Following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat away at Shrewsbury Town in League One, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they learned from the match.
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Here’s what sedgleyimp said:
1. We can look at the league table for this year and realise how fortunate we have been. I suspect that not everyone will agree with this point and will cite history and say that I am talking rubbish, but I actually think that the points total we are on at present will probably turn out to be enough to secure League 1 football for the fourth consecutive season. I appreciate that we are some way short of the normally accepted target of 50 points as it stands, but you look at the teams below us and the form they are in and I really cannot see the required three teams going on that kind of run which drags other teams back into the mire. Teams below us have only seven games left as a maximum and they will need to be winning four of those to get beyond the points total we currently have. None of those teams have shown that kind of form in the season to date and honestly, I don’t see it happening. But this is why we need to consider how fortunate we have been this season. 42 points will not keep you in this league in anything other than a one in a million season and if we are in a similar position this time next year, we will be in the bottom four.
2. Injuries can destroy the in-game tactics. It has been a ridiculous season for our squad in terms of injuries. Saturday’s game highlighted just what happens when these occur during a game. We were pretty comfortable and probably the better team up to the concussion injury to Jackson. That caused the first disruption to our style. At the start of the second half the game was very even and then Bramall pulled his hamstring whilst in what was a very dangerous position. Another disruption. Bishop was clearly struggling with a knock throughout the second half and had to come off meaning we played with three different right-backs during the game. Again a disruption. It feels almost unprecedented and shows that any team will struggle when they are having to chop and change constantly.
3. Energy levels just cannot drop. Saturday’s game had the feel of an end of season nothing to play for up to the point that their striker had the temerity to have a shot. If the last part of the game had played out as the previous 85 minutes we would all have walked away feeling well it’s a decent point but a very forgettable game and been content with that. But the end of that game shows that we cannot afford to almost sleepwalk through a game as you will get hit by a sucker punch. Too often this season we have lost points which were well within our grasp and often that has been because we have settled for what we have. The away win at Plymouth showed that with that late last push you can get that bit more out of a game and that has to be our attitude for the remainder of this season.
Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!
Have a go at our Lincoln City versus Shrewsbury Town Quizzes, published last season (they were all correct at the time they were published):
Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Lincoln City:
Three Things We Learned:https://t.co/a9oVN6OPWJ#Salop #ImpsAsOne
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) March 29, 2022
