Lincoln City attacker Reeco Hackett concluded his side were ‘not good enough’ in both boxes as they slipped to defeat against Rotherham United.
A floodlight failure meant the game was half an hour late kicking off, and it was further delayed on five minutes after a foul by Hakeem Odoffin injured returning Lincoln defender Adam Jackson. In a quiet stadium devoid of atmosphere, the first half had only one really big moment, Sam Nombe’s headed goal to give the visitors the lead.
Blame Game
The Imps defending for the goal was not good enough, and Dom Jeffries lost his man in the second phase of play. However, the Imps came out fighting, and Jovon Makama got his second goal in as many games to draw it level. Striker Ben House then missed two good chances, with Jack Moylan also driving wide as the Imps pushed for a winner.
Instead, Rotherham got the second goal, and this time it was Makama who lost his man. He was held in the area by Zak Jules, and Sean Raggett, a former Imp, roamed free to power a header past George Wickens, giving the home side the win.
Late Chances
Late chances for Bailey Cadamarteri, Erik Ring and Tendayi Darikwa whould have given the Imps a point, but for the second Tuesday in a row, they travelled away and got beat despite having more shots than their opponents. That’s an issue that winger Reeco Hackett believes they have to improve upon.
“At the minute, we’re not clinical enough in both boxes,” said the former Portsmouth winger. “That’s something we’ve got to take accountability for, something we’ve got to go away and work on. We have certainly got to improve in that area if we want to win more games of football.”
Hackett also pointed to the defensive errors which led to the goals, something the Imps have seen happen multiple times over the last few weeks. Their injury-ravaged defence is rarely settled, and that has led to errors and goals conceded.
“That’s been the story the last couple of weeks, conceding really bad goals, which we don’t usually do. We’ve not really been a team that concedes easy goals,” added Hackett.
Lincoln now enter an important phase of matches which sees Charlton Athletic visit Sincil Bank, before a trip to Huddersfield a week on Saturday.
Writer’s View
Lincoln City may have themselves to blame to a degree, but this game wasn’t just about them in both boxes. Some awful decisions from referee Martin Woods contributed to a miserable evening in which the home side were fortunate to come away with a point, let alone all three.
