Winless Run Continues

With the failure to beat Oxford last Saturday having extended the winless run to seven, and no away wins so far this season, it wasn’t easy to be upbeat ahead of a difficult trip to Lincoln, who’d won two of their last three. The sort of game which in normal circumstances you look for a victory but at least ahead of it might have considered a point a reasonable outcome. In the event it was a point apiece – and in truth neither side created enough to make a case for having deserved more from an encounter which will be quickly forgotten, having decided nothing.

A week ago we’d wasted the first half by sending out a confused and ineffective formation, so the team news was eagerly awaited. In the event Garner chose to go with the team for the second half of the Oxford game, with a 4-4-2. Back four of Egbo, Inniss, O’Connell and Sessegnon in front of Wollacott; Dobson and Fraser in central midfield, Kirk and Rak-Sakyi in the wide positions, with Stockley and Leaburn up front. A fellow Addick suggested it was a ‘win or bust’ selection and it did put the onus on attack, or at least so it seemed.

Always going to be two risks/drawbacks. First, the risk of being overrun in central midfield, a risk which for me suggested that if you go with the 4-4-2 with wide men not renowned for their defensive capabilities you choose two battlers (I’d have thought Clare or Forster-Caskey to partner Dobson). Second, it left nothing much from the bench as a forward threat. Blackett-Taylor was at least back in the fold, and Payne would also be available to come on, but that was it. With a front three to start - that being CBT, Stockley and Rak-Sakyi, and not involving wing-backs - Leaburn is available during the game either as a second forward (in which case Kirk would be introduced too as the provider) or to play on the right side.

No matter, Garner’s calls. And to be fair through the game we never looked at risk in central midfield, an area Lincoln singularly failed to exploit. Dobson and Fraser deserve credit for that, although it was also in part due to Egbo and Sessegnon being focused more on defensive duties than getting forward. The real surprised were that an attack-minded formation failed to result in many actual chances through the game for us, despite having the majority of possession, and just how ordinary Lincoln proved to be.

The first half came and went with really only two incidents of note, perhaps a few more. We began well enough and dominated the early exchanges, Lincoln came more into it after around 20 minutes but also without really threatening. We had an appeal for a penalty early on as Stockley jumped with a defender and claimed handball, but it was hard to tell and the ref was well placed to see and gave nothing. And then we broke from a Lincoln corner with numbers over, but Kirk’s pass to an onside Rak-Sakyi was poorly angled and paced and allowed their keeper to intercept.

Our real moment came after half an hour. Stockley managed to play Leaburn in down the right side. He did well to stay ahead of the defenders but put in a rather disappointing shot, straight at their keeper. However, he managed to let it squirm through his legs. He turned and desperately gathered it, but had it gone over the line? Immediately we looked to the officials, only to find that the ref had collided with one of ours and was taken out of the picture (he was to depart some minutes later), then that the linesman was badly behind play and wasn’t able to look along the line to decide how much of the ball had gone over. They had little option but to give nothing as no-one could be sure – and even the TV replays and photos later failed to prove conclusive.

That was about it for us. Lincoln’s moment came in stoppage time, curtesy of what today was a rare collective lapse by the defence. A long throw was contested by quite a few and ended up being flicked on to their guy in acres of space. He hit it first-time on the half-volley, low and hard. Wollacott dived to his right to pull off a superb save to keep us level at the break.

Half-time and the stats showed both sides had two attempts on goal, one each on target. Let’s face it, not a game to get the pulses racing. And the second half continued in the same vein. Occasional moment of goal threats which quickly passed, interspersed by long periods of pressing and passing to little other than neutralising effect.

You might give credit to both defences, but neither side exerted enough pressure and both displayed a lack of composure when it came to making the most of small opportunities. Rak-Sakyi delivered an excellent cross to the far post only for Kirk to head tamely wide, when the option was to nod it square into the path of Stockley or Leaburn. For them Ebgo fell asleep once and a ball was flicked into the path of their guy, who shot over the bar from a good position.

We did have two decent shouts for a penalty. First, around the hour Dobson delivered a good ball in and Stockley seemed to have got beyond their defence, only to be hauled back. After thinking about it the substitute ref pointed – and I thought he’d given it. Instead the decision was offside, although it was unclear whether the flag was against Stockley – in which case fair enough – or against Kirk after the incident – in which case the foul on Stockley should have been given. And later it was Leaburn’s turn to be pulled down before being able to get on the end of a ball into the box. For that one it’s quite possible the ref just didn’t see the actual incident, or decided it was a coming together with no foul committed. On another day either or both could have been given, but neither were stonewall.

And that really was it. We brought on Blackett-Taylor and Clare for Kirk and Sessegnon, with the former managing to have an absolute mare for his 15-minute cameo. That was worrying. As we tired towards the end McGrandles and Payne were introduced, for Dobson and Rak-Sakyi. We couldn’t introduce fresh legs up front because there were none and, while on the overall balance of play we could make a case for having edged it, towards the finish it was Lincoln looking the more likely to grab a late winner.

For sure the positives were there, mainly the clean sheet, with the defence only really coughing up two chances all game (albeit both the result of mistakes). But it was as if we knew that the formation carried risk and perhaps over-compensated with the full-backs kept back and midfield usually not taking chances. Our play was too slow and imprecise to open them up; and on the few occasions we did didn’t make the most of them. The closest we came to a goal was their keeper making a howler. Sure, with goal-line technology (perhaps even just a linesman keeping up with play) and VAR we could have had a goal given and up to three penalties, the game could have been very different.

By the same token, the game brought us no closer to agreement on our best formation. For sure having Leaburn alongside him and able to run beyond him helped Stockley. But with Rak-Sakyi well marshalled for once and Kirk rather peripheral that didn’t translate into attempts on goal. Equally those of us favouring 4-3-3, given the players we have, will have been brought up short by Blackett-Taylor’s poor performance when he came on. The formation needs him and Rak-Sakyi.

These imponderables will get another airing in the near future with the visit to The Valley of Exeter on Tuesday night. Eight games without a win, a drop to 18th place in the table, just two points above the drop zone. No, Garner’s job is not under threat. But we have to put the transfer window issues behind us, forget about what might get done in January, and stop the impression that the season is already a write-off (not helped by Garner’s comments about needing more windows).