City eased to a win in their penultimate pre-season friendly against Harrogate Town this afternoon.
While these games are very much a training session with an edge, I wanted to watch for two reasons. One, I like to watch one each pre-season, just for my reference, and two, I wanted to hear the commentary team so I know what I’m letting myself in for next weekend!
Most of the Imps’ new boys got a run out – there was no Walker, Hackett or McGrandles, as we expected, and no place as yet for Dom Jefferies. That meant Bayliss and McKiernan started, with Erhahon holding the midfield. Former Imps Jack Muldoon started, with another of our former men, Simon Weaver, in the opposition dugout.
After last weekend’s goalless draw, commentators John Helm and Alan Long said all they wanted was goals, and they got goals. Four minutes into the game, a long ball from Wickens ended up at the feet of Duffy, who jinxed into a shooting position before finishing with aplomb.
The Sulphurites had barely had time to catch their breath before City made it 2-0. Our new deadball specialist, Tom Bayliss, whipped a free kick into the area. It got nodded down for Roughan, who produced a thumping finish on the volley to give the Imps a two-goal lead.
From there, things did settle down, as you’d expect in a friendly, but there was still plenty for Imps fans to be impressed by. Ethan Erhaon prowled the middle of the park, cutting out passes, whilst I also admired Bayliss’s industry and endeavour. Perhaps the ‘man of the first half’, if there is such a thing, was Duffy, who showed some lovely touches and composure.
For their part, Harrogate stepped tentatively into the game but didn’t trouble ‘debutant’ George Wickens. I say ‘debutant’ with punctuation because I don’t count friendlies as making a proper debut. Still, it was nice to see the big stopper in Imps colours after the false start at Oldham.
It should really have been 3-0 before halftime. Bayliss won the ball and threaded it to Ben House on the right. His cross was in the right area but ahead of Bayliss, who made a return run behind Makama and finally just a little too deep for Darikwa to do much with.
City only made a couple of changes at the break, with Jack Moylan and Freddie Draper introduced, and little changed. There were opportunities for Bayliss, who fired over, and Erhahon, who did the same. The Scot then created a chance for Duffy to poke wide as City pressed for a third.
It is a friendly, so there’s no huge pressure to play well. Harrogate made plenty of changes that upset their rhythm, but the Imps never looked out of control. The game petered out a bit until the 76th minute, when Freddie got on the scoresheet.
It started with a nice bit of work from Darikwa, but Street created the chance, showing some pace down the flnak before crossing. Freddie might be a big prospect for us, but he could have been a ten-year-old and still bagged the easiest of chances.
His joy was shortlived, however, as he was forced off with what looked like an ankle injury, leaving us with ten men for the last six minutes. That didn’t stop us grabbing a fourth, impressive sub Zane Okoro forcing an error, with Rob Street seizing on it and finishing with ease.
It’s a friendly, but I was impressed with some of our patterns and movement. Harrogate barely had a shot on target (if any), meaning Wickens didn’t get much of a touch. Tom Bayliss looked to be real quality, and while I know Jovon has impressed in pre-season, I thought Street and Draper looked good when they came on.
I think there’s another behind-closed-doors game this week against Norwich City before the final preseason game week today against Arsenal Under 21s. I find the schedule interesting and more to my liking. DC liked the big tests, the teams above, to see where his side were. MS has gone for something different: teams below us where we’re expected to have possession and perhaps can test our shape and pattern on the ball.
I liken it a bit to when I used to get the new FIFA game. I’d always start on an easier skill mode and work my way up, learning how to approach games from a winning perspective. The DC approach is more like starting on World Class and seeing where you are from there.
There’s no right or wrong way, but I do prefer this approach, personally. I’d rather watch us against Harrogate and Boston, in control of the ball, than chasing shadows against Blackburn or Norwich. Perhaps this approach is actually a mixture of both, but the bigger tests are behind closed doors, such as Leeds and the Canaries.
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