Lincoln boss Mark Kennedy wants his draw specialists to be more ruthless

Posted Wednesday, March 08, 2023 by PA

Mark Kennedy called for more ruthlessness from his Lincoln side after their 0-0 stalemate at Cheltenham.

The Imps’ 18th draw of the campaign keeps them in 11th place in Sky Bet League One.

However, Kennedy was disappointed not to leave with all three points and said: “It was a bit of a war of attrition but if you’re talking about chances, we should have won the game, but I wasn’t happy with certain things defensively.

“We have to be more ruthless and punish teams. I don’t think we take enough care or pride when we give the ball away.

“We had four really good chances in 96 minutes, but I would have liked to have seen a spell of 10 or 15 minutes of constant pressure.

“Collectively though we’re very proud. There’s a long way to go, but we’re in a good place.”

Only an outstanding save from Luke Southwood prevented the visitors taking the lead during the first half. The on-loan goalkeeper from Reading stretched to prevent Paudie O’Connor’s effort finding the top corner of the net in the 39th minute.

Lincoln were close to breaking the deadlock again 10 minutes into the second period when Southwood advanced from his box to head clear and Teddy Bishop lifted a shot from 40 yards onto the bar.

Ben House then fired wide from a good position in the 65th minute after turning Caleb Taylor to make room for a shot.

At the other end, Carl Rushworth spilled a low drive from Ryan Broom and as Alfie May tried to follow up, the striker went down under Rushworth’s challenge, but penalty appeals were waved away and Taylor headed wide in stoppage time.

Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott felt his side, who climb a place to 17th, were the most likely winners on the night.

“It was a really well-earned, hard-earned point,” he said. “We were the team on the front foot pushing, trying to make something happen.

“But you have to respect they’ve had 18 draws now, 14 clean sheets and they are a tough nut to crack and very good on the counter.

“If any team was going to make something happen it was going to be us, we just didn’t have that moment or that little bit of spark or final bit of quality to punish them.

“But you have to be wary they are very good on transitions and dangerous on counter-attacks.

“I am not happy to settle for a point, but we respect the point. We’ve had to work really hard for it.

“Their record tells you they are a difficult team to break down. We weren’t quite able to do it but it’s another point, another inch, another step towards where we need to get to.”