The Lincoln Under 18s only managed to draw 0-0 this week. They're still doing well overall, though—third place after six games. With five much bigger teams in their group, it'll be no mean feat to stay there.
I got a board confidence update. They are "satisfied" with my performance. I thought I was doing well enough to bump that up to "happy"...but I guess that's not the case. I hope they show more confidence in me next month.
I fielded an unchanged lineup for the match against Alfreton. It wouldn't seem fair to drop Russell back to the bench after his heroics against Luton last time out.
The match started out as quite a cagey affair. Alfreton weren't willing to give us an inch, and the weather didn't do us any favours.
A brilliant long-range effort from Russell on 31 minutes sparked life into the game. We went close twice more in the following several minutes. Alfreton star Lacine Cherif got himself booked for a poor challenge on the edge of the box in the 37th minute.
Both sides struggled to get shots on goal, however, and Alfreton kept us from playing the way we wanted.
I told the boys in no uncertain terms that I wasn't happy at half-time. I directed them to push forward and attack in the second half—to break through the Alfreton defensive barricade.
They did exactly that. Thirty seconds into the second half Barnes-Homer hit the post, after good link play between Power, him, and Koroma.
Alfreton keeper Joe Day was proving a stalwart opponent, consistently mopping up and keeping us out. But then Theo Streete pulled Koroma down inside the box. He was booked once for the challenge, then again for dissent. Nutter scored the penalty, adding insult to injury for Alfreton—now a goal and a man down.
Barnes-Homer missed a golden opportunity on 66 minutes to double our lead, when he was left unmarked just outside the six-yard box. He couldn't keep his header down.
I took Marques off in the 71st minute, after an uncharacteristically poor performance. Then a tired-looking Koroma made way for Pacquette a minute later.
Alfreton had a fifth player booked on 83 minutes, as I wondered whether they'd end the match with nine men. Then Ansah headed against the bar and the rebound was cleared off the goal line.
We almost had a late-game heartbreak in the 88th minute. A mishit cross from deep from Alfreton winger Nathan Arnold curled towards goal, forcing Anyon to dive to his right. The ball spilled to Cherif, who turned to shoot on an open goal. Gowling came sliding in out of nowhere with an inch-perfect challenge that put the ball behind for a corner.
Thoughts of safety came too soon for my boys, however, as Alfreton scored from that resulting corner. Law's cross floated high towards the far post, where Alfreton captain Greg Young climbed above Gowling to power a header past the hapless Anyon. They had equalised with ten men and a minute to spare. It was like something out of a nightmare.
We piled men forward, desperately seeking a winner, while Alfreton did the opposite, holding possession and pulling players back to defend. They succeeded. We barely touched the ball during the three minutes of injury time, even though they never got the ball more than a few yards beyond the halfway line.
It was an embarrassing way to draw in front of the home fans. Credit has to be given to the stunning man of the match performance of Alfreton keeper Joe Day, but we should have won that game by a few goals. We outplayed them—they barely played at all—and created several excellent chances.
I feel for Josh Gowling. The poor guy thought he'd saved the team with a brilliant last-ditch challenge, then less than a minute later he was beaten in the air on a corner. From hero to villain—it's that easy.
Attendance numbered at 2,559 people. The fans were understandably frustrated with the result.
Alfreton manager Nicky Law told the press he didn't like the approach I took during the last game. I didn't take kindly to this, since he's the one who refused to let there be football on the pitch. I hit back that his team will get relegated. Yes, it's on.
The press also asked me about Olembé. I told them straight: "Salomon is not finding it as easy as we had all hoped [to settle in England] but we're going to support him through this difficult patch."
I scheduled a Reserves friendly against Rocester for three days from now. In a bid to get the players extra fitness and to make the game more competitive, I decided to have it go to extra time if scores are level after 90 minutes.
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