Into the second half, and I expected a Posh onslaught, certainly in the first ten minutes, but it never came. Harrison Burrows drew a superb save from Jensen five minutes after the restart, and I feared perhaps they’d come out all guns blazing. It felt like momentum was shifting, but it just didn’t happen. That, in my mind, was the only real effort of note from them in the second half, but there was a couple from us that could (and should) have sealed a memorable three points.
Last week, a chance changed the balance of the second half if I recall; Joe Taylor against Derby. The same happened this week. On 54 minutes, after Posh had not only sustained possession, but had that big chance, we got ours. Freddie held the ball up well (one of the few times he didn’t have arms wrapped around him like a straightjacket) and played in Reeco. He buzzed forward, into the area and forced their keeper into a big save at his near post.
On our feet, again.
That swung things our way, and whilst we never dominated possession, nor do I think we expected to, we had better chances. Our xG in the second half alone as 1.27 – we should have scored. Actually, we celebrated the draw because it was a good point against a good side, but the absolute truth of the matter is that we should have won the game, and there’s a little nagging feeling in my mind that we missed the opportunity.
Changes began just after the hour mark – they brought on £750,000-rated Jonson Clarke-Harris, looking for a goal. You wouldn’t have known he was on the field for the last half hour, and if suitors were watching, his value might have dropped a bit. We were forced into a change, Ted Bishop coming off, but Danny Mandroiu came on, disappointing the ‘he should never play for us again’ brigade. He has a point to prove, and five minutes after coming on, he almost proved it.
The chance on 71 minutes is the one. It was the moment we needed to seize, and if Mandroiu had scored it, I virtually guarantee that those red cards would have been forgotten. Hamilton and Freddie combined to release Lasse down the right. He seemed to have overrun it, but the ball bobbled up for Mandroiu. His first shot, on target, was blocked, and it fell to him as he was slightly off balance for a second bite of the cherry. That went wide.
That could have been the game, but things really opened up as the minutes ticked by. Ethan Hamilton, a former Posh player, created a chance for himself but struck an effort that bounced just wide of the keeper’s right-hand post. Jack Moylan and Jovon came on to add a bit of something to the attack, but in truth, Freddie coming off blunted us slightly. There was no choice as he’d run himself into the ground, but when he was withdrawn I felt our attack just began to lose a bit of cohesion. Moylan and Jovon worked hard, don’t get me wrong, and both are decent options from the bench, but they’re not Joe Taylor or Freddie Draper. Joe Taylor was quiet, but he’s got an air of menace, and I feel once he gets a goal, he’ll fly. Freddie is just different gravy from the last time we saw him. He’s come back a man, and had we not seen such a superb defensive display from Adam Jackson and Alex Mitchell, Freddie would have been my Man of the Match.
There was some criticism of the referee, who I did feel was inconsistent, but I’m not sure he was bad. He missed a couple of things for both sides and was a bit zealous with one or two free kicks, but we’ve seen much worse. One moment really hacked me off, and it involved Freddie. He was wrestled to the floor at one point, and as he got up, the lad who fought him seemed to intimate he’d been stamped on or something. The ref stopped the game, but there was no infringement, and I’m not really sure what warranted the stoppage. Their lad wasn’t injured; if he was, it wasn’t a head injury, and the assistant referee was clearly shaking his head to say nothing negative had happened. Freddie shrugged it off with the nonchalance of (dare I say it) a certain Mr Rhead.
In fact, I admired the way Freddie dealt with the treatment he received; he has that ‘don’t give a f*ck’ attitude I like. He perhaps could have had a goal as well, chasing down two defenders bullying Wright, only to fire over. He kicked the turf in anger as he did, something else I like to see. It matters to Freddie.
We didn’t win. You don’t get extra points for having better xG and better chances. We have three points from three matches, not great, but we’re also unbeaten in three. We rescued a point against Wycombe, and, since then, have played two of the current top four without conceding a goal. In both of those games, we’ve had better chances, and we’ve been happy (as supporters) with a point where there could be a clear argument for us deserving all three.
The big test comes now. We’ve got through the ‘no strikers’ period. We’ve got through the threadbare, struggling to get from one game to the next period. Skubala has had time on the training pitch with his players, and our next SIX matches are against sides below us in the table, three at home, three away. We’re on 35 points, and if at the end of this six-match run, we can (and this is perhaps ambitious) pick up 12 points, we’ll be well on our way to safety.
We’ve done the brave underdog thing. We’ve morphed into a side with a goal threat. We’ve cut out the silly set-piece goals, and we look more comfortable trying to get forward. The proof now is in the tasting; it’s in how we handle these next six matches. I don’t want to be over-dramatic, but they’re going to go a long way to defining our entire season towards demonstrating how things are going to progress under the new coaching setup. Hell, they might not just define a season, but if we come out of the six matches with just three points (the same ratio as the last six) then it migh even go some way towards defining a part of our history.
Yeah, I like big statements here.
For now, we settled. For now, we can rest easy knowing that evidence suggests we’ve turned a corner, and I’m not just talking about this season. I feel this Lincoln City side carries an attacking menace, strength and pace up top, which I’m not sure we’ve had since May 2021. We’ve been on our feet wondering how a shot stayed out, we’ve been on our feet applauding the players, and with two attendances closing in on 10,000, we’ve been treated to the atmosphere, passion and real belief of moving forward.
Now, we need to collect the points that make these draws useful points. We need to turn those shots and that menace and belief into wins. Do that, and I firmly believe we’re a top-six side in the making for 2024/25