The early pressure in the second half, much like the first, came from the Imps and the result was never really in doubt.
Harry Anderson’s pace clearly still frightened the visitors, even after a half time regroup, and he was fouled twice in quick succession, the second time by Elliott Whitehouse. That led to little, but Forest Green still looked on the ropes, often being chased back into their own half. When they did compose themselves they were playing some decent football, Matt Stevens firing wide after a rare foray forward courtesy perhaps of Roughan’s physical presence. It was all very pedestrian though, they lacked the cutting edge that we kept hinting at, laboriously coming forward with little purpose or energy.
Theo Archibald came close in a second half that, at first at least, seemed slower as it progressed. He got on the end of a lovely Jorge Grant pass that split two defenders, but the former Celtic man pulled his ball across goal and wide if the far post.
The game may have slowed a little in the opening 15 of the second period, but it accelerated after the hour mark into a fine spectacle once again. It was Archibald again who started the move that effectively finished the tie. This time he split two defenders with a through pass, finding Brennan Johnson. His finish was excellent, he dropped a shoulder, beat a man and bought a yard as he drove forward before he slotted the ball into the keeper’s right-hand side. 3-0, get our name in the hat. It was just reward for Johnson too, who has been lively for weeks now and has come close on plenty of occasions. We would have missed him had we had to face Gillingham, he could be this season’s Tyler Walker, such is his impact. Given the Wales connections, he almost like a cross between his former teammate and Joe Morrell.
On occasions, the Imps found themselves watching the game from the defensive third, but not being threatened. When the ball changed hands, the transition was swift as we swept up the pitch with speed. Theo Archibald, who certainly worked hard on his first home start, lashed over after a quick break involved Johnson and Scully. It was certainly impressive stuff from the Imps, who did look like the League One side. There is a danger for the higher level team to be matched in cup ties and for neutrals to say stuff like ‘you couldn’t tell which side was from the lower league’. Well, on this occasion, you absolutely could. I wondered if the two styles would produce an entertaining game and it did, but one side did it much, much better than the other.
Another of our young guns, Zack Elbouzedi, got fifteen minutes at the end of the game, joining Conor McGrandles and James Jones as subs for the Imps. When changes are made it can upset the flow of a tie, but within seconds of the Ireland Under 21 coming on it was 4-0. Scully, another of our international prospects, found Wales all-up Johnson with a pass. He knocked it to James Jones, who flicked a neat backheel into the path of the advancing Scully who angled his effort again past the keeper’s right-hand side. It was a typical Lincoln move, and it killed off the visitors once and for all. Time and again this season, we have threatened to run riot without doing so, and this was the perfect way to sign off for ten days or so.
Everything went a little crazy after that, Forest Green finally went gung ho and left lots of space at the back. On 82 minutes, Elliott Whitehouse got the goal he will have been keen to get, sneaking in to give the visitors a little bit of pride. It was disappointing for the Imps to concede, but six minutes later our four-goal lead was restored. Anthony Scully, another who had an excellent game, received a pass from Thommo’s Man of the Match Harry Anderson to lash the ball past the keeper. That came just as the board went up for injury time, and by the time the clock struck 90, it was 6-1. James Jones’ cameo might have been brief, but he added a goal to his assist, and a smartly taken one at that, twisting in a tight spot to hook a left-footed effort into the net. That will do Jones’ confidence the world of good, he’s been solid throughout the last month but to chip in with a goal and assist should give him a big boost.
That wasn’t the end of the goals either, Jake Young managed to get a late consolation after finding space in the Imps’ area. It was far too little, far too late, and the last action of an exciting cup tie.
I don’t know what was more pleasing; the fact we won 6-2, the fact we finally made good on the goalscoring promise we have shown against the likes of Crewe, or the fact that some of our fringe players stepped up and played well. Even the established first team player sin different positions played well, another huge boost. Finally, and perhaps the most joyous of all for some, it is seven wins in seven matches against Mark Cooper’s Forest Green. You could almost take the words Forest Green away from the end of that sentence and it still be just as pleasing to read.
Thommo picked Harry Anderson as his Man of the Match, but there were so many contenders. Brennan Johnson would be a very close second, and Anthony Scully would have to be around the top three as well. I thought Gotts and Edun were superb as well, and Max Melbourne returning with such a solid performance is a big boost. It is hard to call anyone out when you have won 6-2 though, and from Alex Palmer to the last sub Zack Elbouzedi, everyone came out of it positively.
On Monday, we go into the hat for the second round, a good achievement for the club. Not only do we get a stab at progression, but the £17k prize money for winning today will be a big boost for the financials, and hopefully a favourable tie in the next round can set us up for a bigger payday. There isn’t a bad thing to say about today, another good chapter in the Michael Appleton saga.
Ok, so it might not yet have the storyline of the DC trilogy, but this isn’t a tale of the underdog rising up, not yet. This is the next level, the next phase and one might say the MArvel universe, a very different one to the 2016/17 season. This is slick football, exciting and goal-laden. It is perhaps best summed up by two comparisons – this is the first time I have not felt like we’d lose going in to play Forest Green, and it is the first time I have seen us beat them so utterly comprehensively by playing football the right way. There is nothing Cooper can moan about tonight, other than simply being outclassed by a much, much better football team.
My apologies for the DC and Marvel reference, I’m trying to make the blog a little more ‘Ben friendly’.
You can leave your thoughts on the game here on our forum