“They were never going to beat Liverpool playing ‘football’ but tonight wasn’t about that.”

Views from hulloutpost following tonight’s 7-2 defeat at home against Liverpool in the Third Round of the League Cup: “I reckon MA gave our players an overview of what he wanted tonight and then gave them their heads to play with freedom within that. From his team selection to the way we played suggests to me that it was all about showing the players where they are at. They were never going to beat Liverpool playing ‘football’ but tonight wasn’t about that. Credit where due for having the courage and nous in terms of development to see the bigger picture and not be afraid to take the beating.

He could have played all of the older players and just sat in to keep it to a three or four-nil but what exactly would that have achieved.

Instead, he will get the players to reflect on what they did/didn’t do well. They will take great confidence from some of the attacking play and MA now knows they have been exposed to the best and will be keenly looking at how they learn defensively particularly in the area of decision making. Those that can’t step up and keep making the same mistakes will be quietly moved on in time, those that can learn will thrive from this.

The players have been deliberately exposed to ‘aversion therapy’ in the safe setting of a league cup tie and I can only see that being of great benefit in the league.

The highlight for me was seeing 5 Imps charging forward, fresh as daisies in the 87th minute playing the game, not the scoreline. The players appear to have thoroughly bought into the MA ethos and there will be no loss of confidence from taking that beating.”

Did you watch the match tonight? Don’t forget to Rate The Players, Vote For Your Man of The Match and Rate The Ref!

More views from the Match Thread:

Merthyr Imp: “Just a few thoughts from me.

Three of their goals were preventable, but they were just too good for us with the strikes for the others.

Apart from the omission of Morton, who I assume is the player Appleton was referring to when he said yesterday there was one unlikely to be fit, I think the team selection was done with an eye on next Sunday’s game. We did have our third choice right-back playing, and, in Eyoma, a third choice centre back. Also, our third choice centre forward.

For the last ten minutes of the game, it almost looked as if both sides had settled for it to finish 6-2 until Palmer let in the seventh goal in disappointing fashion.

We were well worth two goals and maybe should have had at least three.

I think all the corners in the first half were played short – I wondered if we weren’t putting them in the box because we assumed Van Dijk would head them all away. After he’d gone off we did put them in the box, resulting in a goal – but disappointingly messed up when trying to repeat the routine.

Losing the second half 3-2 was at least a significant improvement on losing the first half 4-0.”

Croozey: “A massive gulf in class between the 2 teams tonight. The higher you go in the game, the harder they hit the ball. 25-30 yard shots hit with venom, you can’t defend against and our keeper didn’t get near to saving. That’s what killed us in the first half. But aside from that, most of the time it looked like we were playing uphill and Liverpool had the wind behind them.

Much better in the second half, we played some fast one-touch football and to be fair we did break through a few times. Taking Van Dyke off evened it out a bit.

Going forward, we have an unsettled back 4. I would like to see us settle down over the next few weeks with a proper right-back- Aaron Lewis when fit. Eyoma did ok tonight at centre back, – I prefer him in that position.

Midfield and upfront we aren’t too bad. There are still 2 weeks left of the transfer window, we’ve had a dream start to the season, we’ve put some money in the war chest from tonight’s game. Lots to be positive about.”

If you haven’t already had a go at our quizzes, this is a great way to learn some random information about the Football Club, as well as helping us generate much-needed page views: Quiz No.1, Quiz No.2, Quiz No.3, Quiz No.4, Quiz No.5, Quiz No.6, Quiz No.7, Quiz No.8, Quiz No.9, Quiz No.10, Quiz No.11, Quiz No.12, Quiz No.13, Quiz No.14, Quiz No.15, Quiz No.16, Quiz No.17, Quiz No.18, Quiz No.19, Quiz No.20, Quiz No.21, Quiz No.22, Quiz No.23, Quiz No.24, Quiz No.25, Quiz No.26, Quiz No.27, Quiz No.28, Quiz No.29 and Quiz No.30.

"They were never going to beat Liverpool playing 'football' but tonight wasn't about that."https://t.co/gekLqRAmIM#ImpsAsOne #LFC #LiverpoolFC pic.twitter.com/cc24XdUqwY

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln1) September 24, 2020

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