After Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat away at Tranmere Rovers in Sky Bet League Two, we asked our members what three things they learned.
Here’s what NottyImp said:
1. 45 minutes of pure dominance and excellent football does not a match win. But here’s the thing, this wasn’t ineffective tippy-tappy stuff that looks pretty but achieves nothing, it was incisive attacking football that – on another day – would have garnered a goal or too. Several factors mitigated against that: Tranmere’s ‘keeper, who was excellent, and Tranmere’s back-four who threw their bodies in front of everything.
1. Simple, direct football, can still score goals, as Tranmere demonstrated. They didn’t create much, but a straight-forward ball over the top undid us. I don’t think that is something to be too worried about – it happens to the best teams in the top division as well, especially when there’s a striker like Norwood involved, who spends the whole game lurking and looking for exactly a chance like that. You would say that Akinde is similar – but we’re not playing that way at the moment.
3. Plan “B” doesn’t always work. Sometimes it might be better for like-for-like subs to refresh the energy levels and go again with the same style. But sometimes it isn’t. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
And here’s what Chesterimp said:
1. One of last season’s bad habits hasn’t totally gone away, failing to score when on top – we were superb first half, the gulf in class couldn’t have been wider if it had been Man City, not Lincoln City. But we didn’t score, as those stats tables show we’ve been pretty clinical this season but last night it didn’t happen.
2. The Cowleys aren’t infallible, last night was a rare instance of the poor use of subs. Akinde and McCartan had been giving the Tranmere defence a torrid time. Big John’s battering by Tranmere’s Ten Ton Trio was having its effect and he was understandably tiring so probably right to bring him off. But McNulty’s eyes would have lit up at the sight of Rheady, a contest which would play to his strengths as we duly went aerial. Leaving McCartan on, bringing Green on for Akinde would have brought a degree of mobility which McNulty and co would have struggled with. Harry A was having his best game for a while, Bruno his least effective, so not sure that one was right either. The stats and GPS data might have shown otherwise of course.
3. 3 into 2 is a dilemma. O’Connor and Pett have been superb while Freck was suspended. Freck was brilliant first half last night, Pett more subdued than recently and of course they both struggled second half when Tranmere changed tactics. 2 CMs seem to be working the best of the configurations tried this season, but its a delicate dynamic, sort of scissors paper stone.
Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!
"I don't think that is something to be too worried about.":https://t.co/bEIv9SbAHx#TRFC #ImpsAsOne #EFL
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) October 4, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/1876254169077486
