Wigan Athletic (a): Three Things We Learned

Following Tuesday night’s 2-1 win away at Wigan Athletic 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. There is a fight and feistiness about this team. In some games this season there have been views that our team can be bullied out of the match. Questions were asked of certain players, specifically those in the centre of midfield as to whether they had the required combativeness to really succeed in this league. We got our answer tonight. Everyone was willing to stand face to face with Wigan and we saw some juicy but fair challenges tonight. One tackle by Poole on Darwika (I think) was shuddering and set the tone. Sorensen and McGrandles put themselves about and imposed their game on the centre of the pitch.

2. 4-2-3-1 is the way forward. We need that focal point to make our tactics work. We have missed Hopper this season and have tried with players not best suited to leading the line whilst we have persisted with the 4-3-3 formation. This has led to whoever was given that role often was either isolated or drifted to others parts of the pitch to try and get involved. Tonight we tweaked it and we had Maguire in the hole with a clear instruction that he could have the freedom to move around the pitch and Wigan struggled to deal with that. We still arguably had Bishop and Fiorini playing in roles they are not quite suited for, but both played well and Bishop in particular was able to move inside and run at them. I would be disappointed if we don’t persist with this formation now. It works so much better.

3. Players do get written off too early when results aren’t quite going the teams way. Dan Nlundulu has been the target of some criticism in his short time with us, yet tonight you could see what the hype is about. Yes he probably should have scored a second goal tonight, and if the defender hadn’t tried to swap shirts with him he may well have done, but overall tonight was the match where his qualities came to the fore. You can also say the same about Lasse Sorensen, Jamie Robson and TJ Eyoma. All new signings who have all had their signings questioned. It does show that new players need that little bit of time to settle. Keep the faith with them and the team who bring them into the club.

And here’s what Chimpimp said:

1. We might have a found a better solution to covering Tom Hopper’s absence.

I for one didn’t think we should start with Nlundulu. Not because we didn’t need a “proper” centre-forward but because Nlundulu hadn’t quite shown he was capable quite yet to do the job needed.

The Morecambe game was only a couple of weeks ago and he was not the answer then.

So credit to the coaching staff and the player himself for working out how to turn that round.

It will be interesting to see if he can be the answer for a run of games. It certainly would be a major step forward if he can.

2. The advantages of a young side were on show against Wigan. In the fourth game in 10 days we started quickly and produced an excellent high energy performance. We have a high number of players that pick up injuries but not many that aren’t extremely fit. However, on top of energy, young teams have plenty of scope for improvement and you can see the level of a number of players rising. Fiorini was more effective and combative without the ball and quietly had one of his best games and Sorensen, Robson, and Eyoma among others are also on an upward trajectory.

3. We have signed some good players in the summer. We are still missing a couple of pieces of the jigsaw but anyone who doesn’t think Bishop or Maguire are highly accomplished players haven’t been watching very closely.

Have a go at our Lincoln City versus Wigan Athletic Quizzes, published last season (they were all correct at the time they were published):

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