One thing is for certain: the Bolton fans were excellent. They were so loud, and much of their support was aimed at their players, not our fans. It’s easy to get drawn into tit-for-tat, and we’ve seen some fans come here and show more interest in the corner of the SW and GBM than anywhere else, but not the 1,700 from Lancashire. No, they were so good, and they made the atmosphere one of the best. From the media position, you get the full blast of the home support, and sometimes, in Upper 3, it feels quiet. We weren’t quiet yesterday, but at times, the Stacey West end drowned out the home support. Fair play, and contrast that with Bradford City, third at the time we played them, booing their players before half-time.
This isn’t a match report; I’ve done that. This is more about analysis. Rather than chance by chance, I really want to express what a gripping game this was. We didn’t have a lot of the ball, but we did cause problems. They had a lot of the ball, but no outright chances that you can say were clear-cut. McAtee and Dalby were okay; I’m not sure they’d get in our side ahead of Freddie Draper, who had another wrestling match contained within 90 minutes of football. He committed the most fouls (three) but was apparently only fouled once.
Moylan was obviously outstanding, but a word on a few others. I thought Varfolomeev outperformed McGrandles this week, which is really saying something. Bradley was so good, perhaps outshining Hamer, which again is not always the case. Tendayi was brilliant going forward and coming back, and Reeco Hackett was a real menace. Hackett is playing with such confidence, and while I purred at Blackett-Taylor and Cissoko, I imagine a few Bolton fans were impressed by Reeco’s constant probing.
I’m going to buck the trend of criticising Erhahon as well. In the first half, sure, he couldn’t stop the cross for our goal, and he tried to stop Moylan and didn’t when he had the chance, but I felt he was able to get on the ball well, lurking in front of the defence as he did for us. We know he’s a good player, booing and so-called “sideways” play aside, and he showed it. He enjoyed his assist, and you can’t blame him on an afternoon where he was the panto villain.
Their goal was so frustrating, but I felt it coming. They made a change and got a bit further up the field, and so we went three at the back. I have no issue with that, but Rob Street was done, and for a period, we couldn’t make the ball stick. Good teams have spells; Bolton had one for 20 minutes in the first half, and they had ten minutes in the second. The goal was a good header from the lad, beating two of our players, but it wasn’t clear-cut as such. In fact, given their xG was 0.93, you might be surprised to find that 0.42 of that came in the 92nd minute, when Dalby prodded wide, and they didn’t get a corner.
Was it deserved? No, and that’s not Lincoln City bias, that’s fact. We should have been home and dry, but we weren’t, and good teams get back into games. Good teams have moments. That said, we’re a good team, and we took a side that create chances, and limited them to scraps. They were still able to feed, but not to their heart’s content, and even into stoppage time, we were still pressing hard. Bonham made a save in injury time from Hackett, proving that we weren’t the same beast as six months ago, curling up and defending for our lives. We could easily have won the game after their goal, and that is where we are now.
We. Are. Good.
After the game, I was chatting to some Bolton fans, and one said he felt we were the best side Bolton had faced in League One. It was pointed out that Birmingham were great last season, but I took it as this season. He said he knew Cardiff were top, but we looked better, and that hit hard. Many moons ago, in 2016/17, I remember writing about us after being asked, “Who are the best side you’ve seen at Sincil Bank this season?” and answering “us”. That was true in 2018/19 as well, maybe not 2020/21 when we got to the play-off final, and not at all since.
This season? It is us. The games against Cardiff, Bradford and Bolton, we have been better than any team I have seen against us. Opposition see it as well, whether we’re likened to Tony Pulis’s Stoke, or Ian Evatt’s Bolton, we’re drawing comparisons with teams that had identity, purpose and a degree of success.
However, the one label that fits best is “Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City” because we do it our way. I think we’re unique in our application, our tactical approach and our unity. Our players are top-end League One, but seven or eight teams probably have “better” on paper, with experience higher up, bigger wages and bigger values. I don’t think any of those sides get the outcomes from their players that Michael and the coaching team get. We take good players and make them the very best versions of themselves they can be, and then add another 10% on top.
That’s why we’re second. That’s why we have a six-point gap. That’s why, when it comes to the automatic promotion race, we’re a team everyone is worrying about catching.
As a postscript, we now have 62 points from 31 games, a ridiculous two points per game average. The last time we challenged at the top of the table, in 2020/21, we had 57 points from the same number of games, having picked up one from a possible nine. The collapse had started back then, but after yesterday’s game, I feel like we’re going from strength to strength.
Keep it up for 15 matches, and next season will be one for the history books.
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