Lincoln undone by late Accrington equaliser at Sincil Bank

Lincoln City had to settle for a disappointing 1-1 draw against Accrington Stanley as Harvey Rodgers’ late equaliser put an end to their five-game run of defeats.

The game was far from a classic but with Stanley players, summoned to training on Sunday morning by boss John Coleman after their three-nil defeat at Fleetwood town, the extra work certainly paid off.

Accrington set their stall out to frustrate Lincoln from the off and were a compact unit for the first hour of the game. Whilst frustrating Lincoln in the first half, there wasn’t much goal action for spectators to get excited about. Charles Vernham came closest to opening the scoring with the rasping 25-yard hit which keeper Savin did superbly well to tip over the bar.

Just before the break, a bit of spice crept into the game to liven proceedings up as Ben House was involved in some handbags on halfway with Stanley’s Mitch Clark. With a bit of needle injected into the game, there was no love lost between the two sides in the second half as Stanley continued to slow the game down at every given opportunity.

At one point, three Stanley players all went down with injury at different areas on the pitch which led to irritation in the stands and soon enough into the home dugout. Mark Kennedy was booked for retrieving a ball 30 yards from the touchline as he tried to get momentum back into the game.

 

The building frustration with referee Joyce, helped to build the spark in Lincoln’s previously passive play to see them take the lead. Jack Diamond did well to burst into the box before being upended when he was set to pull the trigger on Stanley’s goal. The on-loan Sunderland loanee sent Slavin the wrong way.

At that point, Lincoln took control of the game. Diamond was denied a second as he again jinxed his way into the box, but having appeared to have been thwarted by the Stanley defence, the ball broke kindly back to Diamond, but his shot was well saved by Savin to keep the score at one-nil and most importantly, to keep the visitors in the game.

As the game moved into injury time and Lincoln looking good value for the three points, Stanley landed a sucker punch with a goal almost out of nowhere. An initial long ball into the final third was not dealt with by Lincoln’s defence and having conceded a corner, Rodgers found himself in space at the back post in the second phase to head past Jordan Wright and into the net for an unlikely equaliser.

Stanley boss, John Coleman, was obviously the happier of the two managers at the death as his side ended a dismal run of five straight defeats and was delighted with his player’s application and determination to go to the end.

“The lads needed this. They needed to see some rewards for their efforts. We are not out of the woods yet by a long, long chalk and we still need to score more goals. We are suffering by not having the strikers available every week we’ve got at the club, which is a problem.

“We had a long, four-hour meeting on Sunday and it was time well spent. There was a willingness and eagerness to right a few wrongs tonight. It would have been nice to win, but it was imperative not to lose.”

Lincoln Head Coach, Kennedy saw the game as points being thrown away but remained positive about aspects of Lincoln’s play. He was disappointed with the errors that led to  Stanley’s goal and that his players are currently having to learn the hard way.

“I thought we deserved to win, we played well. Everything we talked about before the game, in terms of final third entries.  I thought it was a big plus because when I look at Saturday (defeat at Port Vale), we only had one shot on goal so the lads did everything that was asked of them; control the game possession and there were some good passing sequences.

“We were really naive about the goal we conceded. I think we’re the youngest team in the league and we’re going to make mistakes and we have to accept that. All we can do is try and help the guys but those things; I see too often.”

Charles Vernham back in the side, having had to wait patiently to earn his chance, returned to the starting lineup with the injury of Danny Mandroiu. Vernham seized his opportunity and played an integral performance in the Lincoln attack, almost coming away with a stunning goal but for some brilliant goalkeeping.

“We were controlling the game and then just the lapse in concentration and concede a sloppy goal so it’s disappointing but I think at the end of the day, we have to look at the positives and it’s a point gained. We didn’t lose the game so we have to build on this and take it into a busy month.”

“You’re frustrated as a player when you’re not playing but I’ve tried to be as supportive as I can to the group because they’ve been playing really well and it’s one of those things.  I’ve been involved in the game long enough to understand the opportunities come when you least expect them so you’ve always got to be prepared, be ready and luckily, I’ve managed to put in a good performance and hopefully that’ll continue.”

Lincoln turns their attention to FA Cup action this weekend as they face minnows Chippenham at Sincil Bank.

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