Whatever happened in the dressing rooms at half time certainly changed the game. Arsenal made four changes, bringing on two brothers, Salah and Ismael Oulad M’Hand. They looked almost identical, wore numbers 16 and 17, and they took the game to a different level – in the words of someone far less eloquent than I, they were a ‘reyt little pair of sh1thouses‘. It was just what the game needed.
For our part, there was a real improvement in our intensity. From the get-go, the feeling this was a friendly was gone, and we began to see a couple of hard challenges, some biting and niggling at each other – the sort of thing you get week in, week out in the league. Within seconds, Darikwa nicked the ball off the toes of a defender, leading to a House chance. It was a sign of things to come.
One moment the official reports don’t mention seemed to spark things into life. From that corner, there was some pushing and shoving; the Oulad M’Hand brothers bang in the middle of it. The referee pulled the players away for a chat, but it seemed to light the touchpaper. After that, a few tackles flew in, one I noted on Erhahon in the area that I thought on another day might have resulted in a bit more. On that occasion, Erhahon lay on the floor for a good 30 seconds before getting up, needlessly worrying everyone in the ground!
Some great work by Jovon actually resulted in the Arsenal goal. He chased a lost cause, did really well to not only keep the ball in play, but also get the better of his defender, only for the attack to break down through no fault of his. As Arsenal swept up field, as you’d expect a Premier League 2 side to do, Wickens made a rash decision to come off his line, and then shanked his clearance. It gave Arsenal a little time to gather some composure, and Salah Oulad M’Hand lashed the ball into an unguarded net from 35 yards out.
City shuffled the pack a little, Tom Hamer coming off and Lewis Montsma coming on. It was a lovely moment for Lewis, finally running back out at Sincil Bank for the first time in over a year, and it got the 3000+ crowd cheering like no other moment of the afternoon. Almost immediately, they were cheering again, as he pulled us level.
I know it’s a friendly. I know in the grand scheme of things, it means as much as an apology from a politician, but this moment is one I think fans in the stadium will always cherish. It won’t go on his official Imps goal count, but it just gave everyone a massive lift. A city corner was headed clear, Darikwa lofted a delicious ball back in and there was Lewis, doing Lewis things, sticking around the area looking for the delivery. He strode free on nodded over the impressive Okonkwo and into the net. The cheer was heartwarming, and almost certainly one of the loudest you’ll hear at an Imps pre-season friendly. Dare I say, it felt a bit like a fairytale finish, albeit one with much more to come. If he does the same on the opening day of the season, I’ll rewrite the headline from this piece!
The intensity continued across the second period, Bayliss with another effort their keeper saved, but City looked to be finding a real flow. Jovon and House worked really hard, and there’s going to be lots to pick up from around Jovon if he keeps up this form – he was a real handful, and has seemingly got stronger over the summer.
A word on JJ McKiernan as well. He got Man of the Match, but he’s barely been mentioned in this report. He’s got some lovely touches in his locker, and is perhaps in the Peter Gain / Jorge Grant mould. I’m not saying to compare him to those players, but he has that air of grace when he has the ball, a certain effortless glide to his possession. I saw him wriggle out of tough situations once or twice, and those giving the MOM award clearly saw the same. He could be a really smart pickup.
City took the lead with 20 minutes to go, and on the balance of play it was wholly deserved. Good work from Jovon (I wonder how many times I’ll write that this season) released Ben House, and he grabbed his firstly goal of the summer. It wasn’t easy either; he looked to have taken it wide before smashing a superb finish across the keeper and into the net. It means House, Street and Draper all have pre-season goals, in addition to Jovon’s three – we need to spread those goals across the strikers, and that’s certainly happened in the games where it doesn’t matter. Remember, Duffy, Bayliss, Jeffries, Montsma, and Roughan have all been across the goals now as well. Good signs.
Jovon had another effort saved before Dom Jeffries came on at right wing-back, replacing Darikwa. One of the Ould M’Hand brothers picked up a booking for a really crude challenge on Darikwa just before, which is some going in pre-season. The game certainly had a real zest to it as it wore on, and I noted three or four players exchanging heated words, usually with one of the two brothers. Tom Bayliss certainly did, and he dealt out a little retribution with one challenge. Jovon had another effort saved before Dom Jeffries came on at right wing-back, replacing Darikwa. Jeffries is a signing that interests me massively, and he fitted in on the right nicely. Not long after, Draper, Moylan and Street all came on, giving Arsenal even more to think about.
They all looked hungry, and in the last minute, Okonkwo pulled off a superb saved. Jeffries got free down the right and delivered a sumptuous ball for Freddie, whose diving header must have had an xG of 0.9, it was such a good chance. Somehow, the brother of new Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo kept it out instinctively. It capped a good afternoon for their keeper.
It was a friendly, it was an under 21 side, but unlike Norwich City, it was an Under 21 side with some experience. The front three all have Football League experience, one of the Oulad M’Hand brothers spent last season in the Netherlands. The big lad at the back, Monlouis, looked really composed and physically able to compete with more senior pros. There wasn’t an area of the field where Arsenal looked like kids, despite it being their Under 21 side.
Michael Skubala is sure to be happy. We forced plenty of corners, and the players on the bench all gave him something to think about. Given that we’re starting the season with (possibly) four injured in Hamilton, McGrandles, Walker and Hackett, it didn’t feel like we were depleted in any way, and we still managed to bring on effective subs. Hamer and Mntsma both impressed on the left side of defence as well, meaning Imps fans had a lot to be positive about.
“In the second half I thought we totally dominated the game and could’ve had a few more goals,” Michael Skubala told the official club site after the game. “I’m really pleased with the workout, it’s always difficult to play academy teams, but what was really pleasing is that we were very aggressive, and really exciting in the second half.”
We now sit back and relax for six days before the real football gets underway, safe in the knowledge that for the first time in four years, we’ve won our final pre-season friendly. In fact, the last time we went through pre-season unbeaten (in open-doors friendlies) was back in 2016/17. How did that season turn out for us?