At halftime of this fixture, I was planning my headline already. ‘Lousy Lincoln Lose Again’ or ‘Lacklustre Lincoln Lose Again’ were both work-in-progress titles. I’m glad they’re in the bin.
It’s always annoying when the saying ‘it was a game of two halves’ gets rolled out, but in Buckinghamshire this afternoon, it really was. Two 45 minutes were so contrasting you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching two different sides. We weren’t scintillating in the second period, but we were at a level that fans (I’m sure) will find more acceptable than at any point in December.
There were big calls for Michael Skubala to make before the game, and he made them. We called for two up top, and when you’ve got a pair of strikers with 20 goals between them in December, it makes sense to get them into your side. Joe Taylor and Freddie Draper both started, but 3-5-2 it was not. Instead, we lined up 4-4-2, with Lasse on the right wing, Duffy on the left. Burroughs and Roughan played full-backs, with Mitchell and Jackson in the middle of defence.
We expected change, but 4-4-2? It felt like we were heading back to the nineties when few other formations seemed to exist. Big man, little man up top, crosses into the box, and hopefully, a dominant display from a pair of talented midfielders. As referee Scott Oldham blew his whistle, there was an air of expectation, of hope that a new era was dawning.
I think I’m being fair when I say that really was not the case. An experienced Wycombe side included the likes of Sam Vokes, Gareth McCleary, and Kieran Sadlier, all players who can hurt you. They moved the ball around nicely and created the first chance within minutes of the start. It seemed our players remained in the dressing room.
There was no lack of effort; that would be grossly unfair, but there was a lack of cohesion. Our strategy seemed to be hit Draper with a big ball and hope Taylor could pick up the pieces. While I’m happy to see two prowling up top, and I think we saw the benefits of it later in the game, the approach just didn’t work.
I don’t use this word often, but I see it bandied about on social media a lot – woeful. I can say, hand on heart, that I felt we were woeful in the first half. We just didn’t seem to be able to hit a pass with any confidence. The balls kept going long, and even the little passages of play that suggested we were making progress a month ago were gone. It looked like a team of strangers playing with each other. Couple that with Wycombe turning in a good performance, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Of course, we conceded, and of course, it was the player I recommended we sign in our summer podcast. In truth, the goal was poor, a simple header that looked to be straight at Jensen. That said, it might be harsh to hold him accountable when two Wycombe players work a goal from a simple ball into the box whilst surrounded by five defenders. I had the away comms on, and they were frothing at the mouth after the goal, claiming Adam Jackson could have been sent off for handling it on the line.
The goal didn’t prompt a response, but we did have two efforts at goal in the half. The first should have really been converted, Lasse with a vicious drive straight at their keeper as the ball fell in the area. A speculative Dylan Duffy drive came back off the post, and it would have been nice to see it go in. I thought Dylan had a tough 45 minutes, but a goal would have been a nice shot in the arm. He’s young, and he’s going to be a decent player for us, but when players are fit and back, I suspect he’ll be an impact sub for a while.
Podcast Ben said in one of our group chats he could see what we were trying to do in patches, and I disagreed at the time, but he was probably right. Taylor and Draper didn’t get much, but we did try to get the ball into them. I guess we were hoping to get Taylor in behind, but there wasn’t a lot of space in behind to exploit. We wanted Draper to win a few headers, but this is Wycombe. They might not play like Ainsworth’s side, but the players are largely the same, so there was little joy with big balls through the air. I suspect that getting Taylor in behind might be more fruitful against Derby and Posh, as they’ll be playing football higher up the field.
As we tumbled towards halftime with all the grace of an elephant falling out of a helicopter, I got a massive sinking feeling. I’m always one extreme or the other during a game – it’s either positive or negative, but rarely a balance. In this instance, I strongly suspect a lot of fans will have been the same as me. 12 days since the Blackpool defeat, actual strikers on the field, and bar a couple of chances, we hadn’t looked like getting level. It’s great having strikers on the field, but if the ball doesn’t go into them, they can’t do a great amount.
At the break, I trundled outside to help Fe move a bag of leaves (bulk bag, wet leaves, bloody heavy) and had more fun than I had watching the first half. I even asked if there was another bag we could move whilst the football was on, as I felt it would be more entertaining.
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