Skubala On Fast Starts And Why Games At The Bank Aren’t As Open As August

There was no doubting Imps fans got value for money early doors.

3-2 against Plymouth, 2-2 against Wigan, and 2-0 against Reading all had goals. We had red cards, chances, and so much more. However, that has died off a little of late, and recently, we’ve had tight affairs, such as Exeter and Stevenage, more akin to the Kennedy era.

Actually, not that bad, but you get my drift.

In his pre-match press conference this week, Michael Skubala outlined exactly why he felt games had become a lot tighter.

“One (reason) is teams coming in being a lot more defensive than they did at the start of the season,” he told Imps+. “I think probably it’s a respect thing from the opposition, where they bring in different personnel than they probably did at the start of the season, being more physical, bringing in a stiffer team, makes it harder for us.

“Generally, who gets the first goal makes a difference to the context of all things, like stats and how the game moves. So we were scoring the first goal quite often in those stages, and we need to get back to that as much as possible.”

That fast start has been notable in a few games this season, even against Exeter and Stevenage, where we had early chances but didn’t take them. That’s a key strategy we employ, and Michael believes it is something teams have now taken note of.

“That’s been our mantra, give them a Sincil Bank welcome in the first few minutes. You talk to other managers and they say, ‘Let’s just get through the first 15 minutes and work our way into games’.

“That’s where we’ve just got to keep pushing the game.”

Doncaster come to the Bank on a horrible run of form that sees them winless in League One in nine matches, a run stretching back to September 6th, when they beat Bradford City 3-1. Ominously, they also beat the Bantams 3-1 in the EFL Trophy this week.