The mutterings of discontent went on all around me at half time. My mate Dave has gone and shacked up (for want of a better phrase) with one of my relatives down in Bletchley (not Milton Keynes he wants you to know), so I don’t have him to bounce off. Instead my Dad, fuelled by six pints of beer, let his disappointment out to anyone who wanted to listen. He felt let down because he thought we’d win 3-0, yet after 45 minutes we hadn’t looked like getting one. He lets his disappointment out by getting angry. I stay silent.
I perused my phone, hurt. Not because of a lack of effort from the players. They don’t go out to play badly on purpose, but the anger aimed at red and white shirts upsets me. Why? Partly because their efforts weren’t good enough, partly because after 34 games we are the best team in the league in terms of points accrued. It hurts that the anger directed towards Tom Pett out wide doesn’t take into account his PFA Player of the Month award from earlier in the season, because around 72 hours earlier the same XI had looked so confident and composed against Morecambe.
It’s different away though, isn’t it? Teams have to come and get us and when that happens, there’s more space to express ourselves. When sides come to the Bank they shut up shop, just as Exeter did. They sat deep, inviting us on to them. When that happens we’re in danger because our centre backs have to step up, leaving gaps in behind. Quick players will outpace all four of our defenders, so they still remain a little deep. That leaves spaces in the middle of the park and Exeter filled those spaces better than we did.
I hoped for a second half filled with expressive football and goals, but instead we got a slightly better version of the first half. I say ‘slightly better’, for a while it was much of the same. Wild passes, lack of understanding and failed technique. This isn’t the Lincoln City that have got to the top of the table, is pressure beginning to show? Or rather, is the pressure of playing at home starting to show?
Something had to change and although I heard the rhetoric that the subs changed the game, I don’t buy that. Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t think McCartan changed very much at all. No, everything changed when Matt Rhead came on.
It isn’t Rhead as such, he’s certainly one who gives the fans a lift, but it’s the change of emphasis. What amuses me is when I hear something like ‘bring off Akinde for Angol’. I like Angol, but if we’re failing with one approach, why would a different player in the same role have any joy? As a collective, we were poor last night. The approach we used didn’t work. Whether it was O’Hara or Frecklington in midfield, Pett or Roberts out wide, it failed. The individuals weren’t entirely to blame, although they didn’t play well.
No, the system changed. We went back to what we know, diagonal balls onto the big man’s head. His flick ons found Akinde running the channels and only then did we look a threat. Let’s face it, if the foul on Akinde in the area is at the other end of the field with one of our ‘monsters’ hauling back their forward, it’s a penalty. I didn’t make a lot of it, but something similar happened against Stevenage and we didn’t get it. Right not, we’re not getting penalties. Maybe it makes up for the soft one we ‘earned’ at Grimsby earlier in the season.
Danny suggested the referee admitted he made an error of judgement which was refreshing to hear.
Only when Rhead came on did we seem to be a threat, but by then the players have been burdened by the misplaced passes and shoddy technique. It meant a frantic final fifteen minutes or so, with us launching things into the box, appealing everything and getting nothing. When we did get a decent free kick, it was wasted. When we did get a corner, it was wasted. Technically, our players were not at the races but they never gave up.
It would be easy to come on here and give the social media view, we were poor and deserved very little, but we weren’t poor all over the park. We kept fighting, kept trying to knock down the door and eventually it became incredibly tough to watch. After our 3-3 draw with Bury I heard pundits purring over what a great advert for League Two it was. All I’ll say is this; it’s a good job that wasn’t televised.
Still we kept on knocking and eventually, six minutes into four minutes of added time, we got our stroke of luck. I know Exeter fans are not happy at the added time, but when you make a change in that period you’ve got to expect the worst. A referee will add 30 seconds on for the change, but he’s going to stop his watch too. That’s another minute or so going on the clock so if you’re going to do it, make sure it’s before the board goes up.
Shay, who grew into the game which isn’t perfect when you’re on as a sub, had an effort scrambled off the line and as we all watched the ref to see him bring the curtain down on only our second home defeat of the season, we scored.
After the game Rob Makepeace asked John Akinde how it felt to score with a shot that didn’t go where he intended it to. John’s answer? ‘It went exactly where I wanted it to, in the back of the net’. I think that sums up the finish perfectly.
It was a great moment and walking away from the ground it felt like we’d won the game for a while. I was still angry at the performance, but again felt it best to wait until the a warm sunshine came flooding through my office window and I could apply a sense of reason to my words. I never want to be a sycophant, if we’re bad I will say we’re bad, but when we’re top there has to be some saving graces. When we’ve not lost a league match since Boxing Day, when we’ve lost once in eighteen matches and are undefeated in eleven, that has to mean something.
We refused to lose last night and you know what? It might just be that point which secures League One football at the end of the season. It might be that dropped two points that costs us it too, but until we know there’s no point in getting angry, upset or indeed overjoyed.
Just enjoy it, or something.
Excellent blog. I enjoy most of your work as a Bury fan.
Don’t worry you’ll be in Div 1 next season.
Thank you, I do try to be objective.
We’ll see you there!
similar feelings having had a season where the imps looked as though the imps would win division 2 then, the last 8 matches were the most disappointed I have ever been. so the last 8 games this season have brought some of those feelings back at home matches. I could not make last night could not get off work. but, hoped we would not get beaten. probably, not something playing at home I should be feeling. Morecambe on Saturday could have scored a couple however Matt Gilks positioning and skill kept a clean sheet and yes away from home teams have to come out of the massed defence. on Sky bet site Lincoln lost last night. I would imagine they have amended it. what ever we are doing on the training pitch our dead ball situations needs work. corners and free kicks in the opposition final third have been poor. I have thought our home form has been poor for some time, the expectation word, but was pointed out we have players from higher leagues so why should they be effected by expectation to the degree it would appear. teams have possibly worked out how to contain us and still score. some how the imps need to find a way of getting behind opposition defenses and creating more scoring chances without what seems to be always sending the ball with height into the area. I think every team in this league has a number of tall defenders that can head the ball competently. we are still top of the league by 3 points, that does not stop me worrying that that will we be in the top 3 at the end of the season, I sincerely hope so. but does stop me worrying.
I agree that the praise Exeter got last night was OTT. I watched on ifollow for the first time and Rob Makepeace and Thommo were as bad as the players. Exeter were tidy but only because we afforded them so much space. Their right wing-back (Williams?) was a threat all night and but for some crap finishing early in the second half they would have been comfortably in front. I think FGR and Crawley have both come to SB this season and looked better than Exeter. If they had a full strength XI than they may have won, but I think their team last year were better.
Rheady really does change things, and it’s quite extraordinary how they couldn’t deal with him last night, and i’m delighted for Akinde because I thought Makepeace was harsh on him in commentary. He had no service whatsoever for most part, and Rowe was anonymous behind, whereas in previous matches they’d be quite close together and link up well. Perhaps I should credit Exeter for that, but too many of our players performed poorly.
Exeter and their manager devised a game plan that completely nullified the Imps for at least 80 minutes. The games up, the bubble has burst in that the rest of the league have sussed us out, they know how we play. So we must continue to change tactics and formations to outwit them. Do the Cowleys have the skills to do this? Lincoln were crap last night. Have the Cowleys met their Zenith…. I hope not!!
We made Exeter look good, true, but they were also better footballing side than us. We were just abysmal last night and never looked like a top of the table. Even our set pieces were awful.
Rhaed changed things. When he came on we started to do what we know best, long balls and only then we looked like we can score…
Our goal was scored by the worst player on the pitch last night , but that is football for you …
I think O’Connor was really good . Our best player last night by a mile for me…
Too many points dropped at home.
We have got six home games left now and if that means six points that is just not good enough if we about to finish in the top three i’am afraid….
That is extremely harsh on John Akinde. Since he joined the Imps we have never played to his strengths. Last night (as always) he gave his all and went the extra mile by dropping deep to help out the floundering midfield who were failing to give him the service he needs. When Rhead came on to work alongside him we started to see a different game and John looked very dangerous then scored the goal he deserved. If he was to regularly have a decent strike partner alongside him you’d see a massive difference. I hope the knockers don’t drive him away first though, there are many clubs who’d be delighted to take him off our hands.
Agree, I can think of at least half a dozen players that were far worse than Akinde. He didn’t get the service on the wings or have Rowe in close support as has been getting recently.
Couldn’t agree more Gary. I have not been enjoying watching home games recently for the same reasons. The team look edgy and Danny post match sounded edgy. Passes going astray, balls over hit going out of play, keeper doing the same, not being able to keep possession, giving it away, over complicated football, made to look worse by too many individual errors. Oddly the keepers had little to do. I am similarly cursed with the hope that kills you. Of course there is increased expectation and pressure when you are top in February. I am not sure that they are dealing with that, let alone me and you. Having watched the beloved imps for 53 years I might not see a football league win again, and some of the historic rubbish we have witnessed over the years on that pitch is a nightmare that now haunts us. It didn’t when we expected no more than the occasional home win, but it does now, The team need to deal with that, and so do we. Only in the last ten minutes last night with Rhead and Akinde, when the aerial bombardment began did we start to look like we had a plan, knew what we were doing, and did it, and they collapsed. The goal was always coming, but thank goodness it did, and thank goodness they don’t give up.
Exeter made us look poor by their intricate passing game so credit where credits due. AKinde covered acres of ground and kept going to the end and got his just reward. He is on our side and he showed it with his celebration at the end. Cowley’s know we have to produce something different than the last 8 or 9 games or we will end up in the play offs at this rate. That’s not doom or gloom, it’s fact.
I don’t buy that,, we are not playing to John Akinde’s strengths” talk..
It’s almost like calling D.C. stupid.. Do people really think that Danny want us to play,,not to Akinde strenghts”? Or that maybe he doesn’t know JA strengths are?
The truth is that JA can lead the line, make space for others, holding on to the ball, creates and I really admire that. These are his strengths. Unfortunately scoring goals, being cold blooded finisher is not one of them… Is it?
People were moaning about Green not being a born finisher but still he would have scored more goals from open play by now than JA even if he was playing as a lone striker which surely wouldn’t be ,,to his strenghts” neither.
We need John to play the we play and his good at it. But as a striker he just isn’t prolific enough and this is last thing you want your striker to be …..
Nobody is calling Danny stupid. I’m sure he would have hoped that John would have scored more, but I’m also sure he’ll be very happy with the number of goals the team as a whole have scored, which is to a large extent due to John’s work. To get the best out of John he needs a quality striker alongside him and Danny will have been doing his damndest to bring someone in, but that isn’t easy and costs money. For now Danny can only use the players he has at his disposal, and using Rhead or Angol alongside him is an option that can work well in the right context. We must be careful though that we don’t at the same time over resort to predictable long ball that may sometimes work well in a frantic battle for a late goal but won’t work consistently from the start, as experience has shown. There’s no evidence that either Green or Rhead would have scored more in Akinde’s role this season. On the other hand many, many comments from opposition managers and fans have shown how difficult he is to play against and how highly they rate him.
Watching on iFollow and listening to the Radio Lincs commentary team, I more than occasionally wondered if they were watching a different match to me. Thommo needs to learn the difference between an in-swinging and out-swinging delivery for a start and Makepeace seemed intent on stirring the Akinde debate for no discernable reason too.
Yes, we weren’t great but surely being that overtly negative is only going to breed further negativity. Not sure it was really called for
Agree with this. I’ve been listening to the Radio Lincs commentary for the past few weeks as i’m currently back in Lincolnshire. Tuesday was the first time i’d bothered to purchase iFollow with the Radio Lincs commentary, and by god, I hadn’t realised how terrible they are at describing what’s actually happening on the pitch. The moment that Toffolo let the ball go through his legs out for a throw, which led to a subsequent Exeter attack didn’t get mentioned.
Found Makepeace’s comments about Akinde very strange, but then weren’t the Echo trying to stir some debate about him a few weeks ago too?
,,He needs a quality striker alongside him” . Well said…
We all could do with a quality striker in the team.
JA is a great athlete and a great team player. Not a great,quality striker though. …..
If A was a great quality striker he would be playing in the PL or Championship. He is a good striker for this level and has made a great contribution to our goals & success this season.
How did Akinde get 20+ goals two seasons on the bounce for Barnet then?
He wasn’t playing up front on his own being asked to perform miracles for one thing.
Akinde is a quality striker, proven at this level, but WE aren’t getting the best out of him.
That’s not his fault, Diana.
All seems like an overreaction to me. We had twice as many shots as them, twice as many shots on target as them and more possession than them… against a team sat 5th in the table. And unlucky not to get a penalty and 20 mins at the end versus ten men. As Gary points outs, Gilks barely hard a save to make.
I heard someone say yesterday it was the worst performance under the Cowleys – that is laughable. How about the 4-1 at Crewe last year? Or the 2-0 at Boreham wood the year before? Expectations just seem too high at the minute and I worry that this filters through to the players. Last night was not stellar, but it was a good point and not nearly as bad as is being made out in some quarters.
Of course it is not Akinde’s fault. When he miss a great chance to score, put the ball wide from few yards it is my fault.. Fans fault . Danny’s fault. Everyone’s but Big John….
JA is not a quality striker.. At least not at the moment if that makes you feel better Daniel.
He does a good job for us but he is not scoring goals and that what makes striker a quality striker since football was invented…