Written by Josh Barber.
Lincoln were held to a 1-1 draw this afternoon as they played host to Chester. Without using the ultimate footballing cliché it was certainly a game of two halves.
Lincoln will feel like they had the chances to take all three points this afternoon, but they simply let too many chances go to waste. Sam Yorke and Nat Brown both wasted great chances when they managed to get on the end of Miller’s long throws.
The real game changer came in the 62nd minute when Miller fired a trade mark long throw into the box and Matthew Brown was adjudged to have handled the ball meaning referee Colin Lymer pointed to the spot.
A weak penalty from Power, soft and to Chapman’s right, was easily saved and from there on in Chester where the better team, and Lincoln held on to take a point.
The game started with Chester pressing but it certainly didn’t create the flow for the first half. Lincoln looked unsettled and Chester were first to pretty much everything. Any nerves were soon gone though and Lincoln settled down, getting the ball on the floor and playing some good football.
The teams traded chances in the first 10 minutes but neither could produce anything with any real menace. John Rooney, Wayne’s younger brother tried his luck from distance, but the only people in danger were those sitting in the hospitality boxes.
10 minutes gone and former Lincoln man Joe Heath tried his best to kick start the game when he flew in high and late on Lincolns Ben Tomlinson right in front on the dugouts. His high boot saw him become the first man into the referee’s book.
The first break through of the afternoon came on fifteen minutes. An excellent one two between Jordan and Power carved open the Chester defence and led to power producing a cross that could only be partially cleared for a throw.
Miller launched the resulting throw into the box which caused much confusion amongst the Chester defence and did so all afternoon. Delano Sam-Yorke was quickest to react to the loose ball and capitalised on his fortune as he slotted the ball in from 6 yards out.
From here on in a pattern seemed to appear, Lincoln had most of the possession and the better of the chances from it. It really should have been two nil on 41’s when a similar throw from miller saw the ball drop to Jordan who couldn’t quite readjust in time and see his from 7 yards out go wide. It really should have been 2-0 before half time.
Chester’s best chance of the first half came after 35 minutes, after Turner cut inside from the right flank and powered his shot across the face of goal, but on loan keeper Nick Townsend was equal to it, pushing it strongly away to prevent any further danger.
The second half was all Chesters, and without some immense keeping from Nick Townsend Lincoln would have come away without a point. His best moment came late on in the 87th minutre when Rooney again troubled the keeper, but he managed to get down low and fast and with a fingertip save he flicked in into the post, collecting the rebound comfortably in his arms
John Rooney looked like a changed player in the second half and caused Lincoln’s defence problem after problem. His best chance fell in the 80’ minute when he connected sweetly with a shot from 20 yards out, he had Townsend beaten all ends up but it didn’t quite dip in time, eventually landing on the top of the netting.
Attedance: 2534
Player Ratings:
Townsend: 9- Should have been man of the match, kept Lincoln in the game in the second half. Good all round performance.
Miller: 6 – Had a reasonable game but he made a couple of mistakes leading to Chester chances.
Brown: 6 – Solid at the back, but at times dropped too deep inviting more Chester pressure.
Audel: 8 – Strongest of the back four, made some great challenges and kept the back four organised.
Newton: 5 – Struggled to cope with the likes of Rooney and Menagh in the second half. Most of Chester’s chances came down the left.
Jordan: 6 – Had a good game, did nothing wrong but didn’t really make a huge impact.
Adams: 6 – Similar game to Jordan, at times he left the back four exposed.
Power: 7 – Had a great first half and was at the heart of most of Lincolns chances but his second half performance was lacking.
Shieridan: 6 – Only played an hour, worked hard for the team, but made little difference to the attack outfit.
Tomlinson: 6 – Had a bit of a quite game, and failed to really make the impact the fans have to come to expect from him this season.
Sam-Yorke: 7 – Goal scorer and worked hard up top when at times he was isolated.
Robinson: 6 (Sub) – created more of an attacking presence when he came on in the second half but didn’t really change the game, unlike Menagh for Chester.