Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Lincoln City: Three Things We Learnt

Following the 1-1 draw versus Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park in League One, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they learnt from the match.

Who was your Man of The Match versus Wycombe Wanderers? You can now vote for which of the six you believe was The Imps Man of The Match in the poll at the bottom! A screenshot of the poll will be taken at 17:17 tomorrow!

Here’s what sedgleyimp said:

1. We have options now that can change games. The strength of the bench was noticeable against Wycombe. There was a variety of players on there who can, and indeed showed, that they can change how we set up and how we can get back into games. The introductions of Ted Bishop and Reeco Hackett made us a more exciting team going forward and chances were made and one eventually taken. We’ve gone from a team with barely any attacking players to one with so many options that good players will be missing out on the match day eighteen purely to maintain the balance on that match squad. The introductions of Taylor and Moylan coupled with the returns of Draper and Hackett have made us a better team. Consider that Mandroiu will have to force his way back into the match-day squad as well. It may take a couple of games to gel, but if the last twenty minutes is anything to go by, the potential for excitement is there. I would say though that it is unrealistic to expect any team to play as we did in that closing period for the full ninety minutes as some on social media are now expecting!!

2. Training is all well and good but you need matches to hone tactics. We had the best part of two weeks’ rest before the game at Wycombe. Time has been spent on the training ground, but that time was also needed for recovery. Some might suggest that the players should have been in every day being ‘beasted’ during those two weeks, but that isn’t how training is in modern football and you could see the benefits of rest towards the end of the game when we were literally all over the opposition. So tactics and formations would have been worked on, but with the best will in the world, you don’t know how those tactics will work until you have serious opponents to play against. How we initially set up wasn’t working, but it was identified and changes were made. Players and management would have learned much from this match.

3. Reeco Hackett has been sorely missed. Football can be a simple game. We have a talented left winger who when he came on in the second half was played wide left with the instruction of getting it onto your left foot and get the ball in the box. There was none of this playing as an inverted forward on the opposite side. Having two strikers in and around the box for such delivery will lead to chances. If Reeco had been available to Skubala before yesterday this tactic I’m certain would have been deployed virtually from his debut match at Stevenage. It leads to chances. It allows other players to get into positions to score. It allows for secondary balls to fall to us rather than the opposition because defenders are often straining or stretching to defend a ball rather than being able to attack a cross that is bent in from the inverted side. The return of Hackett is the big plus from this game.

Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!

Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Lincoln City: Three Things We Learnt:https://t.co/UDQsyLyWpm#Chairboys #WeAreImps

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) January 14, 2024