Lincoln City
Imps give Stockport a 1-1 battering
By Nathan Jackson
August 26 2011
Lincoln City will probably never come as close to winning again without winning it. The Imps lead early on through Power and throughout the course of the game hit the woodwork twice, had two goals disallowed and missed numerous chances against a Stockport side who scored with their only realistic chance on target during the game.
The Imps started the brighter with Perry testing Glennon in the Stockport goal. City had shouts for a penalty turned down when Barraclough went down under a challenge. City were on the attack again soon with Sinclair's cross being cleared to Power, he stepped inside and curled the ball into the net from just outside of the area. It was Power's first goal for the Imps.
Nutter had a shot deflected wide and a McCallum was cleared. A rare Stockport foray outside of their own half saw them win a free kick, although it resulted in a Lincoln counter attack that ended in a corner, that in itself was cleared. Stockport had a wonderful opportunity to draw level after 20 minutes when Chadwick rounded Anyon, despite all the time in the world, he could only hit the side netting. Brahim-Bounab was replaced by McGann for the visitors due to injury.
Perry had a header well saved before the Imps had the ball in the back of the net again as Gowling headed in a Nutter free kick, the linesman's flag denied Gowling the goal though. Perry again failed to score as his header went across goal before Barraclough had a goalbound effort blocked.
The half was drawing to an end and City were looking comfortable......and then Tom Elliott scored out of the blue. His header glanced beyond Anyon, off one post and then agonisingly over the line to give Stockport a lead that their lack of adverture hadn't deserved. That ended the first half.
City started the second half just as they had spent most of the first, on the attack. Russell had a corner cleared before both Perry and Nutter had efforts go off target. Barraclough had a header well saved before Gowling came close to connecting with a corner. Fuseini hit a shot wide as City's frustrations grew.
McCallum hit the bar from just outside the area before Stockport almost scored with a sneaky free kick from McConville.
Power had a volley deflected behind for a corner before the commanding Glennon caught the incoming ball. City had the ball in the net again as Power played the ball back to Perry and he slotted home, but the referee pulled play back for a free kick to Stockport.
Power had a volley deflected off of a Stockport man and onto the post but the Imps couldn't find the second goal and had to settle for a draw. It's a draw most City fans should be happy with though as it ends a run of six straight home defeats.
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26/08/2011 22:10
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It was like an attack vs defence training session.
.
Anyone esle think the atmosphere is a lot better when a smaller crowd is in
Totally agree with the comments here; probably the most one-sided 1-1 draw I've ever seen, and despite the very low crowd (depressingly less than 2,000 Imps fans), a good atmosphere. That said, if the team play like that, they'll get always decent backing.
Some real pluses on the playing side tonight - Anyon excellent again (although not much to do in truth), Sinclair and Nutter looking like the best full-back pairing since Bailey and Bimson, Gowling leading the side well and winning headers and tackles all night, Fuseini finally putting in a half-decent shift (although needs some shooting practice next week!), McCallum, dare I say it, looking a class above the BSP, as did Alan Power who put in a fantastic central midfield performance. Perry was also a real handful all night - I'm hoping that we're starting to see why he was given a 2-year deal as he builds up his fitness.
It's a shame to have to pick out negatives, but we do have a major weak-link in our side - Adam Watts. In fairness, I've seen him play worse than he did last night, but he simply looks like an accident waiting to happen. It was no surprise that he was involved in Stockport's only two chances of the first half, being easily knocked off the ball on a one-on-one that their lad should have done better with, and putting in a typically feeble aerial challenge with their striker when he equalised. His distribution was appalling, on at least two occasions he booted the ball into touch when under no pressure whatsoever, and frankly the boy looks nervous and uncomfortable whenever the ball gets anywhere near him. I would love to know why Tilson thinks he is a better option than Hone on current form.
Other than that, an excellent performance in a very enjoyable game that we were desperately unlucky not to win, and I'll certainly think twice about missing more games from now on
First time in a long while since I left Sincil Bank thinking we were the better team by miles.
Stockport will be thereabouts come the end of the season because of their spending power, I think we're a central defender away from a top 7 finish.
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