Woohoo, we go in to half time a goal up and we deserve it based on the performance so far. We have played well, keeping possession and using good passing to work Lincoln as we probe for openings. We are organised and balanced and the team looks comfortable with the system. The settled selection of the last few games is paying dividends as we actually look like a team now instead of a group of randomly picked players. We are actually looking like a team that is building momentum and it stands us in good stead for the run in. I feel like we will have enough to finish top two, things are going well now that Lambert has stopped rotating his squad.
Well that was a decent game we played. First half was fairly dominant from us. We passed the ball and kept possession as we showed patience in our build up play and worked the ball from side to side to pull Lincoln out of position. Second half was also pretty good from us for the most part although it started to get a bit nervy in the last ten minutes as Lincoln pushed for a goal and we were sloppy with our passes. The team is now more settled, we are comfortable with the formation and the players are playing well in the system. Woolf and Chambers are doing great as outside backs and the midfield is effective as both Huws and Downes are capable of defending and attack. The decision to start the same eleven every game is reaping rewards with more consistent play and we are building momentum at the right time of the season. Norris - good game from Will, never really troubled today. Woolfenden - my man of the match today. Getting forward at every opportunity, Luke is playing well in the system and he is contributing immensely in attack. He his confident carrying the ball and looks composed when defending. Wilson - another solid, no nonsense game from James. Chambers - is playing well at the moment. More great cross field passes to switch the play. Another player who seems to be suited to the way we are set up. Garbutt - good free kicks and overall positive work on the left. Huws - not heavily involved with the major moments, Emyr is definitely an upgrade on Skuse and our general play benefits from having Huws rather than Cole in the team. Downes - yet another 8/10 performance from Flynn. He is consistent and shows more maturity when dealing with bad tackles and other situations that call for a calm head. Edwards - played well today. He is not the best defensively and we were exposed down the right a few times when he wasn't in the right position. He did however do some good attacking work down the flank. Judge - was alright without being outstanding. Kept trying to get Garbutt to play short corners to him in the first half that just ended up as wasted chances to get the ball in the box. I still feel we would be better starting with Bishop. Jackson - just ran a lot today without really contributing a great deal. Keane - good performance that included better hold up play and passing than last week. All in all we did what was needed to get the win. The first half was enjoyable to watch with plenty of positive attacking moves and we generally controlled the tempo of the match. We are looking more balanced and the team is playing well in the 3-4-1-2 shape. The second half Lincoln had a go but we stood firm and got a deserved win to put us back on top of the tree. That position is now ours to lose and after the last few matches I am growing confident that our form is picking up at the best time. Now that Lambert has stuck with a system and settled first eleven we look like a team that is capable of holding on to a top two spot for the rest of the season.
Lots of positives from today despite not convincingly looking like killing off a poor Lincoln side. Agree that Woolfenden is likely to attract ever more attention with those sort of performances. Say we are top of the league, we are top of the league!
Thought the back 3 played well as a unit today. Huws was my man of the match. Last few games, we’ve kept the same formation and personnel (mostly). Bench is also looking strong. If we’re still top after the next 3 games - Rotherham, Peterborough and Sunderland, whisper it but I might start feeling a bit confident about our finishing position
Feels like we've got momentum back. Who would have thought that a settled team would bring results. 2 games in hand on us so being top not consolidated yet but hopefully we can carry the form through this week.
I’d rather have the 4 points on the board than 6 to play for. The next three are huge. If we can get 5 or 6 points from those we put ourselves in pole position for the autos. Whether we win the championship or go up through the play offs I don’t really care.
Absolutely. Although we (finally) won in the play offs, I still can’t stand them or the format. I would still have top 3 going up but if you’re going to have a playoff system, there needs to be more of an advantage the higher you finish in the league. Whilst I’m on my hobby horse, why don’t the 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th teams in the premier league, have a playoff for the final champions league spot? Nothing to do with the fact that I so called bigger club could lose to a smaller club
Agree also..they need to replicate what they are doing in the National league, where 2nd & 3rd go straight to a "semi final", and 4th & 5th play a one off home game against 6th & 7th with the winners playing a one off game against 2nd & 3rd (who are at home) - so 2nd & 3rd get a much better advantage (seems a bit technical, but it's a fairer system if you want to keep the play offs)
I was there at the match on Saturday, and I thought our win over Lincoln was one of the more accomplished and impressive of performances I've seen for a couple of years. We were thoroughly professional, confident on the ball, players were making themselves available, we looked proactive, and restricted Lincoln to only a couple of opportunities. I thought everybody put in a good display, and even our strikers were full of running and movement, despite not having many opportunities. One criticism I would have is that we didn't have an effective cutting edge, and we really needed that goal from Wolfenden from the set piece. Special praise to Wolfenden, Garbutt, Downes, and Keane. I think the settled formation and starting eleven has immediately reversed our previous poor form. We are now five games unbeaten and back at the top of the league. I hope that we stick with what is working, and encourage the players to retain this style of play. I think when Kane Vincent-Young and Teddy Bishop return to full fitness, they will provide extra quality in the starting eleven.
