We faced Wrexham in the league today. I put new boy Koroma on the bench, but we were otherwise unchanged from the last match. Koroma, incidentally, got the number 10 jersey. I hope he does it proud.
This time it was Olembé singled out as key man, to which I said, "About bloody time," knowing full well that he'd probably get sent off and Marques would be brilliant, just to spite me.
It was a shaky start. Wrexham were unlucky not to score in the third minute, with Anyon stepping up to make a big save. They went close from the resulting corner, then scored from another corner in the seventh minute.
We answered immediately, though, with Gowling heading home from close range on a free kick in the eighth minute.
We nearly took the lead in the 18th minute. Barnes-Homer crossed from the left wing to set up Shuker, whose header hit the bar. Two rebound attempts were desperately blocked by a determined Wrexham defence.
The next few minutes saw back and forth attacks, with both teams displaying poor finishing.
Wrexham retook the lead in the 45th minute after an excellent piece of wing play—I can't say so much for our defending. Robert Ogleby's strike was initially saved, then Gowling cleared the ball into the opposing striker—whereupon it bounced over the line. Not how we wanted to go in at the break.
I took the under-performing Kanouté off for Koroma at half-time. Bore dropped to right back, and Shuker moved out to the right wing.
A poor clearance from Anyon nearly gifted Wrexham their third on 48 minutes, but the goalkeeper saved well to amend for his error. Then in the 52nd minute, a Marques shot went just wide of the post.
Brilliant wing play from Koroma set up Shuker on 53 minutes. The forward was clinical in his finish.
We continued to trade chances right through to injury time, but no-one could break the deadlock. Barnes-Homer found himself through on goal in the 92 minute, but he blazed his shot over the bar. Two goals a piece the final score, we were perhaps the slightly better team—though a draw was the right result on balance.
Key man Olembé looked threatening on numerous occasions, but failed to have any significant influence on the game, while Shuker picked up man of the match for a fine second-half performance. Koroma's debut off the bench showed signs of things to come—his best moments being two mazy runs on the right wing, one of which resulted in a goal.
Wrexham manager Andy Morrell praised me for Lincoln's playing style post-match, which makes me feel great. That's two managers who've said that, from only four matches, and I take pride in showcasing attractive football.
We're still top, albeit now thanks only to goal difference. Next match is at Newport County in a week.
In late-night business dealings, Hearts defender Matthew Park agreed to join us on loan for five months. I'm delighted—he's a good player who can line up at left back or in the middle, and also in midfield if necessary. Expect him to be in the starting eleven sooner rather than later.
French forward Jean-José Cuenca also joined on trial. I don't think he's likely to win a contract, given Koroma's recent arrival.
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