Imps suffer yet another case of 2 points lost.

By Nathan Jackson
November 12 2005

City dominated yet another home game but were yet again unable to make the domination count against a side that only had 2 shots all afternoon inbetween their bouts of time wasting and falling over. If City actually had a striker that could hit a barn door than maybe we'd actually win these games.

Shrewsbury kicked the game off but the pre-match minute silence seemed to have them off guard as City quickly gained the ball and forced a corner within 2 minutes when Beevers combined well with Mayo down the left. A corner was floated in and Hart produced a fine save from a Scott Kerr volley and the ball went out for a throw. Beevers delivered the ball deep into the box and in-form Marvin Robinson saw his close range header blocked by Tolley, the ball fell to Asamoah and the “striker” booted the ball well over the goal for a goal kick.

 

Good interlink play from Kerr and McAuley proved to give the Imps their next opportunity. Kerr played the ball to McAuley who sent a quality 60 yard pass to the feet of Birch who ran past 2 or 3 defenders before sending a shot just wide of the post.

 

City were controlling the match and Marvin Robinson won City a corner on the 13^th minute mark when his headed effort from Mayo’s cross was headed behind by a defender. However, Mayo’s corner was hoofed clear by a Shrewsbury defender. Shrewsbury then took a very undeserved lead. A good ball from a Shrewsbury defender saw Langmead released on the right and he waltzed through a statuesque defence before supply Tolley to score his 2 goals in his last 3 visits to Sincil Bank, not bad for a defender.

 

However, City were straight back on the attack but in typical City style, luck wasn’t on City’s side. Birch again sent a shot wide. Asamoah should have equalised at the half way point in the half but his lack of scoring ability (and yet he’s somehow a striker) cost him as he shot past the post after beating 3 defenders. It was typical Asamoah really, a handful of tricks and he has bags of talent but when it comes to actually producing in front of goal, he simply isn’t good enough.

 

Scott Kerr was the next to miss the target, whilst at the same time sending in his audition take for the Wigan Rugby Club. The chance came from a corner and the ball fell to Kerr just 12 yards out and he proceeded to boot it over the net, over the stand, passed the car park and into someone’s back yard. However, City did appear to have a goal just a minute later when after a scramble, Nat Brown smashed the ball goalwards, it hit the bar and went down and appeared to cross the line before it was cleared by Tolley.

 

Asamoah then had similar luck to Brown when after picking up a corner, decided to run around every defender before shooting and the ball rebounded back of the bar and was cleared by the Shrewsbury defence. If Asamoah had bothered to pass to anyone then chances are it would have been a goal.

 

The second half started like the first had ended, with City well on top of the game and Asamoah proceeded to waste another chance when he burst through 3 defenders and was one on one with the keeper but instead of shooting, he decided to pass it to Birch who was on the edge of the 18 yard area and the ball was easily intercepted by a Shrewsbury defender.

 

City’s luck up until this point was summed up by the next chance. Asamoah again broke down the right before playing a ball along the 6 yard line to Robinson and the striker could only hit his shot straight at Hart. However, there was a sense of déjà vu just after this. City’s last league goal had been a goalmouth scramble that was hit in by Brown. Kerr crossed the ball into the box where Mayo headed goal-ward but Whitehead headed off the line but the ball fell to Robinson who headed downwards and after nearly every player in the area touched the ball on the line, Nat Brown poked the ball goalwards and the referee and linesman awarded a goal but if I’m perfectly honest, I don’t have the slightly clue if it went over the line or not.

 

Robinson almost put City in the lead just afterwards when he headed Birch’s cross across goal and the ball went just wide of the post. It was Birch’s turn to head wide a minute later before then forcing Hart to make a save with a shot from the edge of the box.

 

A serious of curious free kicks and bookings came from the referee soon after, as did Shrewsbury’s “we’ve just been shot” attitude. Asamoah ran into the area and past 2 defenders before a Shrewsbury defender cleared the ball for a throw in. The defender ran off one way and fell over in a heap and Asamoah was booked for apparently kicking him, despite being 10 yards away from him when he fell over.

 

With just under 20 minutes later, Keith made his only substitution of the match when he took off Robinson and replaced him with Green. Within 2 minutes, the other “apparent striker” had won a corner for City. The ball was floated in and headed by McAuley and that was cleared out as far as Beevers who sent the ball in and McAuley conceded the free kick for a foul on the keeper, despite no-one being within 3 yards of the keeper.

 

What’s this? Are Shrewsbury actually our of their own half? Well I’ll be damned. Tolley shot from 20 yards for what was Shrewsbury 2^nd and final shot of the game and it went wide but the referee gave a corner, despite the shot going between the 2 City players with neither even grazing the ball. The corner came to nothing.

 

City had several half chances to win the game but Unfortunatly, a combination of strikers who can’t hit barn doors and Shrewsbury’s time wasting, meant that the Imps would have to settle for a 4^th game with a win at home and to continue a run of only 2 wins from our last 9 games.