Our first game back from the international break was a tricky away test against a Lincoln side that were undefeated in 8 league games going into the fixture.
Blues were coming in off the back of an away defeat to Charlton, one of the other more challenging away fixtures the league has to offer.
It was yet another test, and despite going a goal down in the first minute, Blues once again showed their determination and belief to come back again and win the game 3-1. That makes 13 of our total 25 points earned from losing positions, just over 50%.
It’s a good characteristic to have in a side, and certainly not something we’ve had at Blues for a long time. But I’m sure going behind early is a trend we’d all like to stamp out sooner rather than later.
Perhaps more worryingly, Lincoln’s goal came from a long throw, the same way that Charlton scored in our last league outing. We know full well from years of watching Marc Roberts how easy it is to defend a long throw. Chris Davies and his staff will want to solve both that problem and conceding early goals throughout the season.
That being said, we did what we (almost) always manage to do and got ourselves into our rhythm and back in the game on the 14th minute, where Keshi Anderson finished off the first of 3 well worked goals to slot home across the goalkeeper from the edge of the 18 yard box. Other notable chances included a cross from Alex Cochrane to the far post which landed at Alfie May’s feet, who took a great first touch but the shot to the far post was deflected out for a corner. Alfie would be involved again with a one-two with Keshi that ended in a rocket from 25 yards which skimmed the far post before going out.
Another continued characteristic of Blues this season is having lots of possession, and that showed again against Lincoln as we finished the first half with 82% of the ball and in complete control of the game, despite being level on the scoreboard.
Half time: Lincoln 1-1 Blues (Anderson)
We came out for the 2nd half to a fractured start which earned Cochrane and Klarer both yellow cards, before putting together another lovely passing move to find May on the edge of the area, who layed it off to Willum Willumsson. He showed his quality to get the ball out of his feet and finished low and hard again across the keeper to put Blues ahead.
Lincoln responded and had their best spell of the game for the next 15, albeit without creating any chances of real note until McGrandles found space in behind the defence and had his heels clipped by Paik. The referee hesitated before pointing to the spot. There seemed to be some confusion around who would take the penalty, but the responsibility ultimately fell to Reeco Hackett, who had come on as a substitute just 2 minutes before. I always have a problem with players taking penalties as their first touch of the ball, and this worked in our favour as Allsop dived down to his right and palmed the low effort wide to produce a solid penalty save, his second of the season.
This could’ve been a key turning point in the game. Lincoln’s momentum was halted and Blues regained control, putting together probably our best passing move of the game to secure the win. Keshi Anderson scored his brace running onto a lovely flick lay-off from Willumsson, completing a passing move that involved almost the entire Blues 11 at some stage.
Lincoln rallied late on but Blues dealt with them comfortably, and secured another 3 points on the road.
Full time: Lincoln 1-3 Blues (Anderson x2, Willumsson)
Ratings
Starting XI
Ryan Allsop: 8
Allsop looked incredibly comfortable with the ball at his feet throughout the game, made a couple of routine saves and then kept the penalty out. He provided a sense of composure that I feel lacks when Peacock-Farrell plays. Fully deserved his serenade from the travelling support at the final whistle.
Taylor Gardner-Hickman: 6
Taylor produced a solid performance and fulfilled his right back duties well. Hard to give him a higher rating, but he was once again solid and didn't put a foot wrong. He was replaced by the returning Laird in the 2nd half, it'll be interesting to see if he can retain his place following his string of consistent performances.
Christoph Klarer: 7
Klarer put in another strong performance as captain in Bielik's absence. Handled his man very well and played some good balls forwards. One of my personal favourite players so far this season.
Ben Davies: 6
Davies came in for the injured Bielik and again put together a solid performance with no notable mistakes. It's fantastic to have a player of his quality as backup in this division.
Alex Cochrane: 7
Cochrane, much like Gardner-Hickman, has shown a really important run of consistency, and has played every league game so far. I've gone with a point higher for Cochrane as I think he contributed more in the final third than his right sided counterpart does.
Paik Seung-Ho: 6
Paik and Iwata bossed the game again in midfield, returning to their dominant ways after being limited well at Charlton. However, he got the wrong side of his man and gave away a penalty which could've cost us had it been converted. That aside, he had a strong game and so I think a 6 is fair.
Tomoki Iwata: 7
Tomoki partnered Paik and provided us with strong control of the game, without the error Paik made. I wonder if either will be rested on Tuesday for Marc Leonard, who was unfortunate to lose his place when Iwata was signed on deadline day, but it's hard to separate this pairing that has worked wonders for us so far.
Keshi Anderson: 9
Anderson had a fantastic game before being subbed off due to what looked like cramp towards the end of the game, contributing well overall and taking his 2 goals well. I'd have given him man of the match, but I think there's another player who ran the show and he gets the nod for me. I wouldn't argue too much against anyone who wants to argue Keshi's case though - his best performance in a Blues shirt following his new contract.
Willum Þór Willumsson: 9 - Man of the Match
It's tight with the man who scored the brace, but Thor takes the man of the match for me. Ran the show, linked play very well all across the pitch, took his goal well and played a deft little flick to set up our third. I've seen several Lincoln fans online say he's the best player they've seen at this level, and when he plays like that I can see why. The team looked more balanced with him in the 10 and May up front, as Willum offered intelligence and creativity all over the pitch.
Emil Hansson: 6
Hansson was another who had a solid game, but his lack of end product in this game lowers his rating for me. Got around his man both inside and out a couple of times, but ultimately was substituted due to injury early in the second half and his replacement had a bigger impact. I hope he's not out for too long.
Alfie May: 8
Despite not getting on the scoresheet in his return to his more natural number 9 position, Alfie provided 2 assists for Anderson and Willumsson, linked play well throughout the game and hit the post with a well struck effort from 25 yards. He will want to continue his good performances up front in Stansfield's absence to stake his long term claim for the number 9 spot.
Subs
Ayumu Yokoyama: 7
Ayumu came on for the injured Hansson after 55 minutes, and although wasn't involved as much in the linkup play, he offered plenty of runs in behind and got his due reward on the 79th minute when his burst forward was found by Ethan Laird and was instrumental in our third goal. A strong outing. He may see more game time in the coming games with Hansson, Wright and potentially Anderson out injured.
Ethan Laird: 6
Ethan was reintroduced following his injury on the 66th minute, and played a key pass to set up our third goal. He looked like a player returning from injury coming into a game where we were ahead - didn't take too many risks on the ball or with his runs, but had a solid game. I look forward to his full return, as although TGH has shown solid displays, Laird offers us more going forwards with his pace and dribbling.
Lyndon Dykes: 5
Introduced for May alongside Laird, Dykes put himself about and won a few headers, but didn't ultimately contribute much to the play and didn't have many players close to him to win second balls when he did win the aerial battle. I'm eager to see more from Lyndon, who hasn't had much of a chance so far, but equally hasn't had the impact off the bench that others have aside from providing an aerial outlet up front later on in matches.
Marc Leonard: 6
Leonard has been struggling for gametime since the signing of Tomoki Iwata, and was limited to coming on in the 83rd minute when Keshi went off injured, taking up the number 10 role. He didn't have the time to make much of an impact as we saw the game out from 3-1 up.
