Benson in contention for Woking trip

The on-loan forward missed Town’s 3-2 win over Lincoln City on Saturday, but is back in training, although manager John Still will delay naming his sided until tomorrow.

He said: “He’s done a little bit today, we won’t make any decision on that until tomorrow.

“But it’s not a bad injury, a twist on the ankle, nothing terrible. It’s important to play players when you can when they’re properly fit, and we fell into that category at the start of the season with Jon (Shaw) playing.

“Then we pushed Mark (Cullen) a little bit in the game, sometimes you have to as needs must. In the end it doesn’t do you any favours, so I’ll try and wait until he’s (Benson) properly fit if I can, but that might be tomorrow.”

In Benson’s absence, striker Mark Cullen stepped to the fore, netting twice as Luton came from behind to defeated the Imps.

Still continued: “Who’s Paul Benson? Absolutely. Mark did very, very well, because he played in a couple of games not quite right.

“Then I brought him back for the game at Wrexham when the team didn’t play that well, so I was very pleased for him.

“It’s not his best position as the main striker, but he did it very well. In the last 20 minutes of the game, his movement was fantastic, he got two goals.

“Don’t forget he got brought down for the free kick that led to the goal too by coming off and receiving the ball, so he’s done very, very well and I’m very pleased for him.”

On what he sees as Cullen’s best role in the side, Still said: “I think he can play with three upfront, so there’s a few positions he can play, but because of the problems we’ve had, he’s had to more or less be a central striker.

“Pre-season, when was playing off of the striker, he was scoring. He can score, gets in great positions, the corner that led to the goal, came from a great passage of play with him and Andre Gray.

“Andre checked out and chipped a ball in, but Mark’s pulling off of the centre half as he did for his first goal, he got between two giant centre halves and he’s drifted in between them.

“He pulled off the boy Nat Brown and the keeper’s come out and made a decent save, but Mark’s movement is very, very clever.”
Defender Alex Lacey is in contention for a recall too, but the match might come too early for Anthony Charles.

Still said: “I’m not sure Anthony Charles is available for selection. I think Alex Lacey is, but Charlo needs another reserve game.”

The boss had been critical of his side’s defending for both Lincoln goals on Saturday, but not of their overall performance.

He added: “I was actually pleased with how the defence played, but I thought that there were two lapses, only one by a defender though.

“We had everyone in their areas, the first goal one person wasn’t in their area, he was somewhere else.

“Where did the ball go? Where he should have been. It’s not rocket science.

“The other one was poor defending. He was in the right position, he just didn’t defend it properly.”

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