I stayed in my seat at halftime, not wishing to brave a food outlet and toilet facility that is barely fit for purpose given the numbers in the stands, and I think I did well. The guy in front of me came back with a coffee on 54 minutes, and his mate said, ‘didn’t you get two?’. ‘You’re lucky we even got one’ was his reply, an indication that the service being provided by Elior is certainly not currently of an acceptable standard. Ben messaged me at half time about it as well but let’s be honest; Ben moans about many things.
He could well have been moaning about us being 1-0 down within minutes of the restart. Matty Virtue fired high for us on 49 minutes, and Wycombe took that as their queue to sweep upfield. A slip by Jamie Robson let them in, and eventually, the ball worked its way to Hanlan 12 yards out. His scuffed effort bounced off the post, and away, the closest either team came to breaking the deadlock. However, that and the Tafazolli header on nine minutes were Wycombe’s only serious efforts on goal – in all, they had five, just one on target, compared to 29 back in February, with broadly the same players. That, in my eyes, is progress.
The game didn’t serve up many thrills, but I thought we might have edged our way back towards the end. They had players to bring on who could have affected proceedings; Sam Vokes and Sully Kaikai are both a threat at this level. However, we were able to do the same, bringing on Mandroiu and Hopper. Charles Vernam was the man withdrawn, and I felt for him – he was not happy and came off shaking his head to a round of applause. I really like Charles; his drive and directness is a real asset and whilst the end product needs a little finesse, I think he will turn out to be a good signing for us in the long term. Danny Mandroiu, a player who is likely to start matches when fit, looked like a player who hasn’t played for a while when he came on, but I guess we need to get minutes into their legs. Expect him and Hops to start on Tuesday.
Four of our eleven shots came in the final five minutes as we looked to snatch a win. I think if either side deserved three points, it was us, but I couldn’t say we actually did deserve them. However, Robson, Sanders and Mandroiu all had pot shots, which we’re seeing more of in recent weeks. They will come off at times, but yesterday an effective and solid Wycombe defence blocked everything they needed to. Ultimately, it wasn’t a game for the neutrals, and when Thomas Kirk brought things to an end, 0-0 was a fair reflection of events.
It’s really hard to cover any highlights but not to hand out plaudits to our players. Regan Poole was excellent again at full-back, and whilst Robson was targetted for a while with high balls (the first inside 20 seconds), I thought he dealt well with them. O’Connor looked to be hobbling from 20 minutes but refused to let it beat him, whilst Adam Jackson was a colossus at the back. I thought Joe Walsh’s composure and calmness on the ball were evident all afternoon, and we’re beginning to see exactly what we missed last season with him.
Genuinely, we drew 0-0, and had one shot on target, and I can’t point to a single player and say, ‘you had a bad game’. Ok, the subs looked a little rusty, perhaps, but there’s no blame for anything yesterday. We faced an effective League One team, established players who have played for their manager for a while, and we never looked in danger. We faced a team with an xG of just under four against us last season, who didn’t reach an xG of one this season. For me, it’s progress, and even waiting by the gates as fans filed out, I didn’t hear a lot of negativity. We’re functional as a team, adaptable, and won’t be top six or bottom four at the end of the season. However, we are on the right path, and I have hope that in the long term, we’re going to be like Wycombe, with an established squad that other teams fear a little.
Of course, all of this then took a backseat as England again suffered tournament heartbreak. I can see parallels between the England and Lincoln matches – I thought both were edged by the team I was following, but we couldn’t seize the initiative and win either. The referees were contrasting – Thomas Kirk was excellent, whilst the Colombian official wasn’t great for England, but ultimately neither result had me crying into my Estrella because I can see progress in both. England were better against France than we were 18 months ago against Italy. Lincoln were better against Wycombe than we were ten months ago against the Chairboys.
It’s unlikely we’ll ever see another Saturday quite like that, a combination of World Cup and domestic football, but as a one-off, it wasn’t as bad as I feared ahead of Qatar. That said, I won’t be sorry to get back to the Bank against Bolton, hunting an unbeaten eight months at the Bank, without worrying about dividing my loyalties between club and country. I’ve enjoyed England this winter, but my heart will always be invested in one football team, and I’m delighted to say we’re in increasingly strong shape.
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