Michael Skubala admitted he was frustrated not to come away with three points against Bolton Wanderers yesterday, after a near complete performance by City.
Yet another team came to the Bank ‘knowing’ what we were about, but instead of scoring from a big ball or set piece, we created a smart open play goal, and hit the bar with another. The Imps dominated much of the game, with 20 shots to the visitor’s eight, ten on target to Bolton’s two. The Wyscout xG model had City on 3.44, our highest since beating Crawley Town in March last year, but only one stat counts.
Performance is also important, and while the points were shared, the Imps’ head coach was happy with how the side played on a loud afternoon at the Bank.
“If we keep performing like that we’ll pick up loads more points,” he said after the game. “When you look at the whole game, even though it’s a draw, it’s probably one of our best performances of the season.
“Someone was saying to me just before I came in that it was 22 shots for us against their 10, and to do that against Bolton is very impressive. The lads are working so hard and we just couldn’t quite get that second one over the line.
“Their keeper made some good saves and made it very difficult for us, then they get one moment near the end that hurts us. It feels deflating, but it’s a good point against a very good team.”
City were dominant in the first 15 minutes, hitting the bar early doors and creating plenty of chances, and nobody could have complained had we been two or three up by the time they got their goal. Still, Michael said he plans to review the performance to see if there is anything more the team could have done to secure the three points.
“We’ll reflect on it and review it like we always do, go through our processes. I think sometimes when you’re one nil up, teams can take risks.
“I thought their subs changed the game, they got higher and started landing on bits. It’s no surprise that when it went to one all the dynamic changed, because all of a sudden they don’t have to risk as much. That’s the beauty of football.
“We’re frustrated we didn’t win it because we created a lot of chances before that.”
The result leaves the Imps six points clear of them with a game in hand, so a point was certainly of more use to use than to the Trotters. It’s also a reflection of how things have switched this season, with us scoring early but offering next to nothing at their place earlier in the campaign. On that occasion, we had five shots, three on target, to their 18, six on target, and xG was 2.07 for them and 0.42 for us.
So many stats, but ultimately two draws that both sides will probably see as a fair return across the two matches.
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