About a quarter of an hour into today’s top of the table clash with Lincoln City, I thought it was going to be a long, long afternoon for us. Despite changing from their usual four at the back to a three centrebacks formation, Lincoln were comfortably keeping us at arm’s length and were causing us problems with their method of play which is almost a complete opposite of ours.
Now, it should be said here that I am very much the pessimist when watching us play (I’ve always believed that the vast majority of people who watch their teams while sober are, but maybe I’m wrong there?). Very often down the years, I’ve started fearing the worst early in a match only for City to prove me wrong as they won quite easily mind, but today, I was right – Lincoln were worthy winners and, in the end, it was quite comfortable for them.
I must say Lincoln impressed me, they were very hard to play against and, for me were a much better team than they looked when they beat us at Sincil Bank just before Christmas. Although I thought the Imps just about edged it that day, there was very little between the teams and luck was against us with the own goal Alex Robertson scored to put them 1-0 up – on another day, we definitely could have got something from that match.
Today though it looked like a bunch of individuals against a proper team. Many of City’s individuals are gifted at this level and it was significant that, a frantic minute in the first half apart, the little bits of eye catching skill by the likes of the Colwill brothers and Amari Kellyman which drew eager applause from the home crowd, came to nothing as City never built up a head of steam to get the big crowd really involved.
It helped Lincoln that whenever they attacked in open play, it was far less congested in the final third than it was when we did, but they were organized in a way that we weren’t and let’s be frank, we’ve been pretty open when we played at home all season.
Lincoln have the lowest percentage possession figures in the division, while we have the highest and the gap between the two of us only grew on an afternoon when it was 77/23 in our favour, but Lincoln were happy to let us have the play as they are so well drilled out of possession.
I’m sure Yousef Salech would have started today if he was fit because, while they had prospered without an attacking focal point in his absence, this was a day when City really needed one – for the first time since his injury six weeks ago against Stockport.
In straightforward terms, City needed some more height in their team against such tall opponents and, in terms of the aerial challenge, it also didn’t help that Perry Ng cried off this morning with an illness to be replaced by Ronan Kpakio – although, to be fair to the teenager, I thought he was maybe our best player on the day.
Other changes saw Will Fish replace Dylan Lawlor and Kellyman returning instead of Cian Ashford, while Lincoln’s Jack Moylan, widely regarded as their best player, was only on the bench after being an injury doubt through much of the preceding week.
Lincoln’s switch of formation may have been viewed as something of a risk, but it didn’t work out that way as City spent much of the first half an hour trying to come to terms with it – in fact, i can’t remember a single goal attempt from us during this time.
That all changed around the thirty five minute mark when Ollie Tanner, struggling to make the same impact as he does on the right as Kellyman was being used on that side of the pitch, came infield to hit a right footed effort from twenty yards that drew a fine save out of George Wickens as he pushed the ball over for a corner.
Seconds later, Wickens was less impressive as he shovelled away a Rubin Colwill effort as his brother closed in and when the ball was half cleared to Rubin his shot was this time deflected not far wide for another set piece.
City had a few more corners as they finished the half on top, but they’d had their best period of the match and the second half was to prove a disappointment as they finished second to a team who must be favourites to be Champions after they snuffed out any momentum City had.
By starting with Osho and Fish, City were arguably using the pair of centrebacks best equipped to deal with the physical challenge Lincoln posed and they both did well enough in the first half, but it proved to be different on fifty five minutes when the vicitors scored what was always going to be a vital first goal.
Osho got first contact on a long ball forward as he challenged with Rob Street, but it turned into an assist as Ben House got away from Fish and played in Street who shot home from eight yards.
Rather surprisingly, City took longer than normal to bring on substitutes as Callum Robinson and Chris Willock replaced Kellyman and Joel Colwill. The changes soon brought a second goal, but not in the right net when Tanner, now on his favoured right side, carelessly conceded possession to give Lincoln the chance to show their speed on the break. In no time at all, sub Dom Jefferies was running at Fish and he had few problems cutting in and firing in low from twelve yards.
Dylan Lawlor came on for Osho and Ashford for Tanner and maybe there could have still been something for City from the match if Rubin’s shot had found the corner rather than flying a foot or two wide.
There was also a well struck effort from Robinson which was saved, but the closing minutes were generally comfortable for a good Lincoln side which presented City with problems they just couldn’t solve.
As I type this, the 3 o clock kick offs are coming to an end and it looks like Bolton are not taking advantage of our slip as they trail 2-0 (they ended up scoring three times after the eighty eighth minute to win 3-2, an outcome which will give them great momentum) at home to in form Wycombe who suddenly look real Play Off contenders (or maybe they don’t!). Bradford are edging to a 2-1 home win over Leyton Orient and with Stockport not playing, Huddersfield beat Rotherham this lunchtime, while Reading are winning at under achievers Luton, as are Stevenage at Burton.
There was an amazing game involving our under 18s at Watford this lunchtime where Paul Moreno and Harry Watts both scored twice and Axel Donczew and Jack Sykes weighed in with one each in a 6-4 win.
Locally, Treherbert Boys and Girls Club were hammered 7-1 at home by Pontardawe in the Ardal League South West.
I am amazed by your report Paul. Not by your accuracy and judgements which are spot on as usual but by the fact that you were able to write it by the time the 3.00 pm games were finishing. Please tell me how you managed that.
You are so right about Salech. We have managed incredibly well without him most of the time. Although their goals did not come from corners and long throws I was nervous at our inability to deal with them throughout. With hindsight we probably needed a back up central striker big enough to help our defence in games where we were likely to be outmuscled. I thought Trott was very weak today as was Osho.
You are also right about the pessimism. Does it come from valley’s upbringing I wonder as I am that way too. Are our city friends less pessimistic perhaps? More often than not my pessimism has proved to be unfounded this year but I was very nervous before this game and the recent one at Plymouth. I don’t know much about Barnsley but if I discover they are a big side I will be on Tuesday!
Thanks Mike. I’ve always tried to get at least an outline for my match pieces done as soon after the game as possible while the memory of it is fresh in my mind This has led to me often writing them out of order so to speak, also on trains and, occasionally, in my car before I drove home.
As for Nathan Trott, he is very good with the ball at his feet, although I agree with Dai about his long kicking having gone backwards from earlier in the season, and a fine shot stopper, but he’s never fully convinced me when it comes to high balls delivered into our penalty area.
I lived the first sixty two years of my life in Cardiff, so my pessimism (it’s only during games in my case) is not born of a valleys upbringing – I suspect it’s got something to do with me not allowing myself to get into a position where our eventual failure will bring on a massive “down’ in my case. It allows me to tell myself “well, I wasn’t expecting much anyway”. Yesterday was a bit different though, I was pretty open minded about what was going to happen beforehand, but within ten to fifteen minutes, I just thought the “tone” of the game was against us with us not being able to do enough to escape from the grip Lincoln had taken on proceedings and, apart from that one minute in the first half, it stayed much the same throughout the game.
The game against Lincoln :
POSSESSION : Cardiff 78% Lincoln 22%
GOALS : Cardiff 0 Lincoln 2
A lesson to be learned by Manager, training staff, and players.
I think we all feared we were going to become the latest notch on Imps’ belting form. I have to agree, Bob, they were the better team and well deserved their victory. We thought we were the best team in the league but we aren’t. The reason is so obvious now. Defensive fragility. All great teams are built from the back. Lincoln’s defence was cast iron. Their penalty area might as well have been surrounded by a castle wall. We played great football as far as the castle door but could never unpick the lock. Their defenders were yeomen to a man. When they broke, however, they broke with menace. Our attacking play, brilliant as it is, covers a soft underbelly. We know we leave space behind but rely on opposing forwards, at this level, to cock up the chances they get. This afternoon, as at Plymouth, they didn’t; they were far better than that. Of course, most teams in the Championship, should we go up, will be far better than that, too. It’s a valuable lesson, one which I’m sure our manager knows well enough already. For now, he is making the best use of the resources at his disposal. We have young talent, the like of which we haven’t seen in generations, mostly in forward areas, so we focus on that, play football we all love watching and get away with it at the back where Lawlor, Bagan and Ng are our only real strengths.
I have enjoyed this season immensely. I love so much about this team. The spirit above all, the passion, the unspoilt enthusiasm that makes me feel young again. However – and this is specific to the here and now, not the ingrained pessimism of being a lifetime City supporter – the greater the love the greater the pain is all I see in my crystal ball. Vincent Tan is just dying to get his money back. Who can blame him? He’s received so much abuse, some of it racist, he stays in Thailand now. If that’s just at the hands of a minority, all I can say is that the majority has displayed its usual cowardly silence.
It’s all so regrettable. Our young boys are our boys, raised from seed. We love them. But they will be encouraged to leave, as John Toshack was long ago, for a decent whack, but nothing like what their value will be in years to come, and we loyal supporters will just have to bear the pain as our beloved team, once again, never fulfils.
For me, nothing could make up for the sale of ‘our boys’. I’m just sentimental like that. Many wouldn’t mind if, like Sunderland, we were able to spend some of the money on even better players, from wherever, and prosper, but who has any such faith in our transfer committee?