Debutant Morris impressed by Cobblers performance despite defeat to Imps

Midfielder Bryn Morris was impressed by what he saw from his new team-mates despite Cobblers slipping to a narrow defeat at Lincoln City on Saturday.

Town, boosted by their three new signings, including Morris, dominated the opening half-hour against a team who were aiming to return to top spot in League One.

But the visitors could not convert possession into chances and with Lincoln inevitably improving, goals from Conor McGrandles and Anthony Scully sent Cobblers into the relegation zone.

Sam Hoskins had a strong penalty shout turned down at 1-0 before Danny Rose scored a stunning consolation goal deep into stoppage-time.

"I felt we were much the better team in the first 45 minutes," said Morris. "We lacked a little bit of cutting edge but I thought it was a good performance all-round.

"The goal obviously changed the game and we tweaked the formation a little bit because it did get very open and stretched, but we definitely should have had a penalty. I was right behind it and he didn't touch the ball.

"We haven't got it and there were fine margins in the game but we can't whinge about that. It's all about recovering, moving on and getting ready for the next game because there were positives for us to take."

Morris impressed in a midfield three, slotting seamlessly in alongside Shaun McWilliams and Jack Sowerby.

"I thought we had a really good balance in midfield," he added. "Shaun was excellent out of possession and then on the ball he kept it simple and did the basics and Sowers also did a great job.

"He picked up some nice positions and I felt there was a lot of freedom, especially with Shaun behind us because he gives a bit of security. I thought it was a really good performance, especially in the first-half.

"That's my game - I like to get on the ball. I'm not going to go long and get on second balls, I want to play out and build from the back and pick the passes in-between the lines. I like to think I bring a lot of energy to the team as well.

"I think we ran out of ideas a bit in the second-half, maybe from 60 minutes onwards we went a bit long, but it was a game of fine margins."

Town are back in the League One bottom four as a result of the defeat, but with games in hand over some of their rivals, Morris is not reading much into that.

"I don't think it is a blow psychologically to be honest," he continued. "There's a long way to and plenty of games and a lot of football to be played, but I think we can take a lot of confidence from Saturday's game.

"We came away to a team top of the league and for 45 minutes we were much the better team. It's a results business and we know we need to get wins but I think the performance is something to build on."