Lincoln City Man of the Match v QPR – Freddie Draper

Freddie Draper has been voted the Stacey West readers’ Man of the Match following our 2-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers.

Draper finished with an average rating of 6.81, just ahead of Dom Jefferies on 6.71, with Adam Reach completing the top three on 6.49. Deji Elerewe took fourth with 6.40, while George Wickens rounded out the leading five on 5.91.

Draper v QPR in numbers

Draper’s work in the individual battles stands out immediately, with 20 wins from 40 duels across his 97 minutes. That gave him a 50% success rate, comfortably above his season average of 32%, and reflected a much more productive afternoon in those contests.

His aerial return was particularly strong, winning five of his eight challenges compared with a season success rate of 28.5%. He also won six of 15 offensive duels, a 40% return against his usual 29.6%, giving us more success in those attacking battles than his season figures would normally suggest.

There was useful work beyond those challenges, too, with two progressive runs and three fouls suffered. Draper also completed one of his two attempted dribbles, adding another way of advancing possession alongside his work competing for the ball.

An assist and tidy passing

On the ball, Draper completed 11 of his 12 passes, a 92% success rate compared with his season average of 65.9%. It was a relatively small passing total, but his accuracy was a positive, and his only attempted long pass also found a teammate.

He registered an assist and one shot assist, while his own shooting return amounted to two efforts, one on target, carrying a combined expected goals value of 0.13. With just one touch in the penalty area, the numbers point towards an afternoon in which his contribution extended well beyond getting into shooting positions himself.

Draper also made three recoveries, two in QPR’s half, and recorded one interception. There were 13 losses of possession, with only one in our own half, while his solitary attempted cross failed to find a teammate.

The strongest improvements against his season figures came in his duels, aerial contests and passing accuracy. Add the assist, and there is a clear statistical basis for the readers’ decision to put him at the top of the ratings despite another frustrating result for the Imps.

Readers’ top five

We also owe you the Watford Man of the Match result, which we missed amid travelling to away games, press conferences and the rest of a busy week. We’ll publish that one later today.