Tuesday 10th August 2010: League Cup 1st Round.
Simon Grayson made just one change to his starting line-up from the team who lost to Derby at the weekend. Interestingly, it was the captain Richard Naylor who was dropped to the bench after his below-par performances at the back end of last season continued in our first Championship match. He also tinkered with the formation, reverting to a 4-4-2, with Lloyd Sam pushed up-front alongside Luciano Becchio.
Kasper Schmeichel, so excellent on his debut, was untested and was a spectator in this evening’s straightforward rout of League Two’s Lincoln. Alex Bruce was handed a debut at centre-back in place of the dropped Naylor, and he and Neill Collins were also rarely needed to defend. Bruce’s introduction did give the defence more agility and younger legs, allowing Paul Connolly and Federico Bessone to push on at full-back. Connolly displayed some attacking prowess on his debut at the weekend, and continued this impressively against Lincoln, setting up Lloyd Sam’s goal. Bessone was drastically improved from the weekend, and he added a threat down the left wing.
Jonathan Howson, on the right side of a four-man midfield this evening, was a creative influence, as he cut inside regularly to give Connolly space to attack down the wing. He opened the scoring after profiting from a run into the box, something he maybe doesn’t do often enough. Neil Kilkenny and Bradley Johnson were far more of a force today than they were against Derby, and the lack of a ball winner in midfield wasn’t exposed against such weak opposition. Sanchez Watt, playing on the left of midfield this evening, built upon his promising outing at the weekend with an assist for Becchio’s goal. He is skilful and could be capable of being a threat in the Championship. Aidy White is also promising, and almost scored with his half-an-hour substitute’s appearance.
Becchio gave Lincoln problems, as you would have expected, but importantly he wasn’t isolated as the midfield gave him vital support that couldn’t be dealt with. He scored his second goal in as many games to make it 2-0. Sam, who had a poor debut compounded by conceding a penalty, was shifted up-front with good effect. He created the opening goal after a few minutes and his pace was a constant thorn in Lincoln’s side, and complimented Becchio’s hard work. Mike Grella had a positive impact from the bench.
We are clearly far superior to Lincoln, but it will be important for Grayson’s boys to have won a match after losing at the weekend and facing a difficult trip to Nottingham Forest next in the league. Whether Grayson keeps Bruce in the team instead of Naylor remains to be seen, and although we won convincingly this evening, it is really only during league matches that we can assess our progress as a club.
James Dielhenn.
