Lincoln City Man of the Match v Millwall: Andrei Coubis

Andrei Coubis has been voted the Stacey West readers’ Man of the Match following our 2-2 draw at Millwall. The defender finished with an average rating of 8.19 after contributing a goal and plenty of defensive work at The Den.

Freddie Draper took second place with 7.81, leaving Andrei 0.38 clear at the top, while Ivan Varfolomeev completed the leading three on 7.49. Yunus Konak, with 7.17, and Sonny Bradley, with 7.09, rounded out the readers’ top five.

There was frustration at coming away with a point given how the game unfolded, but Andrei gave us plenty to appreciate at both ends of the pitch. His goal was the most obvious contribution, although the defensive figures provide a strong case for the award as well.

Andrei Coubis v Millwall in numbers

Andrei scored with his only attempt, from an opportunity carrying an expected goals value of just 0.02. That is a very small chance in statistical terms, making the return particularly valuable in a game in which we scored twice. A goal will always help a player catch the eye in the ratings, but his work without the ball deserves attention here. He won five of his six defensive duels, an 83% success rate, giving us a strong return when he was directly challenged.

Across all duels, he came out on top in ten of 16, a success rate of 63%. That included winning three of his five aerial contests, so there was a positive balance to his work both overall and in the air.

He also registered ten interceptions and ten clearances, figures which underline how often he was involved in breaking up play and getting the ball away. Those contributions sit alongside 16 recoveries, with two coming in Millwall’s half, showing that the bulk of his recovery work came closer to our own goal.

On the ball

There was room for improvement in his distribution, with 11 of his 17 passes finding a teammate, a completion rate of 65%. None of his three attempted long passes reached their target, which limited the return from that part of his game. He also recorded 18 possession losses, eight in our own half. Set against his recoveries and interceptions, that gives us a more balanced picture of the afternoon: he contributed plenty to winning possession, while there was scope to use it more effectively afterwards.

His overall return was 27 successful actions from 48, or 56%, across the 99 minutes recorded in the data. Even allowing for those areas to improve, there is a clear case for the readers’ decision. Andrei supplied a goal from his only shot, won the majority of his duels and made repeated defensive interventions, giving us an influential performance in a game that finished level.

Readers’ top five