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Nottingham Forest loanee Brennan Johnson arrived at the LNER Stadium this summer with high expectations, and he showed his class in a 2-0 win against Plymouth Argyle.
Johnson was given his third start of the season, this time featuring on the right side of the Imps’ attacking trio. The 19-year-old had featured in this position once already this campaign, in a 3-2 win at Blackpool where he bagged two assists.
Immediately, the youngster made his presence felt. While Lincoln often struggled to break their opponents down in the first half, Johnson found copious amounts of space in Plymouth’s back-line, regularly exposing the gap between George Cooper and Jerome Opoku. His pace and dribbling saw him ease through on goal, but he lacked the end product to get himself on the scoresheet in the first half.
A half-time break was desperately in need for the Imps, who had to reassess how to get through Plymouth’s five-man defence, and unsurprisingly this came through Johnson. The ball was fed through on the right for him to carve open space, running into the Plymouth box before being brought down – no penalty given.
But just a matter of seconds later, he did win Lincoln a penalty. The right side of the Imps’ team linked up, with TJ Eyoma and James Jones combining beautifully to set up Conor McGrandles, who smacked the post. The ball fell to Johnson once again, who was brought down in the penalty area before he could get his shot away, winning a spot kick.
With a one goal lead, the Imps changed their set up to handle the situation. Harry Anderson, a natural right winger, was brought on in a move that saw Brennan Johnson move to the left flank and Jorge Grant play centrally. Johnson, who is normally considered a central attacking midfielder, had now shown his versatility by playing on both flanks.
Despite playing in, what most people would consider, an unnatural position for him, Johnson rounded off the game by scoring his first goal for the club. The left side of the Pilgrims’ defence, already shattered from marking Johnson in the first half, was exposed again by a slick attack started by TJ Eyoma and Harry Anderson. Tom Hopper was freed down the right flank to deliver a deflected cross that was eventually nodded home by the Nottingham Forest loanee.
In just 81 minutes on the pitch, Brennan Johnson showed that he has what it takes to become an incredibly versatile and well-rounded midfielder, as well as a key player for the remainder of Lincoln’s campaign. In such an intense season, where fixtures will be coming thick and fast every few days, a player of Johnson’s versatility could be crucial for the Imps as they look to prove themselves as promotion contenders.
While generally considered to be a midfielder, the 19-year-old has thoroughly impressed on the wing, scoring one and assisting two in the two games he’s played in that position. His incredible dribbling is a nightmare for opposition defences, as proven by the way he glided through Plymouth’s five-man defence on Tuesday.
Although his class was evident, some Lincoln fans were concerned by his lack of end product in the first half. However, his second half performance highlighted him as a much bigger attacking threat, topped off by his superb header to seal all three points for the Imps.
If Lincoln are to continue their run at the top end of the table, a star player like Johnson could be vital. Lincoln carry substantial attacking threat with him and Jorge Grant on the flanks, and that’s something that they have lacked in recent times. Last season, for example, the Imps really started to crumble once Tyler Walker was recalled by Nottingham Forest and their attack was severely nullified. With the current options available, Lincoln could have a much more successful season than they did last time round.
