Deji Elerewe has been voted the Stacey West readers’ Man of the Match after Lincoln City beat Bristol City 1-0 at Ashton Gate. It is his fourth award of the season, adding to his successes against Middlesbrough, Derby County and Blackburn Rovers.
Deji topped the ratings with 8.49, finishing ahead of Sonny Bradley on 8.26 as our defenders again earned plenty of recognition. Goalscoring hero Freddie Draper took third with 8.12, followed by Ben House on 8.02 and Ryley Towler on 7.89, with four of the top five breaking the eight-point mark.
Deji Elerewe v Bristol City in numbers
Another clean sheet provided the foundation for another away win, and Deji’s numbers show how heavily involved he was. Across 99 minutes on the right of our defence, he recorded nine interceptions and 17 recoveries, helping us regain possession repeatedly throughout the contest.
Six of those recoveries came in the opposition half, a significant contribution from a centre-back. Alongside his work protecting our goal, that points to his involvement in winning the ball further up the pitch, helping us compete for territory as well as keeping Bristol City out.
He also made four clearances and won six of his nine loose-ball duels. Those second-ball contests were his strongest area in the duel figures, with his ability to collect possession offering a different measure of his contribution from the more straightforward physical challenges.
His overall duel success was below half, with 15 wins from 31 contests, including four from nine in the air and three from seven defensive duels. Those figures do not support a claim that he dominated every battle, but the interceptions and recoveries help explain why readers still rated his performance so highly.
With the ball, Deji completed 19 of his 26 passes, a success rate of 73%, while two of his three long passes found a teammate.
He registered one shot, which was off target and carried an expected goals value of 0.09, while neither his attempted cross nor his attempted dribble was successful. This was an award built principally on his contribution to the clean sheet, with readers placing him just ahead of Bradley.
Deji Elerewe — where he played this match. Brighter areas are where he spent most time; he is attacking left to right.
Readers’ top five
| Position | Player | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deji Elerewe | 8.49 |
| 2 | Sonny Bradley | 8.26 |
| 3 | Freddie Draper | 8.12 |
| 4 | Ben House | 8.02 |
| 5 | Ryley Towler | 7.89 |
Four awards already is a strong endorsement of Deji’s start to the season. This time, his anticipation and ability to recover possession stood out in the data, while another clean sheet and another three points gave us the outcome that mattered most.
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