Michael Appleton explains key to Lincoln's victory over Sheffield Wednesday

Lincoln City manager Michael Appleton was pleased with his side's performance as they ran out 3-1 winners over Sheffield Wednesday.

The Imps had lost their last three matches before the visit of Darren Moore's men, but produced an impressive performance to deliver a dent on Wednesday's League One promotion push.

John Marquis gave Lincoln the lead within the opening stages through a close-range finish, with Saido Berahino levelling for the visitors on 33 minutes. The Imps took the game with the scruff of the neck in the second half, retaking the lead thank to a cracking strike from Brooke Norton-Cuffy - his first senior goal - on 62 minutes.

There were further chances for the home side before Marquis struck again 14 minutes from time with a measured finish, lifting Lincoln seven points clear of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Wednesday have dropped out of the play-off places and will be looking to bounce back when they take on Cambridge United next weekend.

But Appleton has delivered his assessment on the game and was delighted with what he saw from his side.

He told Lincolnshire Live : "We were good. We came up against a side who looked like they had won eight out of 10 games and they have a lot of Championship experience.

"But we matched it, we went toe to toe. I was really pleased with the aggression we showed all over the park.

"I thought we were excellent out of possession and we had that little bit of quality at times when we needed it.

"Everyone was at it. Both sets of supporters were at it, the players were at it. It was a real good game of football and thankfully we’ve come out on top. We’ve got other games like that coming up. I imagine it will be similar against Sunderland [who the Imps face on March 19].

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