Match Thread: Lincoln City v Rotherham United | Page 13 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Lincoln City v Rotherham United

It reminded me of the Portsmouth home game around this time last season when we were pressed to death, couldn't find a man with a pass and were easily beaten by what looked like a much better, fitter, organised side than us.

This being football it didn't turn out that way over the season.

Not saying history will repeat itself but anyone looking positives should think at least we got a point this time out of this 1-1 thrashing.
 
Back home and have walked the dog. Bit flat overall tonight and we were certainly second best for most of the match. I thought overall it was the most un-Michael Appleton performance from Lincoln in quite a while. Too many hopeful long balls towards Hopper hoping for him to hold it up. To be fair to Tom he did win quite a fair percentage of them, but support was too far away for us to make any real progress with that tactic. The only time we really played as we know the team can was in a 10-15 minute spell just after half time and Fiorini scored a pretty good goal when we opened up their defence. Rotherham will be disappointed that they came away with only a point as they should have won. So in the end based upon the ninety minutes we have to look at that as a point gained.
Man of the match without a shadow of a doubt was Josh Griffiths. He earned us that point with several excellent close range saves.

If we win against Ipswich on Saturday this point will look even better
 
Got away with that, good game though, pleased when the Ref ended it and we had a point in the bag and a crap drive home through the Fens, and a fantastic, not, diversion via Wisbech. Griffiths had a blinder, the other lot were giants and must have kept lots of their Championship players and really did a job on us. Dont care a Monkeys about the other lot, but they will be up there come May.
UTI.
 
When the report on the OS refers to Ollie McGrandles and Lincs Live includes Lasse Sanderson in the Imps line up, is it any wonder. Accuracy in writing is an essential skill which seems to have been forgotten.

Bring on the 18" Stonehenge.
Don’t start me off - I had an exchange of not very pleasant and very unprofessional e-mails with Mr Whiley after I had the temerity to comment about the quality of some of their reports. Basically accused me of being a keyboard warrior despite not knowing me.
 
I assume Ogbene was their 11. Said similar to my mate, wasted with those lumps.
Bit harsh Plumbob. Barliser and Rathbone are both pretty lightweight midfielders but dominated the game for long periods. Rathbone played for Rochdale last year and had a really good game. He harried Bridcutt all the time and never gave him any time so we were always playing quick balls, sadly usually back to their players.
 
Don’t start me off - I had an exchange of not very pleasant and very unprofessional e-mails with Mr Whiley after I had the temerity to comment about the quality of some of their reports. Basically accused me of being a keyboard warrior despite not knowing me.

Not sure how he has a job to be honest. He turns up once a week and occasionally asks a question at the press conference. Then he pushes out stories rehashing this 5 minute press conference for the rest of the week. There never seems to be any exclusives or new information / rumours.
 
Another home game that shows the difficulty we have against teams that press high and stop us playing out from the back. Unfortunately none of Poole, Jackson or (it seems) Robson are really comfortable receiving a pass, and that gives a split second for the opposition forward to press them.

We don't suffer from it as much away from home as the onus is on the home team to attack. Last season and this though, when we come up against a high energy high pressing team like Rotherham at home, we really struggle.
 
Another home game that shows the difficulty we have against teams that press high and stop us playing out from the back. Unfortunately none of Poole, Jackson or (it seems) Robson are really comfortable receiving a pass, and that gives a split second for the opposition forward to press them.

We don't suffer from it as much away from home as the onus is on the home team to attack. Last season and this though, when we come up against a high energy high pressing team like Rotherham at home, we really struggle.

Yep, needing that extra touch/half-second on the ball can be critical at this level. something Edun rarely needed, of course. TJ is more composed on the ball, as well.
 
Amazingly Dunham Bridge was like the Marie Celeste for me both ways unlike the Bolton game. I reckon the Yorkies were too tight to pay the bridge toll and carried on down the A1 to the Newark turn off.
I hit it around 10:45, there were around 30 to 40 cars I guess.
 
Another home game that shows the difficulty we have against teams that press high and stop us playing out from the back.

I've said a few times that any team that has the energy to press our two centre backs and stay close to our midfield three will nullify our signature move, which is to play that fast straight ball from centre back to midfielder in space in the centre circle ("on the half-turn" as Mark Hone endlessly kept repeating last night).

Do that and we seem to resort to shanking the ball out of play looking for the full back, or hitting long balls in the direction of Hopper.
 
I hope Mr Bayes is enjoying watching Posh and their sojourn into the championship. Maybe he has already abandoned ship and now supporting Man U (until last night).
 
Incidentally, Ipswich lost again last night - this time at home to West Ham U21 despite fielding a strong side.

“The reality at the minute is that we’re a soft touch that just gives goals away." Paul Cook after the game.

Not good for a squad that cost millions in transfer fees.
 
I thought we really missed Bishop in the middle tonight. A middle 3 of Bridcot, McGrandles/Fiorini and Sorensen looked a bit pedestrian to me. And they certainly struggled to get hold of the ball for the last 20 mins of the game. Sorensen in particular was a passenger for much of the 2nd half. That said constantly playing out from the back when you're under intense pressure doesn't help.
How we got away with giving the ball away to their most attacking players time and again during that last 20 mins I'll never know, but we did and the point gained was a good one all considered.
 
The three promoted sides (Hull, Cheaterborough, Blackpool) are all in the bottom four already. It shows how wide the gap is between divisions.

Yep, this season will be a tough ask with the money spent by a lot of clubs, the step up is obviously even a much bigger gap on and off the pitch.
 
I hit it around 10:45, there were around 30 to 40 cars I guess.
I must have got ahead of the curve and saved myself a few minutes queueing.

I go over Pelham Bridge, West Parade and The Avenue to get to the Carholme for the return journey and I can recommend that route if anybody has their car parked in the right place to take advantage of that.