I had shaken the feeling by the time the teams came out for the second half, and very quickly I felt we were under pressure. Exeter clearly came out with the wind in their sails and without having anything serious on goal, they looked a danger again. It felt like we needed a goal to get back into it and on 49 minutes we got it.
Some of our throw-ins had been poor, seemingly no movement often meant no options, but a quick throw-in on the left landed at the feet of Haks. His cross was a beauty, curling just right for Tom Hopper, who angled a header up and over Exeter’s keeper, looping into the net. It was no fluke, Tom’s first game as official club captain brought him a league goal at home in the first game of the campaign; last season, his first home league goal came in the last game. It was a nice moment, a quality cross and a nice finish. It also silenced the ‘I don’t know where a goal is coming from’ brigade who had plagued my Dad at half time in the bar.
The goal panicked us, and Exeter had a good chance to go ahead not long after. Paudie O’Connor, who had a quiet debut, blocked an effort on goal, but the Grecians worked it back in for a second effort, which Carl Rushworth saved at the second attempt. It wasn’t desperate as such, but again I felt our lack of pace showed. We looked like a team who are easy to get in behind, and whilst I think we’ll get bodies on the line, that lack of pace might be a concern against teams who want to sit deep and hit us on the break. Time will tell and that was the last decent chance I recall the visitors having.
After that, it felt like it was all Lincoln, and we played some nice stuff. There’s definitely a tempo to the style that wasn’t there last season, we go long more often, and Tom was winning his fair share of headers. Rushworth’s distribution is really good; he’s always wanting to shift it quickly and whilst it didn’t work every time, I do think as the team gels we’ll be more coherent with those quick attacks. There’s no doubt we lacked pace up top at times; Tom’s not the quickest and Scully doesn’t have explosive pace either, but both had solid games. However, if we’ve also got some pacey options, loan players coming in who can offer something different, we’re going to be a good side on the break.
One chance really stuck out in the second half, and it came courtesy of Haks again. It was the sort of chance we didn’t create last season; a long ball from Rushworth was flicked on by Robson and into the feet of Haks. He took his time, shuffled into space and curled a ball into the area, beyond the Exeter defence. Sneaking in behind was Scully and with just the keeper to beat on the angle, he blasted over. He’ll be disappointed not to have hit the target and had it gone between the sticks, I think it’s 2-1 City. Still, it was a chance created, an opportunity, something to get off our feet for. Too many times last season we didn’t have that.
As the game wore on it had a real cup tie feel to it; end-to-end, them always looking dangerous but not creating much, us mixing it up, getting the crowd up and just lacking the final touch. We’re also lacking attacking players, which is why with not long to go, Chris Maguire came on.
This was a huge shock; he’s not been involved in pre-season, but he came on with a few minute to go and was involved in two chances. The first should have been a City goal; a nice more involving a handful of players, Maguire being one, saw Scully in a great position in the six-yard box. He dragged the ball back trying to create space, but a frantic block saw Exeter let off the hook. Shortly after, Maguire strode forward with options left and right, but he smelled a headline and let a ferocious drive off at goal. It missed, but him shooting rather than passing was a given. He’d want the moment to prove his doubters wrong, and to be fair, I don’t begrudge him the effort. Hell, if the transfer window goes the same way as last season (which it won’t) we might just need him!
Andy Haines blew the final whistle not long after, and he’d had a good game in the middle. He booked the right players at the right time, but it wasn’t a tough game to manage. Just a word on offsides though; the assistant referee doesn’t put his flag up until the player has touched the ball and it’s my understanding the free kick occurs where the ball is touched, because it is only at that point a player is offside. That’s just for the hundred or so telling the assistant on our side he didn’t know what he was doing. Word of advice; he probably knows better than you as he studies the rules for his job.
Mark Kennedy earned some easy brownie points by telling the players to clap the fans, as well as giving an honest and engaging post-match interview. I waited outside for Dad as I got out of the ground first, and at least three people passed me and asked if I’d seen what MK did. It’s a novelty to have a manager who seems so invested in the support, and he made sure he echoed that in his post-match interview. Football fans are like cats; you do have to work for their affection, and him telling us he loves the fans, and showing it on the field, will go a long way.
There’s plenty to be positive about and a bit to rectify going forwards. We still looked a bit shakey at the back, even with Poole putting in a great display. I thought Paudie had a quiet start, and Eyoma on the right looked good going forward, but also gave me a few worried moments. On the other flank, I thought Robson grew into the game, and he was involved in a couple of chances after a tough first half. Sorensen was excellent, he’ll keep going like a Land Rover Defender, whatever you throw at him, but he does just need to be a bit stronger in the challenge. Max Sanders did what everyone said he was capable of doing last season, whilst Tashan Oakley-Boothe looks like he needs to adjust to League One as yet.
Up top, Scully tried to do the right things but didn’t get a lot of luck, whilst Haks was the player I thought we’d signed last season, not the one he actually was last season. I felt Hops led the line well; he won his headers, chased lost causes and scored a goal. There’s not a lot more you want from your striker.
We certainly played with more intensity, we pressed when we needed to, we were matching them in the air (something we struggled with last season) and at times we played some nice football. There was far less possession retention in the defensive third, so at times it felt a bit end-to-end, but once we got over the opening twenty minutes I felt we had a good grip in the game. Still, Exeter are a decent side, they’ve got pace and they’re certainly better than Accrington, Doncaster, Cambridge, Gillingham, Hartlepool and even Ipswich were here last season. We lost all of those games, so perhaps something has changed over the summer.
Something will change over the next four weeks as well. Remember, that attack has Charles Vernam to come into it, and with Haks putting in that performance MK has a big decision to make. Ben House is to come back, Charley Kendall will get a chance and Danny Mandriou has to fit in somewhere. This was very much the base-level Lincoln, the starter-pack team that needs some fairy dust adding. My understanding is we’ll be dropping a couple of exciting young Premier League loans in, and there might be a few incomings and outgoing after the Pompey game. This was the bag of crisps without the salt sachet, the bacon sandwich without the brown sauce, Full English breakfast without hash browns and beans. It was acceptable, but there’s plenty more to be added before we have the full meal.
If you need a barometer of how we played today, then I’ll bring you back round to my Dad. We walked out of the ground and down the Sincil Drain as we have done for many years now, and usually we argued. Usually, if we’ve drawn, Dad will have a gripe and I’ll be defending the team, but I didn’t need to. He was buzzing, having seen what he thinks are signs of real change; attacking football, sensible decision making and a team capable of a midtable finish. It’s early days, I’d be a hypocrite if I said you could judge anything after one game because you can’t, but here’s the thing; we all said we’d know more after 5 pm, and it’s after 5 pm. So, what do we know?
We know that players cast aside last season are capable of performing in the league. We know we’re going to give teams a decent game, that we’re going to be committed and that we can score a goal. We know that there is still work to do and that things are changing. We know Exeter fans should not be judged on the play-off semi-final pitch invasion, but instead on how they handled the applause for Picky, and we know that the new era is off to an unbeaten start.
I also know I’m excited to see exactly what the future does hold, because contrary to what some were spouting at half time, it’s not all doom and gloom. Something has changed, and over the next few weeks, we’ll see to what extent.
DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE PLAYERS EVERY WEEK!
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