Lincoln City Man of the Match v Sheffield United: Ben House

Ben House has been named the Stacey West readers’ Man of the Match following our 3-0 defeat against Sheffield United. Ben finished with an average rating of 6.11, narrowly edging out Ryley Towler on 6.07 to take the award.

We had competed well in the opening half-hour, but conceding just before the break and twice early in the second half left us with a familiar feeling of opportunities missed. The ratings reflect that frustration, with our leading two players only just clearing six despite there being some useful individual work to pick out.

Ben House v Sheffield United in numbers

Ben’s 94 minutes produced 56 recorded actions, of which 27 were successful, giving him an overall success rate of 48%. That is a mixed return, and the detail offers a better explanation of his afternoon than the headline percentage alone.

The strongest part of his statistical case comes from his work recovering possession. Ben made eight recoveries, four of them in Sheffield United’s half, and added three interceptions, showing that his contribution extended well beyond what he managed in front of goal.

Those four recoveries in the opposition half are particularly relevant to the way we try to play. Getting the ball back further up the pitch gives us an opportunity to attack from a more promising position, and these figures offer a reason why readers might have valued Ben’s contribution despite the result.

He also contested nine defensive duels, winning four, and came out on top in two of his four loose-ball duels. Taken alongside the recoveries and interceptions, that shows how much of his afternoon involved trying to get us back on the ball, which is a useful part of the assessment for a player operating in attacking and midfield roles.

With the ball, Ben completed 15 of his 17 passes, an accuracy rate of 88%. It was a relatively small passing volume across the game, but finding a teammate with all but two of those attempts was a positive, particularly when other parts of his statistical return were less convincing.

His wider duel record was less convincing, with 11 wins from 29 contests overall, a success rate of 38%. That included three successful offensive duels from nine and two aerial wins from seven, so there were limitations to how often he could retain possession when challenged.

The aerial return of 29% was particularly modest, while winning a third of his offensive duels meant plenty of those battles went Sheffield United’s way. That is where the assessment needs some balance, because the willingness to compete still has to be accompanied by enough successful outcomes to help us keep attacks going.

There were also 13 recorded possession losses, five of them in our own half. His accurate passing sits alongside those losses and the weaker duel numbers, giving us a reminder that a good completion percentage is only one part of how effectively a player uses and retains the ball.

In terms of his own goal threat, Ben registered one shot, which was off target, and finished with an xG of 0.05. That was a limited attacking return, and the statistical case for his award rests more heavily on his contribution to winning possession and using it than on threatening the Sheffield United goal himself.

There is enough there to understand the readers’ choice, especially in his work winning possession, but also enough to understand the relatively modest rating. It was an afternoon of graft with some tidy use of the ball, and one where we would have wanted more from him in the attacking exchanges.

Readers’ top five

Towler was Ben’s closest challenger, with Sonny Bradley taking third on 5.84 and Deji Elerewe fourth on 5.80. Adam Reach completed the top five with 5.58, meaning four defenders followed Ben at the head of the ratings.

Ben’s narrow winning margin suggests there was little to separate him and Towler in the readers’ assessment. His recoveries, interceptions and passing provide a reasonable case for finishing first, while the rest of his numbers help explain why the winning score remained fairly modest.