Lincoln took on Charlton on Saturday in a game of poor football from both sides. A lack of cutting edge from City and no creativity from Charlton saw the game finish 0-0, with the home side coming away the more disappointed of the two sides.
I have put together my city player ratings and before they start, I’d like to apologise for the lack of content around the Charlton game, the site has been down recently, and my aim was to get it back to performing well for you readers. The content will be returning and hopefully a lot of it.
Carl Rushworth – 7
Carl Rushworth didn’t do anything wrong on Saturday and made a few good saves and catches throughout the game. He kept another cleansheet, something we know was hard to come by last year so he deserves a good rating. We all know the quality he has and the only disappointment from Saturday was probably some poor distribution in places.
Regan Poole – 8
With all the criticism post-match due to our lack of attacking threat, many have forgotten that our defensive performance was very impressive. Regan Poole is an exceptional defender and it was key to keep him in the summer for this season. He puts everything into his game, and has led by example for the last couples of games, where we’ve lacked real leadership throughout the side. Regan is the perfect example of what the fans want and that is a player that puts it all in and acts like it means so much to him (just look at his celebration against Bristol Rovers when he cleared off the line).
Adam Jackson – 7.5
Adam Jackson is getting himself a nice little run in the team and he’ll be happy with his performance on Saturday. His battle with Jayden Stockley was an interesting one and I’m inclined to think he won it too. He looks good in the middle of a three and as we’ve seen in the past, he is our best header of the ball so utilizing him Saturday was crucial for our game plan of keeping them quiet.
Paudie O’Connor – 7.5
Paudie O’Connor has split opinion amongst our fanbase in the last few weeks and it is understandable why. He isn’t the quickest and that is more exposed in a back three but I thought against Bolton he had one of his best games and he followed that up with another good performance against Charlton on Saturday. With Montsma and Walsh still to return and both being competent in a back four, O’Connor may see his chances limited to playing only in a back three.
TJ Eyoma – 7
TJ Eyoma continued his impressive defensive performances, and he is certainly improving his all-round game since the disaster at Cambridge last month. His failed to provide much attacking threat, and I think he is better as a out and out full-back in a four rather than a wing back, but his defensive game was good again. If a three is the way forward, I don’t think TJ is the wing-back that can provide a threat like Norton-Cuffy did last season. We could look to use him in a centre-half role in a three to utilize his pace, but with our strength in depth in that position, it seems quite unlikely.
Sean Roughan – 7.5
Sean Roughan is really starting to come into his own in a Lincoln City shirt and his run of form continued against Charlton on Saturday. Despite his mistake against Bolton, he looked to get on the front foot, and he defended well. His long throws also impressed me, as that now adds another dimension, we were unaware that we had. Jamie Robson will find it very hard to get back into the team and may have to wait for a Roughan injury to stand any chance of starting a league fixture.
Max Sanders – 6
I feel like for much of the game we failed to control the midfield battle and we let the game become a bit like a basketball game, and I think that is the danger when you start with only two in the midfield. Sanders was overran in the middle and he failed to make his usual impact with his energy and running power. It obviously wasn’t all down to him and I stand by the fact that he starts for us but maybe with only two in midfield we need someone such as a Jacob Davenport to put his foot on the ball and slow the game down.
Matty Virtue – 6.5
I thought Matty Virtue was the better of the two and he did try to get us moving at times. Despite having a few good moments, he struggled to get his foot on the ball much like his midfield partner but as we gained control at the end of each half, he did get more involved. Virtue has had a good starting to his City career and he is the one that I see us securing on a permanent deal next season, especially considering that his Blackpool deal is rumoured to be up at the end of this season.
Danny Mandriou – 6.5
I was excited to see Danny Mandriou on his first start for the club and he did give us a small glimpse of what is to come over the season. He failed to have a real impact on the game but he did show some nice touches on the ball and probably had our best chance of the game. He always looked to get his head down and drive at the defender, similarly to Jack Diamond this season and hopefully once he is fully match fit and ready to go, we can see it impact the game a lot more.
Jack Diamond – 6.5
Jack Diamond tried to get us into the game but a lack of final ball let him and the team down. There were multiple times where he escaped his man but failed to get a ball in or make something happen. However, he looked a class above the rest in attack and I’m afraid that as a fanbase we might fall in love with a loan player that we aren’t going to get back on a permanent.
Ben House – 6
Ben House really struggled I though on Saturday but I thought it was to no fault of his own really. He came up against two massive centre halves and despite battling well, he failed to make his mark on the game. We tried to put the ball into him in the air and he was never going to be an aerial threat for us. You probably look at the two recent games and I think they are made for Hopper with his ability to truly get into a battle with the centre-halves and win some balls in the air to take the pressure off the team.
Substitutes
Jordon Garrick – 5.5
I had to check to actually remember who came on for Mandriou, so I think that tells the story. Garrick failed to make a real impact on the match and has looked off the pace in recent weeks. With Mandriou returning to fitness and Diamond in good form, Jordon needs to get back to his best and battle for his place in the side.
Jamie Robson – 6.5
I have given Robson some criticism since he has arrived and I think it is fair if I’m honest but his cameo on Saturday wasn’t a bad one and fair play to him for coming on and putting in a shift despite losing his starting place in the side in the last weeks. I still think we need to see more from him but with a Pizza trophy game coming up and our Carabao Cup against Bristol City not too long away he may have a chance to stake his claim in the first team.
Tashan Oakley-Boothe – N/A