Mini run comes to an end-Damn it.

 

I sat in the Selenity stand in the gathering gloom and didn’t everything look great? I’d dodged the crowds, sort of, missing the introduction of TJ to the crowd but got in for the entry of the players onto the pitch, which looked lush and healthy.

As expected there was a good turnout from Bolton. Although the crowd looked a little sparse in the Coop opposite, I was confident of a better gate than Saturday. It could hardly fail to be given that Fleetwood brought virtually no one and I was sure the home crowd would hold up. The new digital adverts around the playing area, you get them in all their glory from the Selenity, seemed to define the pitch and give a completeness to the stadium.

With the crowd almost in at kick off, I’d squeezed past the queue for the queue at the end of the country lane bit of Sincil Bank, it was a colourful and impressive sight and I couldn’t help marvel at how far the club had come in a relatively short space of time. The walk through the fan village, the amount of fans in the stand, the big time set up, it was all there. Then we lost.

That in itself of course is inevitable. It’s just I’d hoped we could go a bit longer and we’re so unused to it, in the flesh. I can’t decide whether Bolton Wanderers are a really good side. They were certainly better than Fleetwood. In the end though it all boiled down to City, or rather two players who I wont name fluffed their lines and the ball was in the net. Our net.

City didn’t play badly, there wasn’t much between the teams, despite the predictions of promotion from the victorious Wanderers fans. Just as City had changed the game on Saturday by putting in an improved second half performance it was Bolton that were better after the break. The Imps tried to shuffle the pack but, no luck this time. No Bishop to come on and one of our best performers from last year, Conor McGrandles doesn’t seem to have a full game in him at the moment, not to the same degree of excellence anyway. Similarly Sorensen is a really excellent acquisition but until he can be got up to speed for the full game we’re going to struggle.

We’re just going to have to come to terms, I’m going to have to come to terms, with the fact that there are any numbers of changes to be made to the team and in any case I’m not sure top of the league early on is particularly helpful. We tried that last year. It’s just that, having just missed out last time I was hoping for us simply to go one better this and as we all know it just doesn’t happen like that.