Onto the second half, but first a mention for my mate Gav. I have to mention him, because I said in the bar before the game if we won, I’d make sure he got a shout out. Also, during half time he was remarking how 2-0 was a dangerous scoreline, even though we were winning 1-0. I asked him if he’d take it at the end and he chuckled. Neither of us, nor anyone around us, felt we’d actually win by that margin.
For Lincoln, one big problem has been the 20 minutes after half time. MK Dons (59m), Crewe (48, 52), Hartlepool (52), Accrington (55), Shrewsbury (50), Sheff Weds (55), Charlton (63), Morecambe (53) and Cambridge (59) have all scored in that period after the break and I always feel we are susceptible. It tends to be because teams come out, fresh from their half time talk, and for some reason we can’t cope with it. Not today. Instead, we saw some full blooded tackles, the like of which I don’t recall for much of the season. Every single player put their body on the line to block and fight, and when we got a chance, we broke. Within 11 minutes of coming out, and against the run of play, we killed the game off.
To say we killed it off at 2-0 flies n the face of the MK Dons game, I get that, but we stopped Oxford dead in their tracks. Fiorini was involved again, another wonderful ball across to Maguire, who was fouled in the area. The ref let it go, but Morgan Whittaker didn’t, he picked the ball up and finished as calm as you like to make it 2-0. It was a moment of pure quality, but Lincoln’s season has been packed with football of a similar quality, only without anything in the final third.
I picked up the referee let a lot go, and I have to mention our favourite worst enemy, Seb Stockbridge. I remember him as a finickety, picky referee with a fondness for the roar of the home crowd, but he let a lot go. That was for both sides too; I don’t have rose-tinted glasses on here. Chris Maguire’s shenanigans could have got one of their lads a red in the first half (it would have been harsh, but at the time I screamed blue murder). In the second half Mark Sykes looked to have headbutted McGrandles (I think); he didn’t, but again the home crowd were incensed (me included). There were some pretty poor challenges as well, both on McGrandles and by McGrandles, but the moment that irked me came in the first half. Chris Maguire stooped to head a ball, took a boot in the face but committed a foul at the same time. Now, I’m not bitter, but their lad’s foot was just as high as Billy Knott’s back at Meadow Lane in 2017, and the same ref sent Knott off, effectively ending his Lincoln career. Yeah, maybe I should let it go.
Anyway, we did get our customary red card from Stockbridge, the fourth for the home side in games involving us and him since 2017, when Herbie Kane left a foot in on Fiorini. I think there were a few believing he’d sent our lad off; Fiorini’s tackle was fierce and came just moments after one on McGrandles I thought was a booking. It was fair, but for a moment it looked like it might have been him punished, but the reaction of our players told me otherwise. I’ve watched it back, no arguments, but how it finished 10 v 11 with just one yellow I’ll never know. By the way, is deliberate handball only a yellow in the second half of games these days? Asking for a friend.
So, who played well? Everyone. Literally, everyone.
Josh Griffiths made some crucial saves; it wasn’t all one-way traffic and he’ll be delighted to get his first clean sheet at home. Cohen Bramall, a player many have suggested might leave the club this January, looks reborn. I’m not sure what he got for Christmas, but I’ll have a couple of grams of it please. One gut-busting run in the second half had me wondering if world records had been broken, and it had two Oxford players looking at each other wondering how the hell they’d stop him if he did it again.
In the middle of defence, Montsma was looking solid until he went off, Poole was perhaps Man of the Match and (I concede to gab Sutton) perhaps is a centre back after all. TJ was putting in a ‘TJ 2020/21’ performance at full back, as revitalised over Christmas as Mr Bramall, and when he slotted into centre back he was equally as good. On the right, I can’t enthuse about Ted Bishop enough. I’ve criticised him recently too, but he was looking utter quality in attacking midfield, then switched to right back and looked like a right back. That’s high praise by the way; I would just love to see him get a run of games in attacking midfield without having to fill in. However, when he does, he’s looking very strong indeed.
Yes, I’m going to talk about everyone. In midfield Conor McGrandles was everything we saw January to March last season. He rarely lost possession, he fought like a cornered tiger and to be fair, put himself a bit (too much) a times. Our game hinges on the defensive midfield and Michael went with a 4-2-3-1, rather than what I think is usually a 4-1-4-1. That meant McGrandles, and his partner (Fiorini at first, Sorensen later) were less exposed. It worked a treat, and I thought Lasse had a solid game too. For a youngster (don’t forget that) he’s got the physicality of the game off to a tee, and I still maintain he’ll be a huge player for us.
Lewis Fiorini; close to be Man of the Match. His passing range was exquisite, he was unlucky to to add a third himself and he didn’t shy away from a tackle. I did pick up on that a few weeks ago, he shrunk during the Portsmouth game, but over the last two or three we’ve seen the same Lewis we saw at the end of September. When he’s on fire, he’s very good.
As for the front three, the biggest compliment I can pay them is they were actually a threat. We haven’t had that in recent weeks, but suddenly we had three players willing to run, chase and ask questions. When any of them got on the ball you expected something to happen. Chris Maguire has looked a lot like a conductor without his orchestra in recent weeks, yesterday he was finally given the players he needed around him. There’s no point in waxing lyrical about Scully; he’s a fan favourite for a reason and when he gets on the ball, things happen. He’s been alone in that respect this season at times, but not anymore.
That brings me to Morgan Whittaker, a local hero! Who knew the lad used to come and watch us under the Cowleys, has family in Welbourn and a strong local connection? He’s almost one of our own, isn’t he? What a player as well. As far as debuts go, it was right up there; I remember another young lad coming in for his first start against Blackpool and having me excited for the rest of the season; that kid is now worth £20m and eyed by Brentford. Well, I’m not comparing the style or potential impact, but on first showing, you can see why Michael was so desperate to bring Morgan in over the summer. I know it’s a trap to fall into, but imagine if we’d had his creativity and imagination in the 0-0 draw with Doncaster, or defeats against Accrington and Morecambe. I tell you this much with 100% certainty; had we signed Morgan Whittaker in August, we’d have a healthier gap between us and the bottom four right now.
As it stands, the gap is just two points (seven between us and the three seemingly adrift already). Going into the game, I feared we’d be latched onto that group for weeks, with tough games coming up and a lack of belief among the fans. We didn’t do much different from other home games, we just had players back in key positions who can affect a game. In truth, our xG (you love it) was lower yesterday than for the MK Dons game, but we did the right things the right way, made the most of our chances and finally rewarded supporters with a home win.
I’m not saying we’re out of the woods, not at all, but that method and approach that I’ve been saying are still there finally paid dividends against Oxford. With Morecambe, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Gillingham, Crewe, Cambridge, Shrewsbury and Burton all to come to the Bank, I predict more than the five home league wins 2021 brought us by the time we reach May. I’ve been behind Michael all through this rough patch and I believe, firmly, that yesterday showed us why we should all be behind him. On our day, with a full squad, we’re as good as any team in this division.
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