The second period was a real test of our resolve. This was a game we should be winning against a side depleted for a couple of reasons and with a solitary point out of the previous fifteen available. They were also very committed and whilst their defence didn’t look impenetrable, they were seeing plenty of the ball in the middle of the park. I’d also heard they liked to go quite direct, but they were nowhere near as blatant as Northampton. In fact, with a full-strength side, I can see how they could be comfortable mid-table this season. They were going to be happy with a draw, but we were not. I keep saying points on the board are better than games in hand, and even with Hull leading at Charlton at half time, we were on course to go four points clear of second and six clear of third, but only with a win.
I didn’t sense that urgency immediately, and as in the first half, the early chance went the way of the hosts. Johnson played a slack pass on the halfway line, which Joe Pigott seized upon and immediately smashed an effort at goal from the halfway line. It missed, by some distance, but it was an early scare. As it transpired, it was one of only a few in the second period.
Johnson might have let his early pass go astray, but there is no doubt he was our dangerman throughout the second period. Our attacking left looks comfortable at the moment, him and Edun combining with Grant in the middle to play some lovely neat triangles when the opportunity allowed. Within ten minutes of the restart we had two great chances, both courtesy of Johnson crosses. In the first instance, the ball flashed across the six-yard box without a player getting near, whilst the second on 52 minutes went in front of one of our lads and behind Scully at the back stick. It was agonising and if I’m honest, it didn’t look like it was going to be our afternoon.
In truth, the game was a bit scrappy at times in the early part of the second half. The Dons did their job well, closing us down quick, pressing high and restricting us to panicked balls forward. I felt we were drawn into a few niggly fouls too, and it was on 60 minutes that the next serious chance arrived. Rudoni, who had the early effort in the first half, broke into the area and opted to go for goal instead of passing to Ollie Palmer. it fell wide and Palmer made his feelings clear. I couldn’t help but smile, remembering us beating Chesterfield at home and Palmer doing the same to Matt Green. Karma (I’ll leave it now, the whole Palmer thing is becoming obsessive).
Lee Swabey played an important role on 66 minutes and caused me to make my sleeping dog jump up in fear as I yelled obscenities at the TV screen. Johnson (as always) got himself some space in the area, but as he looked to beat his marker he was clearly brought down. Their lad was nowhere near the ball, and yet the official signalled for a corner. Here’s the killer – the ball hadn’t even gone out. Swabey was so keen to not award a penalty he tried to give us a corner before the ball rolled out of play. From the iFollow angle, it was a clear-cut penalty and I do wonder in recent weeks if the high number we got at the beginning of the season is being held against us.
Still it was the Imps looking more likely to break the deadlock. Johnson got away yet again on 72 minutes, playing another lovely ball across goal which nobody was alive too. This isn’t a criticism as such, but on another day (Boxing Day for instance) we could have been 4-1 up with 15 minutes left. Johnson caused utter havoc from start to finish and the despairing Wimbledon right back just couldn’t handle the Forest loanee.
Joe Walsh even came close to giving us the lead as we turned on the style for a period. Scully whipped a deep, curling cross towards the back stick which saw the former Crawley man throwing himself at the ball, but a millisecond too late. A minute later, Jorge Grant flicked a wonderful backheel at goal, likened by the home commentary team to Denis Law’s for Manchester City in the seventies, but it was read well by the keeper. It did feel like a goal might be coming, but you also felt there might be a sting in the Dons’ tail. Last season, we had a one-goal lead against them right until the final minute and I could almost smell the despair of losing a point to them deep into injury time. I felt nervous and hopeful at the same time.
My nerves were settled on 83 minutes, as the Imps grabbed the winning goal. It came from the attacking left following an Edun cross, which had proven to be fruitful all afternoon. That ball fell to the feet of Paul Kalambayi, who sliced his clearance horribly to Grant. He showed real composure to set himself before laying the ball into the path of Tom Hopper, who lashed home his second goal in three games to restore the one-goal advantage. It could prove to be a huge goal, especially with Sunderland dropping points at Northampton, and Hull beating Charlton. As he wheeled away, arm raised in delight, I woke the dog up rather rudely once again in the lounge. I probably cheered louder for that goal than any of those against Burton or Northampton, because the game had built up to a crescendo, rather than exploding early.
That was more or less it in terms of chances, Woodyard almost bagged an assist with a deep cross for sub Roscrow, but he couldn’t meet it with a header despite being in a good position. Late on, they tried threading a ball through to Palmer, but Walsh held him off and the former City man fell to the floor, looking a little gutted. I took no delight in that……
Make no mistake, this was a big win against a spirited side. Wimbledon weren’t in the same bracket of awfulness as Northampton and Burton, I’d put them more in line with Wigan and Shrewsbury. They undoubtedly have more to offer, I expect more goals from Pigott when he’s fit and maybe even some from Palmer now he has settled. To be fair, I thought Ollie actually did well for them, he worked hard and asked a lot of questions of Walsh, which Joe answered. Their Man of the Match, in my eyes, was Woodyard though, he was industrious and tenacious throughout.
On our part, we did what we needed to do to win. On another afternoon we win that game 4-1 and everyone heaps plaudits on Johnson one again, and I’m certainly about to. He provided a lot of ammunition in the second half, with three or four really good crosses that Jones, Scully and Hopper were all close to. Edun had another good game too, although on the other side of the field I felt it didn’t quite work. Scully put in a good shift but didn’t get the rub of the green, whilst Eyoma perhaps had a rare off day at right back. It was nice to see Liam Bridcutt back in the fold, and he didn’t look too rusty either. There are a few heart-in-mouth moments with him, and indeed playing out from the back, but you won’t see me questioning it when we’re winning games of football.
I seem to recall on the podcast talking to Ben about the run up to the Hull City game on December 29th, saying how we could be on 40 points or more by then. I’m not sure I really believed, deep down, that we could achieve that, but the wheels are still on the promotion bus, despite the fear a couple of defeats caused in late October and early December. We are four points clear at the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than Hull. We are six points clear of the play-offs, albeit having played a game more than Portsmouth and two more than Peterborough and Doncaster. We’re NINE clear of the seventh, again with a game or two more than most. Those games must be won by the chasing teams though and some are against each other, so I’ll certainly take that. We are in this position not because of Covid, but because we are back to winning matches. I can handle defeats if we win games in response and that 1-0 defeat against Shrewsbury, a game I felt we could have won, feels like a long while ago.
The next couple of weeks see two absolutely huge matches. The first is Peterborough, a side nine points behind us with a game in hand. If we took something from that, it would be a huge statement of our intent. I think the cup game against Accrington is massive too, a chance to progress in the trophy and put more funds in the bank. The more the board can give MA this January, the more chance we have of hosting QPR, Derby and maybe even West Brom next season.
Eyes now turn to the news of a possible new signing this week, and the round of Covid tests sanctioned by the EFL too. We could be looking at a break, we could be adding to our squad, but whatever happens, we will be top of the league this time next week. We could even extend our lead by the way – only Hull, Charlton and Ipswich are scheduled to play next weekend from the top seven, so a win against Peterborough could, realistically, open a gap of nine points in the automatics. In other news, I think we’re about three wins from safety. I’d have taken that at the start of the season!
Ridiculous really, isn’t it? I guess all we can do is keep our feet on the ground and hoping the points keep on coming. What a time to be a Lincoln City fan.
Be sure to leave any comments on the game on our dedicated forum by clicking here
Widget not in any sidebars