If that expectation weighed on their shoulders at the end of the first half, it threatened to bury them early in the second. The Latics came out all guns blazing, creating a great chance in the opening exchanges, but a ball across the area found a man in all sorts of space, unfortunately for them, offside. It did look ominous though as the visitors came out full of life.
On 52 minutes, Wigan took the lead in a game which seemed to have 0-0 written all over it. The Imps were on the attack, a Crossfield ball found Edun who took it down well, but was dispossessed. Wigan quickly played a ball into the feet of former Rangers man (and their most dangerous player) Kai Naismith, who struck a shot at goal. Without a touch, Palmer saves it, but it took a horrible deflection off Montsma and dropped into the back of the net.
The Imps were suddenly shocked into life, the impressive Robbie Gotts had a cross blocked, but the loose ball fell to Grant who lashed over the bar from an impossible angle and distance. It wasn’t an obvious chance, but it was a danger. However, with half an hour left, bottom club Wigan led 1-0 and chances had been at a premium.
The best managers make changes that influence games, and just before the hour, Michael proved his credentials with a tactical change. The Imps went to a 4-2-3-1, Harry Anderson coming on for McGrandles and going out wide on the right, Scully going to the left and Brennan Johnson sitting in the ten role behind Hopper.
The change gave the Imps a more attacking impetus, and on 66 minutes, Anthony Scully found some space in the area. Tayo Edun, who I think had a good game, took a pass from Joe Walsh and played it neatly into Scully’s feet 16 yards out. He turned in space and had a shot at goal, but didn’t catch it right and it crept towards the keeper with little danger.
The former West Ham man, who had a tough first half, then had a couple of opportunities within a minute. One ball trickled towards him on the edge of the area, but he couldn’t quite meet it before the defender hooked away. The ball came back to him quickly, but his shot was blocked. It doesn’t always work for Scully, but he always makes himself available and shows the right application in pressing forward.
Ten minutes after the change, the Imps got a deserved equaliser. It started with a free-kick away to the left, 35-yards out. It was whipped in, cleared and picked up by Johnson, who held off his defender well before going to ground. The referee gave another free-kick, on the edge of the area to the attacking right, not ideal for Grant. That didn’t bother the captain, who strode up and sent a wonderful dead ball past the despairing keeper to get City level.
The goal put a fresh wind in the Imps’ sails and it could have been two almost immediately, Johnson almost getting away. Grant then played a smart ball into Harry Anderson, a willing runner after coming on, and he fired at the keeper, drawing another save. The Imps kept knocking, hoping to be let in, with Anderson having a second effort blocked on 73 minutes.
It was the attacking right that provided another chance on 74 minutes, Anderson slipping a ball into Gotts, who saw his effort blocked by the keeper. The loose ball dropped in the six-yard box, but Johnson and Edun were both a couple of feet away and unable to get on it.
Joe Walsh then had two efforts in quick succession, the first a header from a great Gotts delivery which got deflected over. Within seconds a ball from Scully got nodded back across goal by a defender, and Walsh beat the keeper with his header, only for Tom James to hook the ball off the line.
If it was a boxing match, then Wigan would have been on the ropes, swaying, whilst a sleeping City had woken up and were throwing a flurry of punches. One was bound to lad and with seven minutes left, it landed.
Anthony Scully, who had a superb second half, played a smart ball into Tom Hopper who had his back to goal. The striker, who has come in for criticism recently, turned neatly in the area and slotted the ball between the defender’s legs and into the back of the net. 2-1, technical knockout.
There was never a way back for the visitors after that, and the Imps chose not to take chances to get at goal, in favours of heading into the corner. Scully had a cross-cum-shot which the keeper saved, with the loose ball falling to Anderson. He was inside the box, but turned away from goal and went into the corner, eating up a couple of minutes. Deep into injury time, Jones got a shot off at goal which hit a defender’s heel and spun up. He took it down, and instead of going again, he went off into the corner. That game management frustrated the visitors, but it ensured no moments towards the end of the game that could cause a wobble.
Michael Appleton was clearly happy with the result, admitting after the game on BBC Radio Lincolnshire that the first half got away from us a bit.
“I thought the first 20 minutes we were really good, but after that, we took our foot off the gas and allowed them to stamp their authority on it. For ten minutes or so of second, it was a bit flat and we gave a really poor goal away.
“I don’t think we were as competitive as we needed to be, I don’t think our centre-halves were as competitive on the first ball and I made them aware of that regardless of the result.”
Tom Hopper is a player who has had a tough time in front of goal, but he turned in a strong performance and capped it with the goal, which delighted the manager.
“Delighted for him, even if he hadn’t scored, I think he was definitely our best player by a long shot. He was almost doing my job for me on the pitch, when I was disappointed about our lack of physicality, he was telling the players that.”
The Imps now go into the weekend in second place, four points clear of Sunderland just outside the play-off places. It wasn’t a classic, but the fact remains that is seven points from nine, and it is three points from a game in which we were expected to win. Wigan are no mugs, Curtis Tilt and Kai Naismith are both seasoned professionals who would fit into our squad, if not first XI, and at times they did look like a strong outfit.
It’s weird to be writing this with any negativity, but for 60 minutes I don’t think we looked like scoring. However, we keep saying that and yet the collapse you might expect, doesn’t happen. All around us, teams lose games, they drop points and we keep ourselves tucked into the promotion race. It seems ridiculous to even say such things if I am brutally honest. Five years ago this week, we were beaten 3-1 at Woking after drawing with Welling. Now, we’re above Sunderland, Portsmouth and Ipswich in the Football league and we’re still oozing potential and fans think there is much more in the tank.
It’s certainly not the position I thought we’d be in six months ago, and however we play for 60 minutes is completely irrelevant if we keep picking up points. I always find living a moment in football is hard – you always think about the next game, other teams, how you have played etc. When you take time to pause and see the bigger picture, things change dramatically. In 2016/17, when we were running away with the National League, every game was judged on individual merits, but who remembers Bromley at home now? Few people bother, it was just a chapter in a great season.
Consider tonight another decent chapter in a belter of a story. Trust me, there are better chapters to come and when you’re the 46th best team in the country having been losing to the likes of Woking five years ago, that is saying something.
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