Player ratings

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

Gunn 7/10 - not a great deal to do, but neat and tidy with his feet and good distribution.

Hanley 9/10 - (MOM) great performance today. Knew when to play it short, knew when to clip it forward, knew when to stick it into row Z. Great in the air too.

Zimmerman 7/10 - solid performance. Nearly caught in possession a couple of times though. Seems to be a bit slow for our style of play sometimes. But generally good passing and good in the air.

Klose 7/10 - ditto Zimmerman. Bit quicker on the ball, won near enough everything in the air.

Lewis 7/10 - Bit controversial, but I’m not sure the wingback role suits him. First half decent enough defending, but going forward lack any thrust and constantly kept playing sideways or backwards. Second half better, and couple of decent forays forward. His defending is solid, and currently I think he’s better suited to a flat back four.

Reed 6/10 - not a wing back. Worked hard and played decent second half.

Tettey 7/10 - pretty much usual Tettey. Some good interceptions, some good break up play, some misplaced passes. Generally good on the ball and held position well.

Leitner 9/10 - probably MOM for most. What a ball player this lad is. Beautifully effortless and a joy to watch. Always wants the ball, never gives it away. Exactly the type of player needed for this system. Very impressed.

Murphy 6/10 - not a great game from Josh. Imo kept finding himself too central, when a run into the channel was needed. Improved second half, but largely anonymous.

Maddison 8/10 - first half was quiet.. but sprang into life with the award of a peno. Shame it was a dive. Second half immense and seemed to thrive on being the pantomime villain. Some sumptuous touches, and fantastic passing. Heavily involved with the second award of a penalty.. and looked set for another long range cracker until it smacked against a derby head on route to the top corner. Unplayable second half.

Oliveria 7/10 - fair play to Olive, he worked hard today. Held the ball up well, although needs to win more with his head. Poor penalty, but that miss seemed to invigorate his performance. Great turn for the peno.. but can’t score for love or money at the minute.. smashing one from 3 yards against the keeper when a hint of composure would have resulted in a goal.

All in all a great result. At times the formation and strategy was questionable. The first 20 minutes of the second half derby seemed happy for our back three and Leitner to pass it around. Eventually we managed to work the play further upfield which paid off.

Derby were very average. They seemed content to hold out for 1 nil, which looked easy for them, until we worked out how to play our attractive football in the final third.

Pinto at wingback will help this formation too.

[hogesar 10,761]

The formation and strategy were never questionable today.

Even a Derby defender posted on social media saying they couldn''t get to grip with our system and they were lucky to get a draw.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

First half we didnt pressure much. And second half, the first 15/20 minutes were hugely frustrating as we had no penetration and Derby comfortabley allowed us to play with it at the back. It didn’t look like we had an idea at that point.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

It''s how we play. We are too fit for most teams and come the last 20 mins it shows. I''ve posted about this before. Second half we''re F21 A14. Last 15 mins we''re F10 A4. We didn''t even use subs ''til 87m. 

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

Oliveira - 1/10 from me. missed a pen and didn''t score from open play. Should have worked harder. I only watched on the radio but I want him out of the club asap.  sh*t player.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]It''s how we play. We are too fit for most teams and come the last 20 mins it shows. I''ve posted about this before. Second half we''re F21 A14. Last 15 mins we''re F10 A4. We didn''t even use subs ''til 87m. [/quote]

Possibly superior fitness is at play. But at the time, it looked as though we coudlnt shift the ball fast enough to threaten and penetrate. Quite a few occasions there looked to be too much of a gap between the two holding midfielders, who were virtually in a back 5, and the forward three.

It seemed to change around the 65 minute mark, with Leitner in particular pushing higher. Whether this was down to fitness or not, I’m not sure.

And since I mentioned him again, enjoy Leitner while we have him. He’s far too good for this level. Instrumental in everything we did.

[hogesar 10,761]

What youre referencing Lincoln is patience. Eventually Derby as the home team would lose tactical discipline. No player likes watching the other team have the ball for long periods, and we were looking dangerous if not clinical in the final third.

Derby tried to press but understandably tired with our dominance of the ball. Gaps opened and as you rightly say the likes of Leitner and Maddison were able to make the more penetrating passes.

[lappinitup 629]

Good to see Lincoln got a stream. [Y]

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="lappinitup"]Good to see Lincoln got a stream. [Y][/quote]

Zzzzz... I was there.

And to be honest the level of moaning around me for the first 20 minutes of the second half, was at a level much above me on here.