In the stands, it felt a lot like January last night. It was cold (which, believe me, Dad made sure he mentioned every minute or two throughout the evening), the Imps huffed and puffed but didn’t get far, and we were beaten by a team who, on the first half showing at least, should have been dead, buried and had grass growing over their grave by half time.
In Burton, I saw two teams. In the first half, I genuinely thought they were among the poorest sides we’ve seen this season, big boot up top, nothing on the ground at all, and occasionally, susceptible at the back. In the second half, they looked good, playing some decent football in patches. Mark Helm looked like a real player, and it didn’t come as a huge surprise when, despite us having more possession and more shots, they got a winner. It was a case of us trying, with little actual outcome, and then being done by a sucker punch.
Ah, it could almost be the winter of 2022 again. It’s grounding in a way, like a cold shower after a night out. it reminds you where you are and stops idiots like me from getting carried away. Sobering, which I might need again this weekend.
Before the game, the fan zone was busy, which I imagine won’t be the case for the ludicrous Sunday early kick-off for the final game. My only hope is that there will be nice weather for a few drinks in the sun afterward. There wasn’t a lot of sun in behind the ground, though, the icy winds reminding us that May might be around the corner, but there are still remnants of a colder, slightly more miserable time hanging around.
Anyway, the game.
I thought we started really well. We looked to play some nice football, and certainly had the bulk of the possession, and whilst Burton were organised, I felt we’d eventually get the breakthrough. Those first ten minutes saw three half-chances for the Imps, with Ben House getting the first from Poole’s ball down the channel. He shot straight at Craig MacGillivray, in what would be our only shot on target. Shodipo, who I thought had a good first half, couldn’t get the ball out of his feet a few minutes later but did get a shot away, whilst Dylan Duffy, again showing some real flashes of talent, almost squeezed one in through a crowd on players on 11 minutes.
At that point, it felt to me like we’d go on and win by two or three. We had complete control, Burton couldn’t get near our goal, and whilst it wasn’t pretty all the time, every ingredient of the last couple of weeks was there. Nice football? In patches, yes. Raking crossfield balls stretching play? Yep, with Max Sanders playing a few. Lasse and Harry Boyes were getting down the flanks, and whilst we weren’t able to create a host of chances, we never once looked like conceding.
The one thing that was a little concerning was the strength of the Burton side. They’re good in the air, great at winning headers, and Dino Maamria has created a side that looks very much like others he’s been involved with. Whilst the usual suspects, Paudie in particular, won most of their headers elsewhere on the pitch, we weren’t having a lot of joy. We won just 42% of our aerial duels, and only three players won 50% or above. Shout out to second half sub Sean Roughan – he won all six of his aerial duels.
Despite that, the only moment of danger in the entire half came from a free kick from Powell, which ricocheted off the wall. The resulting corner saw Sam Hughes head at goal, only for Rushworth to stop with ease. Powell and Hughes are both players we’ve been linked with over the past six years or so, and I like both. They’re solid League One footballers and whilst their value to us right now would be debatable, had history been different, they could easily be stalwarts of our team right now.
The first half did eventually peter out, but at half time I really felt we’d seen a half-decent performance. Burton looked like they already felt safe, and we were ok. I thought Duffy showed some good touches but drifted in and out of the game, but he wasn’t the only one. Ben House looked like a player coming back from injury, albeit only two matches, and as the half wore on we did seem to go a bit longer. Bear in mind the injuries we’re carrying, I still felt we looked decent. Some of our play is really nice; it’s developing well, and I didn’t feel worried about the final outcome at all.
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