At this point, I have to say the pessimist in me came out. I had Isaac with me, my nephew, and he was confident it was our game to win, but Posh are not bad. I really liked their number 28, Garbett, who glided around the pitch, and they had real quality out wide. I felt they would come at us in that swashbuckling way Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle or Ardiles’ Spurs used to do.
They did get a goal, but at the same time their defence has plenty of questions to answer, and we could easily have made it 4-1. Rob Street nodded over, but you felt we might score whenever we attacked, just as I felt they might score when they attacked. Note, I have made it clear that the fear of a concession was mine, not a collective one.
Still, we did concede. They reduced the deficit on 56 minutes. Khela should not have been able to get his cross over when he did, but he managed it and the delivery allowed Lisbie to chest home, with his marker once again on the wrong side. Not being overly critical, but both goals were tap-ins, something we do not usually gift opponents.
At 3-2, the momentum seemed to swing again. After a quiet 20 minutes or so, the Peterborough fans found their voice and there is a lovely moment on the highlights, lovely if you are a City fan. Bear in mind, like Cardiff, they have just scored and are in full voice. They are literally singing “we’re the Boro boys, making all the noise” as Darikwa and Hackett combine on the right flank. Hackett lofts the ball in and you can hear the moment they all realise what is about to happen. Like a music producer fading one track out and another in, our fans take over as Reach finishes with ease for his third goal in as many games.
From there, I felt we probably should have scored six or seven and, while that feels a bit sweaty, like a snotty-nosed kid who has just kicked my arse at FIFA, it is not unreasonable. Hackett almost added another moments later, the move beginning with a trademark long throw from Hamer. Bradley flicked the ball on and Hackett’s looping effort drifted just over the crossbar.
Justin Obikwu came on, the very definition of limbs, and I still do not know if he did well or not. He was probably fouled for a penalty which was not given, got cautioned for a dive which was given, and then drew a cracking save from Alex Bass. It came from a simple clearance upfield that bounced awkwardly and beat Tom Lees. Obikwu’s strike forced the save, but that could easily have been five as well.
At 4-2, I think their threat diminished. They never gave up, as you would expect, but we felt much more assured. We made changes, with Dom Jefferies replacing Ivan, Erik Ring getting a rare run out and, of course, Obikwu. The finishers did a solid job. Posh did briefly try to get back into it and, in doing so, handed us the fifth.
It was a quick break and an assist for Tom Hamer. He cleared to Darikwa, who showed unbelievable energy. One-on-one with Bass, with late sub Moylan on one side and Obikwu on the other, they drew the attention and left Darikwa to simply lift the ball into the roof of the net for his second of the game, putting a neat seal on it. Was 5-2 a fair reflection of the chances? I will go out on a limb and say I suspect xG, when it drops on Wyscout tomorrow, will suggest 3-2 might have been closer, but we looked comfortable from the moment we got our goal.
There will be obvious plaudits for Reach, Darikwa and Hackett, and rightly so. Everyone played well, but a big shout out from me goes to Rob Street, who put in the most Ben House-like performance I have ever seen from someone who is not Ben House. His relentless energy epitomised the whole performance and the whole Christmas period. With so many minutes played, he could almost have been forgiven for looking leggy, but he delivered a classic defensive centre forward performance. I mean that literally, he played centre forward, but tracked back, tackled and battled without a moment’s thought. A class performance.
Also, a word on referee Charles Breakspear. Excellent. He let the game flow, was unfussy and contributed to the entertainment only by enforcing the rules, rather than becoming the view.
I am going to do an article on the Christmas period, but as we trudged off the pitch it was others left playing catch up. Bradford and Cardiff seem to be in it for the long haul, Huddersfield and Stockport dropped more points, and we go into a 13-day break in second place. I have to say it is a deserved position, and the festive period has seen us rise to the challenge we faced.
After ten games, people were saying we were up there because we had not played anyone. Even after 20 games, people were saying “yeah, but on PPG we’re eighth” or whatever it was. We deserve to be where we are, and that is before I have mentioned budgets, which, for once, I will not bang on about. Here we are after 25 matches, two points from the magical 50, with 21 huge games still to play.
Twenty-one matches to put Lincoln City in the second tier for the first time since 1961. Can we do it? I do not know, but if we do not, it certainly will not be through a lack of fight, commitment or tactical nous. As fans, that is all we can really ask.
El Capitan
