We were out of the blocks with real intensity and level within a minute. It was a nice goal as well, a lovely little move in front of the Coop Stand (is it still the Coop? I can’t recall), a triangle of passes which saw Ben House come away and play in Danny Mandroiu. He did well to hold off the defender and slip the ball past their keeper to level the scores. It came from nowhere – we hadn’t looked like a massive threat in the first half, and yet we’d got back on level terms. In fairness to Mandroiu, his second in as many games was a lovely composed finish under pressure. We’ve waited to see what he can do for a while and he’s beginning to look like a real asset in attacking spaces.
That set a nice scene for a really entertaining second period. I did feel it was tarnished somewhat by the referee, who had a fussy afternoon. He seemed very inconsistent, did Alan Young. One two moments summed it up for me perfectly. In one, Paudie O’Connor tried to shield the ball but went down really easily on the attacking left for the Owls – Young gave them a free kick. I don’t have a massive problem with that, but not long after, on our attacking left, Diamond (I think) got the better of Ben Heneghan, who went down injured, and Young gave the free kick the other way. It seems odd that for two almost identical challenges, the outcome went the same way. Heneghan did have to go off, something you never like to see, but it wasn’t a foul that led to it. Young was just too fussy for me, handing out yellow cards to us but not punishing the same fouls the other way. He’s not a referee I’ll look forward to seeing here again.
He didn’t have any really big calls to make, though, in what was a quite engrossing second half. I’m not under any illusion that Wednesday were the better team in possession – Bannan should have scored not long after we levelled, but O’Connor cleared off the line. The blue wave kept coming, as not did last week, but again they couldn’t get anything really clear-cut. It’s telling that in two matches against Ipswich and Sheff Weds, we’ve conceded 50 shots but just six on target, three in each game. How many did we have on target yesterday? Three, the same as our visitors. There’s no doubt they played better football and were more creative in possession, but the outcomes were pretty much the same.
I thought there were some huge performances in the second half. I keep talking about Sean Roughan, he just doesn’t look like a teenager in his performances. I thought all the back five were excellent, whilst both Virtue and Sanders grafted hard in the second period. I really like Matty Virtue; he’s becoming a real asset to us and is settling quickly. There’s a consistency about the team, not just him, but across the squad. We look comfortable with each other out of possession, there are far fewer gaps to exploit. I remember Exeter, those opening ten minutes or so, where there were huge gaps between the back four and the midfield, and I feared for games like this. Over the last 18 games, we’ve definitely evolved into a more compact, organised unit, knowing each other’s game, and it shows.
The Owls did have a good go at winning it, making a raft of subs and switching formation late on, but it’s as if the goal gave us belief we weren’t to be beaten. I keep saying ‘last season’, but last season conceding a goal made us look frail, as if we knew then we were beaten. In recent weeks, scoring a goal has had the opposite effect, and as the clock wound down, I didn’t have many heart-in-mouth moments. It was more exciting than Charlton, but the end result was still the same.
I think there’s an important thing to consider here, something that might get lost in the fifth home draw of six. Lincoln City are not easy to beat, and the recent results are, in my opinion, far better than they might look to an outsider. Charlton are a big club; clean sheet and a point. Ipswich were second; three points and a clean sheet. Sheff Weds were third and took an early lead in front of a big backing, and yet we still got a point. Also, it wasn’t backs-to-the-wall at the end; we didn’t look like we were hanging on. In truth, one or two moments made me think we might even snatch a winner.
We didn’t, neither did Sheff Weds and ultimately, I think both sets of fans were probably happy with a draw. I know Imps fans were – usually, people begin to stream out on 89 minutes, and by the time the boards go up, there are plenty of empty seats, but I noted that very few people did that in the dying moments. It might have been because they thought we’d score, or the visitors might, but I like to think it was an appreciation thing. I’d hope it was because they wanted to give the team the applause they deserved for a robust and organised performance full of character, from Carl Rushworth right through to Ben House.
On another note, some people were critical that we didn’t see ‘fresh legs’ in the final 20 minutes or so, especially when TJ began to flag. He looked knackered on 75 minutes and struggled to get back, but there wasn’t a change. I’m sure some would have said bring such and such on, put Regan at right back etc, but why would we do that? We weren’t getting exposed, the team was working well as a unit, why upset that? If we’d been losing 2-1 or winning, I could see the point. The only issue with it is Tuesday – we have to go to Barnsley, and it might have been nice to give a couple of players 20 minutes off. That said, Garrick and Sorensen, to name but two, could drop into the side and be completely fresh, and I guess it was worth making sure this point snuck into the bag before worrying about the Tykes.
That was that, a good solid point against another of League One’s big hitters. We might be 15th, but it feels like we’ve almost passed the incredibly tough-looking October test. There’s another massive exam of our credentials coming soon, with Port Vale and Accrington to play in a week after Barnsley. It’s clear to me we know how to nullify bigger teams, and how to play on the break and get decent results, but can we play differently against teams who will be wanting us to attack them? Accrington will come here as a robust side looking for a point. Can we break them down and get our creative players on the ball in key areas? I know we have Barnsley coming up, but for me, that’s the next big question that needs answering.
Especially now I feel that Mark and the coaching team have answered the tough questions posed by a horrible-looking October period, whatever the outcome on Tuesday.
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