Lincoln City took on Sheffield Wednesday at home on Saturday and managed to secure a good result despite a mistake from Carl Rushworth early on.
Apologies for the late article, but here are my Lincoln City 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday player ratings.
Carl Rushworth – 6.5
Carl Rushworth deserved a seven for his performance but his mistake was costly and potentially cost us three points. However, we win, lose and draw as a team and all the blame is not pinned on him. Despite his error, I thought he had a good game and picked himself up very quickly afterwards. We all know his quality and that mistake was just a blip and something we will probably never see him do again.
Regan Poole – 9
Regan Poole is an absolute rolls royce of a player, the lad never fails to impress despite how many times I’ve seen him play. Regan does things that many people won’t see unless you concentrate on them and there are so many times I see him cover off a run or move into some space so a pass can’t be played and that is on top of all the blocks and tackles he kept putting in constantly.
Adam Jackson – 9
I dare say that Adam Jackson is in the best form of his Lincoln City career, but I honestly do believe that. He looks to be confident in his own ability and he is managing to stay fit (fingers crossed) for a decent amount of time. He dealt with the big men up front for Sheffield Wednesday and dealt equally as well with the likes of Malik Wilks when they were introduced.
Paudie O’Connor – 9
Paudie O’Connor is growing on me every week and I keep saying that I was wrong about him. In a back four, I felt as if people got in behind him too much but since the switch in system to a back five, he has been excellent and again I have to say that I made a wrong early judgment on him and hope he continues to prove me wrong throughout the next couple of games.
TJ Eyoma – 7
I thought TJ Eyoma got quite a lot of critism for his game on Saturday and I think some of it was quite unfair. I think he struggled to create much but defensively he was more than good enough and at the end of the day, he isn’t the explosive attacking full-back that we had in Brooke Norton-Cuffy last season. If we are going to use this system going forward, we may need to look for a more attacking option, but TJ is more than good enough defensively, so it is not a massive worry.
Sean Roughan – 8
Sean Roughan really impressed me yet again on Saturday. I thought he struggled to get into the game in an attacking sense but similarly to TJ he was great defensively yet again. I struggle to even think why we weren’t playing this lad last season and why he got loaned out I will never know. I think it will be hard for Jamie Robson to earn his place back in the side and that is coming from one of his biggest fans. I like Robson but the way Roughan is playing, it is hard to see how he earns his way back in.
Matty Virtue – 9
I am giving Matty Virtue such a high rating for his second half performance alone. The whole team struggled to get their foot on the ball in the first half, but Virtue was a different player in the second half. His engine was important for us, and he helped mark Barry Bannan out of the game in the second half, yes Barry Bannan, the one who has played Premier League football for Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
Max Sanders – 8
Max Sanders played a crucial part in our impressive defensive performance in the second half and similarly to Virtue, his engine was crucial in the result. He worked extremely hard defensively and tried to get us on attack at all opportunities. He is looking like he is becoming one of the first names on the team sheet alongside his midfield partner and at the moment I can see why.
Jack Diamond – 7
Jack Diamond would have wanted to have a bigger influence on the game, but at times he struggled for support and end product. He was our out ball for most of the game and he did well to drive us up the field to relieve some pressure. His final pass wasn’t up to its usual standard but still a big performance from our Diamond.
Ben House – 8.5
Ben House was a big contender for man of the match in my opinion. He battled away for the whole game with the Sheffield Wednesday back three and he won a fair number of duels both on the ground and in the air. He also helped us defensively late on by running back and helping the midfield, as well as that he put the pressure on their backline and put through a good ball for the goal.
Danny Mandroiu – 8
This lad seems to just get better every time he puts on the Lincoln City shirt and Saturday saw him get his first League One goal for the club. He made the finish look much easier than it was and hopefully he continues to score goals for us.