When I got in at 3am last night, I wasn’t frustrated, annoyed or angry. I had a feeling of overwhelming pride because of what the lads achieved last night. I know they didn’t get a win or reach the Quarter Finals for the first time, but they gave everything and matched a Premier League side from minute one.
I looked at our team news first and I was happy with it, Jack Diamond was unavailable so we had an attack of Danny Mandroiu, Ben House and Charles Vernam. There was one other change in the team with Sean Roughan coming into the side for Jamie Robson, presumably for a little bit of defensive solidity. I was happy until I looked at the team Southampton selected, and when I saw their full strength team with the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Che Adams and Kyle Walker-Peters, I feared a hammering, similar to the one against Arsenal all them years ago in the FA Cup.
The atmosphere was something really special to be part of and even as we walked out onto the pitch I was proud to see our manager and our players line up at a Premier League ground and one that has seen many incredible players play over the last 21 years. We came out the blocks quickly and won an early corner to the delight of the City fans. Max Sanders’ ball caused all sorts of problems for the Southampton defence, vastly experienced midfield Ainsley Maitland-Niles cleared the ball straight up into the air, which put Gavin Bazunu in all sorts of problems with Paudie O’Connor putting pressure on the Irishman. The ball ended up in the back of the net, I have no idea who it came off, but the away end erupted and we had the lead within two minutes.
I don’t think even the most die-hard Saints fan could argue that it was onside and we should have still been in the lead if the linesman did his job. This was the first of two outrageous decisions that went against City. We played brilliantly and I can’t blame the manager or the lads and if they won without any decisions like this I would be very pleased with last night, but the officiating puts a massive shadow over that. We should have had a penalty from a blatant handball, similar to what Robson did at Shrewsbury a few weeks ago. There is just no consistency and even from a Premier League standard referee we can’t get good and fair decisions.
Embed from Getty ImagesWe made it to half-time level with the Saints and we probably should have been in the lead. We were doing really well and one player in particular really deserves a mention. That player is Max Sanders, I don’t remember James Ward-Prowse having much of an impact, if any at all on the game and that was all down to Max man-marking him it looked like throughout the game. Everywhere Ward-Prowse was Max was with him too and I wouldn’t be surprised if Max still has him in his pocket as you read this.
As well as Sanders, Matty Virtue was incredible last night. His work rate was exceptional and he really helped nullify the other midfield threats that Southampton offered such as Europa League Finalist and FA Cup winner Ainsley Maitland Niles. We had a game plan and we executed it excellently, and our midfield duo was a massive part of making that happen. A lot of our counter attacks started from Max and Matty breaking up the play in midfield and releasing Mandroiu, House and Vernam on runs into the channels.
I’m going to single out another player individually and that is Charles Vernam. He was excellent throughout the ninety minutes and this game was easily his best ever in a Lincoln City shirt. He was direct for the whole game, and when Southampton had that chance late on (the first one) he was the furthest back for us, when let’s be honest he didn’t need to be in that position. The Southampton defenders struggled to get near him, and he was certainly my man of the match. If he can continue playing like this, with Jack Diamond to return and Danny Mandroiu still showing his quality, we have real competition on our hands for places.
Competition is what we need and most fans would say that the team that played last night should all play against Burton on Monday, but with Diamond returning and Robson looking to get back in the side, it shows the competition for places we have. We have to take this performance and build on it with a very busy post-Christmas schedule with three games in eight days.
I hope that the officiating decisions from last night don’t overshadow what our players achieved and their individual performances. All eleven players were excellent, and the three that came on, and that is what is important from last night. When I left St Mary’s last night, I had a feeling of pride and that continued until I got home and all the way through today. We couldn’t have asked for me from the lads, and that is what is the most important thing to come out of all of this. I was proud to be an Imp last night.