October was a bruising month for Lincoln City, with one afternoon at Sincil Bank that made it worth remembering.
We took four points from five Championship matches, winning one, drawing one and losing three. We scored seven and conceded 15, six of them in the defeat to West Ham United, when we played most of the evening with nine men.
We opened with a 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United and followed the West Ham game by drawing 2-2 at Millwall after going two up. The 4-1 win over Burnley gave us our first home league victory in the second tier since 1961, before Birmingham City beat us 3-1 to close the month.
If some of the lower ratings make for grim reading, cast your mind back 12 years. In October 2014 we lost at Nuneaton Town and drew 3-3 at Southport, then beat AFC Telford United and drew with Wrexham in the Conference. We finished that month by beating Alfreton Town 5-1 in an FA Cup replay after a 1-1 draw. A 5.30 at Sheffield United still tells you we had a poor afternoon, but the fixture list tells you how far we’ve come.
Who was your Player of the Month? Which performance stood out? Here’s how the Stacey West readers voted.
You can now check out all the winners of our monthly awards by going to our Roll of Honour page
Player of the Month
Andrei Coubiș (7.54)
Andrei Coubiș takes October’s Player of the Month award with an average of 7.54, finishing 0.08 ahead of Ben House. His two highest scores came in the games that earned us all four points, and he had a hand in a goal in each.
Coubiș opened the scoring in the first minute at The Den and was voted Man of the Match against Millwall with 8.19. He also made ten interceptions and ten clearances, and won five of his six defensive duels. A week later he scored 8.56 against Burnley, playing at right-back and delivering the long throw that reached House for the equaliser.
House was our highest-rated player against Sheffield United and Birmingham City, and scored 8.13 against Burnley after getting us level and setting up Mikkel Ladefoged’s first goal. September winner Deji Elerewe finished third on 7.13, with Ladefoged fourth on 7.01 and Yunus Konak fifth on 6.95.
Individual Performance of the Month
Deji Elerewe (Burnley H) 8.66
Elerewe wins this award for the second month running. His display against Burnley earned 8.66, one hundredth higher than his September-winning mark against Blackburn Rovers and just ahead of Konak (8.57) and Coubiș (8.56) on the day.
The match data had Elerewe completing 42 of his 52 passes, an accuracy of 81%, and succeeding with 55 of his 75 recorded actions. He was willing to take the ball forward himself, too. Before half-time he carried it into Burnley territory and found Conor McGrandles for a first-time effort that went wide.
His run down the flank in the 67th minute was the moment that summed up his afternoon. He got past Burnley players and put in a cross that Ladefoged met but couldn’t direct on target. A week earlier, Elerewe had been sent off at Millwall, and it took a successful appeal for him to be available to play at all.
Best Team Performance of the Month
v Burnley (H) 7.45
Our 4-1 victory over Burnley takes the team award with an average of 7.45 across the 16 players used. Millwall was next on 6.81, the only other game in October in which the team average cleared six.
House equalised from Coubiș’s long throw in first-half stoppage time, then crossed for Ladefoged to head us in front after the break. Dom Jefferies added the third, and Ladefoged got his second on his first Football League start. There was still time for George Wickens to save a penalty.
Five players scored above eight, including Ladefoged on 8.33 and House on 8.13. Wickens and Jefferies both earned 7.69, with Sonny Bradley on 7.58 and Adam Reach on 7.56. With nine players above 7.50, the voting shows just how many Imps had a hand in the best afternoon of the month.
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