Lincoln City have received a seal of approval from the Not the Top 20 podcast after a solid start to the season.
NTT20 is one of the best EFL podcasts out there, and this week, they were discussing both our game against Southampton and our general progress early in the season.
George Elek, an Oxford fan who saw the challenges clubs of our size face first-hand, was complimentary of our performance against the Saints, despite drawing 1-1.
“Lincoln were by far the better team in the first half,” said George.
“They had loads of chances to score but couldn’t take any of them. Wellington then put Southampton 1-0 up with a sumptuous strike from 30 yards into the top-right corner.
“But Lincoln carried on making the running. I was really impressed with them. Having said that, Scienza went as close as you can go to scoring, whipping the ball from the left-hand side, hitting the inside of one post and then the inside of the other before it rolled out.
“It was new signing Mikkel Ladefoged who headed home from a nice cross from Hackett on the left-hand side. Lincoln got what they deserved from this one.
“Saints probably came away thinking Lincoln were better than they thought they were and, despite conceding late, were probably quite happy with the point.”
While that is a fair assessment of the game, Ali Maxwell elaborated on our general performances a little later. Ali was a guest on our show earlier i n the year, where he outlined a few elements City might need to build on with the step up.
Some of those questions have, five games in, been answered in his opinion, although there are 41 to go before we can start back-slapping.
“Lincoln have five points from five games and, to be confirmed, it has mostly been positive,” added Ali.
“Two of the big questions for me were whether Lincoln would be able to create chances in the Championship with their style of play. So far, I’d say they can.
“Are they able to have solid spells defensively? Yes, I think so. They struggled a little bit in the first few games, but they’ve only conceded one goal in their last three and it was from 30 yards.
“You have to be pretty impressed with them.”
I think we’re all impressed with how the Imps have done, but it is nice to see that being recognised by impartial and informed observers in the industry. Of course, there is a long way to go, and five points from five games would equate to 46 points, which is usually relegation form, but even that can’t temper the slightly positive vibe around the pace right now.
We knew we’d be in a battle, and it seems we’ve turned up with swords and shields ready, and battle tactics Napoleon would be proud of.
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