Wait, that’s it for the first half? Well, yeah, it is. I said there was a lot to unpack, but it seems that was a lie. There was a goal, great, and the Huddersfield fan’s ire, but nothing of note on the field. Not a single Imp let themselves down; nobody had a bad game as such, but nothing really happened. I’ve even criticised Ruben Ricardo, the referee, before, and he had a decent game. He let quite a lot go, but when he was at the Bank last (our last home defeat) he was poor. Last night, I think he missed a couple of fouls, maybe both ways, but it wasn’t a tough match to officiate.
Why? We had no reason to be flying into tackles, and they had no desire to. It didn’t mean it felt quite like a training match, but it certainly had a ‘two midtable teams with bugger all to play for’ feel. That does us a slight disservice, by the way, as we weren’t at half mast or anything, it was just how it felt. Actually, we defended resolutely, and the reason the talented Huddersfield players (yes, they are Terriers’ fans) didn’t get a sniff was down to our hard work.
Joe Taylor prowled with that menace that was lighting the Bank up a year ago, but Jacko and Tom Hamer caged him. Down the flanks, they searched for width but just found Darikwa and (MOTM-elect) Roughan too much to deal with. There were a few half-moments, a couple of spells where we put bodies on the line, but not to a point where were needed to bleed for the cause. Although, for the record, Ethan Hamilton did have blood on him after the game. Not sure who owned the blood though.
The second half really had nothing more to write about. Lasse came on late, a forlorn figure missed here as a personality, and he got a warm reception. That pleased me – I’m not one for applauding opponents, even when they’ve served us so well, but for Lasse, I made an exception. He didn’t have a lot to do – he did steal ten or fifteen yards every time he got a throw in, but at least his foot didn’t come on the pitch (or, if it did, Worthington somehow missed it).
Jovon had a quiet game, as did our whole forward line, but he certainly showed glimpses of his talent, as did Joe Gardner when he got on the ball. They didn’t see much of the ball, but we got little glimpses of what they can do. Jovon did get the only shot on target of the second half, which was a stinging drive from an angle that their keeper parried away. It was an ‘oooh’ moment, only the second of the game.
As the encounter wore on, we got a bit deeper, but aside from one clearance, we never really looked in danger. We closed them down well, we let them have the ball where they can’t hurt us, which their fans feel was anywhere on the field. I can’t stress how toothless they looked up top, remember this is a team that spent £2m on Joe Taylor and £1m on Dion Charles in the transfer window. Charles is out at the moment, but one assumes he wasn’t watching Bolton from the Trotters’ home end last night.
The final whistle put the game down, like a lame dog, allowing the real lame dogs (still in play-off contention, by the way) to take the barracking from the away support. They limped across the line to defeat, whereas the banality of proceedings left most Imps’ fans delighted. Huddersfield is a grudge match of sorts, less history than Peterborough, more distance than Grimsby, but still one that matters to fans circa 2005 onwards.
Winning 1-0, while it means little in our season, is another big achievement. Remember, this is a side that lost five times the amount of money we did. Five times the amount, and that’s just losses not overall spend. To beat them, anyway you look at it, is an achievement. I think this was our fourth regular season meeting with Huddersfield since 1982 – that should tell you the disparity in club size.
Make no mistake, the boring game was a fine three points we should cherish.
After the game, Jasper, our guests and I went up to the bar, where the moment of truth came. We were asked for the Man of the Match. I said Roughan (obviously), but this time with evidence to back it up. Still, we live in a democracy, so the others got a vote, and Ethan Hamilton took three. It was probably fair, though; Ethan had a great game in the middle, looking so much more like the player we saw last season before his injury.
He came up to give a little speech, and then we had a picture taken with him, which satisfied the fanboy in me. He also said his Granddad reads my stuff (hello, Granddad), which was quite cool. Mainly because, before the game, Alan Long introduced us to George Wickens, Tendayi and Joe Gardner and asked all three if they read the Stacey West, to which they replied (politely, but unconvincingly) ‘I think I’ve seen that before, yeah’.
Anyway, it’s not all about me, so here are some facts for you as I see them.
- The season is over, bar a few matches.
- This side is not as bad as everyone made out a month ago.
- This side was not as good as everyone thought we were a year ago.
- If next season started tomorrow, this side would achieve a top-half finish in next season’s League One.
You know what? I’d take that now. I’d take knowing we were safe, maybe having something to play for in March and then getting a couple of months where I can relax and enjoy being a Lincoln City fan for the occasion, not the result.
One other thing I’d take is, in a year’s time, seeing Sean Roughan in our team, doing his thing, and getting the recognition that I so desperately wanted to give him last night. And no, as far as I’m aware, I’m not being paid for the product player review. All joking aside, of course, it was nice to be the people who gave Man of the Match and have so many to pick from. Sean and Ethan seemed to stand out, but we heard Tom Hamer, Tendayi Darikwa and Adam Jackson all mentioned in the bar as well. I
It’s nice to hear that, certainly more so than songs like ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’. At least we’ll get a chance to go up against Huddersfield in successive seasons, for only the second time since our Second Division stint in the fifties.
Up the Imps.
You can have as many sausages as you like Gary, well deserved many times over !