Soft goals

I know I sound like a broken record, but we have thrown another game away conceding soft goals.

If we can't win a game, we need to make sure we don't lose it.

One team defended properly today and we lost the game.

Their first goal was a direct, long ball, which Osho failed to deal with. Fish then allowed their man to run down the outside of him and play the ball back inside, with Osho failing to get back. Fish should have got tighter and forced their man wide and Kpakio could have possibly come across quicker to stop the shot, but it's yet another poor goal to concede.

Their second goal was embarrassing. It was pointless Fish even being there, allowing him to come inside and have a free shot. Fish should have closed him down quicker and forced him wide, but he's a poor defender who will not be good enough at Championship level.

Lincoln would have never allowed us to score them goals and that's the difference. I still can't understand how Lincoln are up there. They are a very average team, but they're physical, well organised and play for each other. Credit to their manager for making them difficult to play against.

We didn't do enough in possession. We missed Salech big time, but we need to be braver trying to beat players to create openings. We took far too many safe options today, checking back and passing backwards and sideways. Our wingers need to beat their men more, hit the byline and whip balls with pace across goal.

Lincoln were only a threat from direct balls and long throws, but they got players forward to score their two goals. They were brave and took their chances well.

Today is yet another example our centre backs are nowhere near good enough, losing their key battles to concede soft goals. Our record against the top teams in this division shows we will need to strengthen drastically next season.

Lincoln have just done the double over us. We have lost to Bolton, lost home to Bradford and failed to beat Stockport and Wycombe. Our win at Bradford is our only win against a top 6 team this season. Our current record against the current top 6 in this division is played 8, won 1, drawn 3, lost 4. That will be relegation form when we play better teams in the Championship.

Hopefully, the games will run out for the teams behind us and we still do enough to get promotion, but I think we are going to have to bring in 7 or 8 new signings next season to improve our first team, with several players needing offloading who have proven they're not consistent and reliable enough at League 1 level, so they won't be good enough for the Championship.

I think you have nailed it. Excellent post.

Bolton are 2-0 down at home at the moment, so the gap is still eleven points. We can make it 14 on Tuesday.

Really nothing to be worried about at this stage.

Yes we need better players in the Championship, but let's not forgot we are exceeding most fans' expectations. You and I did not expect us to be where we are in the league right now with 11 games to go.

I also would argue that Osho wasn't to blame for their first goal, it was good play by them. It was initially Tanner's fault for slipping and giving them a clear counter attack.

I think it's much less our centre-backs aren't good enough, and more more that they're left hopelessly exposed when teams hit us on the counter. This is something even Peps teams have suffered with in the past despite having quality defenders. Their most successful spells came when they had a Fernandinho/pre-injury Rodri who were excellent and snuffing out counters. Players of that quality are extremely difficult to come by, and it is the major flaw of the system we play.

Bolton are 2-0 down at home at the moment, so the gap is still eleven points. We can make it 14 on Tuesday.

Really nothing to be worried about at this stage.

Yes we need better players in the Championship, but let's not forgot we are exceeding most fans' expectations. You and I did not expect us to be where we are in the league right now with 11 games to go.

I also would argue that Osho wasn't to blame for their first goal, it was good play by them. It was initially Tanner's fault for slipping and giving them a clear counter attack.

Bolton won 3-2 but point still stands.