My hot take at half time was that City would play out a dour second half, both teams would have been warned by their managers to keep cool heads, and we’d barely see a shot on target. Vale were clearly hoping to press on, making three subs, bringing on Rory Holden, Sammy Robinson and Ellis Harrison. Robinson was the man who proved me wrong pretty much straight away – he picked up a yellow card for climbing over House almost immediately. There was clearly needle in the game, neither team appeared to have softened their approach, and the scene was set.
I’ve criticised Mandroiu’s free-kicks this season, so it stands to reason he’d hit the post with the resulting dead ball. He picked up the next booking of the game as well as we pressed for the winner early doors, sliding in wildly after the ball had gone in the area. It was just end-to-end, not in the traditional ‘chance after chance’ manner, but in that there was lots of space and both teams were eager to use it. Jordan Wright was certainly called into action, and for every goal I felt we might score, there was a moment I felt we could concede.
The yellows kept coming. Matty Taylor picked one up, which was almost a given as it’s what he does. I really like and dislike Taylor in equal measure. As an opponent, he’s like dog mess on your shoe – he stinks, you can’t stand the sight of him, and he’s everywhere. But, as a centre-forward, he’s what you want – he’s an irritant, he gets under the skin and winds players up. Mind you, it was the first time in a while he lined up against us, and I’ve thought I genuinely wouldn’t swap our striker for him. Fair play Ben House.
Paudie went into the book as well, and I thought he might actually be lucky. He steamed into the back of sub Holden, but it just looked to me like he might have led a bit with his elbow. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t the only one doing it, but by this point, you never quite knew what the referee would see, or not see. He spotted some shirt pulls, but not others. Whenever he reached for his pocket you felt anything could come out – yellow, red, even a white hanky at one point. Maybe it’s just me, but there were occasions when I wondered if he just wanted to give up and bugger off for the afternoon. I wished he had when it appeared Mandroiu had be fouled in the area – around me some felt we should have had a penalty. I didn’t until I saw the picture below. Still, with the Rock Lottery, you roll the dice and see if your number comes up – it didn’t on this occasion.
It was intense, and I’m recounting what I remember and may not even have it in order. Butterworth was booked to the cheers of the home support, but they turned to jeers when a 100% penalty on Poole was ignored. His shirt was being pulled up so far I could see his chest, and neither the assistant on our side nor the ref were bothered. In my opinion, that was more of a penalty than the one he gave them. Poole caused havoc at the back post and had a great chance from a teasing cross that he nodded over. Sammy Robinson, a man Mark Kennedy said he coached at Man City, had a great chance at the other end, but blazed over.
For a moment, I pondered on whether I’d rather have this every week, end-to-end, unpredictable refs and genuine excitement, or the stoic draws of earlier in the campaign. The answer is obvious – my heart can’t stand either. Today, I got two warnings from my watch to calm down. Against Cambridge, Charlton, and Accrington (delete as applicable), my watch vibrated just to keep checking I was alive and hadn’t been bored to death. Somewhere in the middle? Yeah, that might be best for my health.
We got to within ten minutes of the final whistle before Mr Rock was in his pocket again, but he didn’t really have a choice. Dylan Duffy came on for a home debut and instantly started causing issues, looking lively on the flank. He looked to get past Robinson and clattered into, prompting the official to once again pull out the red card, which had been exposed to so much sunlight it must almost have faded to pink this evening. It meant after being a man down on 30 minutes, with ten remaining, we were a man to the good and there was even more space to explore. Mind you, Port Vale found some of it, resulting in yet another yellow, Harry Boyes preventing a break and taking one for the team, as it were.
We explored the space as well. Adam Jackson headed a good chance over, and I wondered if it might not be our day. Then Lasse Sorensen, playing central midfield for much of the game, turned provider in part with a ball to Duffy. He had Boyes overlapping but instead whipped in a pinpoint cross for Jackson, who headed the ball into the back of the net. From 2-1 down and a man fewer, City were 3-2 up and a man to the good. In the stands, it felt like there might be more to come. Such was the unpredictable nature of the referee, and in fairness, the threat Vale posed, I never quite felt comfortable.
It all got a bit too much for one Port Vale fan – she burst through the barriers in the away end and rushed to confront one of our supporters. I didn’t see what happened properly, but it was standard for this game. It was going off on the field with the ref, so why not throw a bit of drama into the stands as well, right?
I’ll be honest, I liked Vale today. Not that I ever truly ‘like’ an opposition, but they looked like a decent side, they’ve got a bit of depth in Taylor, Harrison and Wilson, and they played football the right way. There were three red cards in the game, but they never felt like a Bolton to me, a bunch of dirty dark-art divas, they were committed and probably suffered as much from the referee as we did. I heard Daaryll Clarke after the game say he was going to speak to the referee, but he had as much to be thankful for as we did.
There were other chances for us – Duffy’s vicious strike tested the palms of the keeper with Plange in a really good position, but the youngster can be happy with his cameo today. We had six minutes of added time, not quite topping the seven minutes from the first half, but still ensuring we were in the ground past 5. It was worth staying because the cheer that greeted the final whistle was music to my ears. Three wins on the spin, and moving towards 60 points which will be a respectable haul for Mark’s first season in the dugout.
It’s always easy to be positive after a win, but I feel there’s been a breakthrough of late. Some of our football has been superb recently, we’ve shown some lovely passages of play, and House, Shodipo and Mandroiu, in particular, have linked up well. Lasse has been a revelation, and there’s not a Lincoln City fan on the planet who won’t be delighted with that. I said not 11 days ago I didn’t like him at right wing back, but the more he plays there, the more he proves me wrong. He certainly puts a shift in and would have probably been my shout for Man of the Match today. Danny Mandroiu must be close; his poise and accuracy has begun to seep through once again, and he’s going to be huge for us next season. I really like Shodipo as well – I said as much after Derby and whilst he hadn’t managed to show what he could do consistently, the last couple of games have showcased his talents. He worked tirelessly throughout against a decent Vale defence, and looked comfortable on the ball.
I won’t go on about Erhahon. I should, but you’ll eventually accuse me of being obsessed. I won’t go on about Paudie either. He’s my Player of the Season, and he showed why today. I will go on about Harry Boyes – it’s not three weeks since I said his loan had been a failure, but he’s seized his chance with aplomb. Right now, if you offered me him and Shodipo next season, I’d take it and run off home. Throw in Adam Jackson penning the deal it sounds like he has been offered, and I’d feel better about the inevitable move for Regan Poole, who will grace the Championship with far more success than many of our players who have made the step-up.
2500 words, and I’ve said nothing about what the game means in the grand scheme of things. Why? Because it means nothing. We’re safe, we’re equidistance from the top six, and the bottom four and neither will feature our name nor have either truly looked like luring us in since Christmas. We are middle of the road, we are established in League One, we are developing and yet, with just five matches left, we’re going to undergo change. Next season, Rushworth and Poole won’t be with us, the loan players may not be, and there will be new faces. However, despite having played some huge matches at the Bank, and gotten some really good results, this one, the only Saturday dead-rubber we will play all season, will stand out. For me, it showed some of the characteristics we need to show next season – staunch defending, which we’ve done all almost campaign, but also attacking intent, personal flair, control and restraint and an ability to score good team goals from open play.
I’ve liked what I’ve seen over the past three games; it feels like it might just be a glimpse into 2023/24, a continuation of the good work we’ve already put in. Is Mark Kennedy era chapter two really going to be as exciting as today? Hopefully, not all the time, but it’s nice to have come away from the ground feeling so entertained, and still pocketing three points in the process.
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