The second half was very similar to the first in terms of Burton’s approach. Try to hit the big lad long and pick up the bits and pieces. From Lincoln’s point of view, things altered. We looked more comfortable after Michael had a chance to get in the player’s ears. We weren’t dominating possession; we weren’t quite slick and silky, but it is hard to do that when every time you do get past a player, they tug you back and hold on. More yellows followed, but unlike the first half, we began to stand up well.
Within five minutes of the restart, it should have been 1-0 after another excellent chance went begging. Roughan lofted a big free kick in from the attacking right, and Paudie flicked it on. It went over the defence and found Ethan Hamilton six yards out. He let it bounce and went to hook it over the keeper, but in doing so, hooked it over the goal, the stand and (I think) the moon. Like I always say, I’d rather we were missing chances than not getting them, and it was another warning that we were still in the game, with a numerical disadvantage.
Ethan Erhahon in the middle of the park was outstanding, in my opinion, and it was his tenacity that created the goal that won the game. Just four minutes after Hamilton spurned a good chance to give us the lead, Reeco scored one that was barely even a chance at all. Mark Helm tipped the ball forward on the edge of his own area, but instead of getting a break, Erhahon nipped in and stole it. He steadied for a shot, then fed Reeco in on the left. There was so much work to do, but again, he turned Moon inside out, then threaded a shot between him and Brayford. Crocombe got a touch to take the sting out of the shot, but it still nestled in the net.
I’m not saying the goal changed the game, not one bit. We’d looked lively since the restart, and whilst they had more possession, as you’d expect, they never looked like beating Jensen unless it was a lucky bounce in the box. All we had to do now was show the warrior’s mentality, to scrap for everything and make sure that they didn’t pour forward in their search for another goal. We did that; we looked assured and managed the game. I think we began to show a bit of awareness of some of the darker arts; a couple of players went down injured but eventually got back up, but if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right? They were still committing the cynical fouls, and let me say this – if you celebrated Paudie doing it against Exeter, then you’re in no position to criticise Burton yesterday. I didn’t like Paudie’s foul, and I don’t like Burton’s. These cynical pulls to stop a break are becoming more common, and I wonder how long before stopping an opponent from progressing without a legitimate attempt to win the ball becomes a more serious offence. It won’t be deemed so because Burton and Lincoln, or Exeter and Lincoln are affected, but wait until we see a cynical move like it in a World Cup final.
On 64 minutes, Imps supporters finally got to see Ben House back in action. I was surprised to see him get half an hour. I thought from the way Michael was talking, we might see ten minutes here and there, but instead, he came on with a good chunk of the game left. I thought Freddie had a decent game; he fought hard, never got a decision from the referee and had a half-chance effort in the first period, but as soon as Ben came on, our dynamic changed. He was all over the place, chasing people down like a fox in the chicken pen. He snarls his way through games, he gets in player’s faces, and I felt he was doing his best to get one of their booked players sent off. I saw him have a good go at Brayford after a particularly nasty challenge on Erhahon that went unpunished, and eventually it was he who got a card for something he said. It’s mad, isn’t it? We had four yellow cards in the game: two for Mitchell, neither of which was obvious, and one each for House and Sorensen for things they did with the ball out of play.
Ben could have had a dream start as well. One move, which saw Erhahon and Hamilton release Lasse, could have brought a goal. I thought Lasse was back on form yesterday, and the home comms loved him. His delicious ball found House at the back stick, and the xG for that chance was 0.58, more than any of the others I’ve mentioned. He wasn’t able to wrap a foot around it, but it was another nice moment – seeing Ben House missing a chance is better than wishing he was fit and on the field.
They definitely had a penalty shout, a really good one, when Jensen hauled down Ola-Adebomi. It was a half chance for them, a good ball from Kamwa (who looked lively when he came on) that spooned up in the air. Jensen stopped the effort but then appeared to bodyslam the forward as the ball went away. It looked like a good penalty shout, and if it had been the other way around, we’d have been pretty angry. That said, I don’t really feel for them, given their tactics throughout the game.
We got to see Conor McGrandles in an Imps shirt again, something I never thought I’d write a week ago, and he did what he was brought in to do. He came on, showed some composure on the ball and I seem to recall him winning us a free kick. There’s been some negative reaction to Conor’s signing, but you must remember this is a player who was integral to the side that almost got promoted to the Championship. I think his presence in midfield, whether as a sub or from the start, will be huge over the next 16 matches.
We got nine minutes of injury time, nine minutes for them to attack, pour forward, and lay siege to our goal, but it was nine minutes of nothing. Lasse got booked for timewasting; their lad got booked just after slamming the ball in Lasse’s chest. Those yellows kept coming, and I’m not sure what the threshold is for a fine, but I’m pretty sure the FA will be in touch at the Brewers this week, and rightly so.
The whistle went, and within ten minutes, I was in the bar at The Ivy Club, pint in hand, calming down. I’m not sure we needed three points more at any stage this season. We’ve all seen the improvements since our key players have come back, and we’ve made some signings, but those improvements have to be turned into points. Yesterday wasn’t a must-win, but with no victory since November 28 and nothing in ten games, there’s no doubt it was important for morale, for belief in the current regime, and just to give everyone a boost. The red card made a win look less likely, but we dug in superbly, and it almost played into our hands – we could be the plucky underdog again, the wronged party looking to come away with something from a position that promised little. It wasn’t just about the three points but the manner in which we took them.
I’ve spoken to several people about the game, and I’ve had a lot of different Man of the Match opinions. Both Ethan’s have had a shout; Jacko, Lasse, Ted, Sean Roughan and Reeco all feature up there. My choice would have to be Ethan Erhahon – I thought he was excellent throughout, remaining calm on a terrible pitch and in the face of some fairly extreme Burton tactics (which I may have eluded to already). However, the whole team came out of that with their head held high.
Up the Imps
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