The second period started with a surprise – Bailey Cadamarteri came on for Jovon. There could have been a couple of reasons, one being Jovon getting a yellow. I’ve watched it back and it’s outrageous that he was booked for the challenge he made – especially when you see challenges that did not get a booking. However, we turned to our depth and gave the Sheff Weds man 45 minutes to show what he could do.
In truth, the second period wasn’t quite the same spectacle as the first. Part of that blame has to lay with Adam Herczeg, the referee. He didn’t make any fundamental errors, like a penalty or a red card, but he was far too fussy and inconsistent. There were as many fouls yesterday (38) as there were against Stevenage earlier in the season, in a game that had little malice. He booked three of ours and only one of theirs, despite there being some 100% nailed-on bookings among their fouls (one pull back and one wild lunge standing out). That said, watching some of the fouls back, he gave us some really soft ones as well. It spoiled the second half. Herczeg, to me, feels like an accident waiting to happen, and I suspect at some point in the future he’ll be involved in a Lincoln game and I’ll come away spitting feathers, rather than just lightly moaning and moving on.
Move on I shall, and in fairness to Cambridge, for the first 15 minutes or so, they put up a decent show. They’re not great in and around the area, but on another day, they’d level on the hour mark. A big ball into the box and a bit of a scramble saw Michael Morrison poke a decent effort at Wickens, and while our returning stopper didn’t have a lot to do, he made a vital save that may have slipped under the radar a little.
After a challenging second period that lacked any stand out quality, we got a moment of stand out quality. If you’re a nerd, you’ll give Sean Roughan (back on form after a hiccup last week) a second assist. He plays across the back to Jacko, who channels his inner Montsma to ping a fifty-yard ball to Cadamarteri. The young striker finally got off the mark, bringing the ball down superbly on his chest to destroy his defender, before finishing with aplomb. It was a super finish, but a vital goal as well. One little slip could have seen a routine win turn to an unjust draw, but the striker’s finish killed the game off.
It really did, because after that, Cambridge looked defeated. In fairness, they’d rallied a bit in the second period, looked a marginally better side, but Cadamarteri’s strike finished things. After that, we did threaten to bag a couple more – Tom Bayliss had an impressive cameo, firing over after a lovely move started by Roughan and heavily involving Paudie. They were moments of quality in a game we never really looked like losing, but I’d say ‘rare’ moments of quality. That’s not a slur on us, but it was all the game allowed, especially in the second period when the game got messy.
In the end, a potential banana skin, the type of game we always lose, was won at a canter. Cambridge had some half chances, but a total xG of 0.61 suggests they were no more than that. Ours was 1.94, suggesting a 2-0 scoreline was more or less right, and it would be hard to argue. There’s a suggestion online we barely got out of second gear, but that’s not true – even against a struggling side you have to be on it to win at this level, and we were. It wasn’t quite as attritional as some of our recent matches, but we still dug in deep when it mattered. Our success, indeed all teams successes, is built on a foundation of solid defending and a robust spine, two things we absolutely have in abundance at Lincoln City right now.
Up top, we may lack a little experience, but we have a vigour and energy that comes with youth. Whatever people say about some of our finishing at times, we had three young players on display yesterday, Makama, Draper and Cadamarteri that play without fear, without burden and with absolute confidence. To see two starting on the bench, coming on, and scoring was a massive boost for supporters, and to see two well-crafted goals from open play hopefully allay these fears that we don’t have enough across the squad to maintain a top-six push.
I’m beginning to wonder if we do. Games against Birmingham City, Wrexham and Blackpool are coming up, three of the current top four. Let me tell you this – four or five points from those three matches would have me firmly believing we can carve out a top-six finish. It’s not one win that is making me think that, it’s the depth in the squad, the resilience of the players to go 13 unbeaten away from home and our tactical flexibility.
Slowly, we’re beginning to look like genuine promotion contenders, and by the time the clocks go back, given the tests on the horizon, we’ll know for sure. Still, whatever happens, the record books have been altered this weekend, and I suspect it will be a very long time before a Lincoln City side manages the same feat again.
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