The Imps scored twice from the penalty spot and saw another strike deflected home, and Kennedy said: “With the goals, we had three big chances and took them.
“Blackpool are a really good side with a good coaching group, so that is a big win for us in a big test.
“I thought we were really good in and out of possession. We looked structured and hard to break down. We controlled the ball. I thought we did that very well today.
“Before we went to Shrewsbury, a couple of our players were practicing penalties. I told Danny Mandroui that he was on penalties today, but we have three or four players who are really capable.
“I’m a big believer of driving at defenders, so it was nice to see Ethan Erhahon drive forward and pulling the trigger. I’d like to see him do that more often.”
Blackpool boss Neil Critchley was honest about his side’s performance.
“Horrible is the word that sums it up,” he said. “The initial start was good, we had two good chances before the first goal after seven minutes. That was a mistake from us.
“It was stupid of us to give away the penalty. We responded well, I thought. We still had chances to equalise before the second.
“Lincoln got a little bit of luck with the second goal. We didn’t get the press right and he shoots from outside the area. It takes a deflection and at half-time I’m scratching my head as to why we were 2-0 down.
“We changed our formation and players at half-time and we were threatening to get back into the game.”
Blackpool were down to 10 men with 17 minutes to play after Oliver Norburn brought down Ben House prior to Lincoln’s third, and Critchley believed it was the right decision.
“We didn’t defend well enough on the halfway line,” Critchley continued.
“The third goal and the sending-off kills the game. It looked horrible, it feels horrible, but it’s our first defeat of the season so I have to put it into perspective.”
JPL finalists Mount Pleasant, Cavalier join teams from T&T, Dom Rep as early qualifiers for Concacaf Caribbean Cup
Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.
This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.
Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.
Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.
The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.
A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.
Nice 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Teenager Zague scores as champions end hosts' top-four hopes
Paris Saint-Germain beat 10-man Nice 2-1 on the road in Ligue 1 on Wednesday, leaving the hosts with no chance of a top-four finish.
Bradley Barcola opened the scoring for Luis Enrique's side in the 18th minute and 18-year-old Yoram Zague added a second just five minutes later.
Nice managed to get on the scoreboard before the break as some slack PSG play allowed Jeremie Boga to play through Mohamed-Ali Cho to finish.
However, their hopes of an equaliser were dashed when Melvin Bard was sent off in the 75th minute for a dreadful foul on Barcola, who produced a lively performance in place of Kylian Mbappe, who was rested by Luis Enrique as the French champions prepare for life without him.
PSG, who have already clinched the title and are preparing for the Coupe de France final against Lyon on May 25, have 73 points, while Nice are fifth on 54 points.
With one match now remaining, Nice are four points behind fourth-placed Brest, ensuring they cannot qualify for the Champions League.
Data Debrief: Memorable day for Zague
Zague could hardly have chosen a better moment to score his first PSG goal, doing so on his 18th birthday.
He is the youngest player to score on his birthday in Ligue 1 in the last 75 years.
Atalanta 0-1 Juventus: Vlahovic strike hands Bianconeri Coppa glory
An early strike from Dusan Vlahovic earned Juventus a 1-0 win over Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, as Massimiliano Allegri's side lifted their first trophy for three years.
Vlahovic put Juventus in front in the fourth minute when he latched onto a pass from Andrea Cambiaso and broke into the box, before driving his finish past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
The Serbia striker thought he had doubled Juve's lead in the 72nd minute when he nodded home from Cambiaso's cross, but that effort was disallowed for offside.
The Bianconeri had just 34 per cent of the possession and sat back for long periods, but Atalanta were unable to make their dominance of the ball count, failing to record a single shot on target from 13 attempts.
They will hope to fare better when they face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final later this month, having now lost three Coppa Italia finals under Gian Piero Gasperini.
Data Debrief: Juventus on top once more
The Coppa Italia is Juventus' competition. They hold the record for most finals played (22) and won (15), and have now lifted the trophy in six of the last 10 years.
Allegri, meanwhile, has now won the Coppa on five separate occasions, surpassing Sven-Goran Eriksson and Roberto Mancini to become the competition's most successful coach outright.
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