Views from sedgleyimp after last night’s 4-1 defeat away at Blackburn Rovers in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup: “I thought we played very well in the first half and more than matched a team 2 divisions above us. Their first-half goal was a bit sloppily defended but after that, we grew into the game and deservedly went in level with Luque’s great finish.
Second half it was clear that Rovers had been given a rocket by their manager and increased the tempo noticeably. We struggled to match their running both with the ball and interchanging of passes and to be honest they were more than worth the three goals they got after the break.
For us though a valuable game for a number of players who will have learned a great deal from the match.
Luque looks promising. He is two-footed and has instant control and is not afraid to take his man on. One dribble just before halftime left one Blackburn player look very silly! However, he needs to realise when to do this as him losing possession allowed Rovers to break away for their second goal. A learning curve for him but I was impressed on the whole.
Crookes looked nervous at first and was trying to be too clever in the beginning. He improved as the match progressed and simplified what he was doing so on the whole okay.
Slocombe might need more work especially with his distribution which was very poor. He also seemed to want to punch crosses rather than catch them. He could not be blamed though for any goals conceded.
Overall considering the players omitted from the start the first 45 minutes were very pleasing and we could easily have been ahead at the break. Second half their class prevailed so a fair result. A good learning match though for the players.”
More views from the Match Thread:
Dale1981: “Slocombe did not fill me with confidence. Not very commanding and at times I thought he looked like he couldn’t be bothered. Distribution was not a strong point either. Got a lecture from Rhead (captain) after a poor throw out.
Crookes seemed to get pulled wide too often, particularly in the first half.
Luque looks promising. Some nice touches and great awareness. Took the ball well to set up his goal and anticipated the flick on by Rhead.
Rhead, with the exception of setting up the goal, looked poor. Sluggish, struggled to hold up the ball and to win headers, spending much of the game sitting on his backside waving his arms in the air.
Of course, Blackburn are Championship promotion contenders and remain unbeaten this season. It was always going to be an uphill battle, especially with all the changes but something just didn’t seem to ‘click’ today.”
johnoble: “That was a hard watch. 4-1 flattered us and it could have been a lot more. O’ Connor was the only one to really come out with any credit although Wilson and Shackell were exposed time and time again as we chased shadows for most of the game. First 10 minutes was a shambles defensively with Crookes and Slocombe like rabbits in headlights. I would find it hard to take many positives from the game apart from no one appeared to get injured and confirmation to DC that some of the fringe players are well short of what is needed to compete for a first-team place.”
"I thought we played very well in the first half.":https://t.co/csWau7wmZI#Blackburn #Rovers #ImpsAsOne
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) August 29, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/1835109176525319
