Schumacher's Lincoln Reaction
After a 1-1 draw at Lincoln City, Argyle manager Steven Schumacher declared himself content with a point that his Pilgrims claimed at the LNER Stadium.
It is the most any team has left with this season, and is by far the most common outcome of Lincoln City home games. They have now won one and drawn seven of their eight home fixtures, and Schumacher has certainly factored that in when assessing Argyle’s yield.
The Greens look the lead, with Adam Randell firing home from 20 yards, before Max Sanders equalised for the home side right on half-time.
Both sides will probably look back on chances they had that could have won the game, but therefore equally may consider that their luck was, at times, ridden.
“I thought it was a good point,” Schumacher told Argyle TV. “This is not an easy place to come to. Nobody has managed to win here yet. They’ve beaten Derby County, they drew with Sheffield Wednesday, beaten Ipswich away. As I said earlier on in the week, they’ve obviously got some spirit. It was a proper fight.
“Throughout the 90 minutes we played, in spells, some good stuff. We probably could have looked after the ball better, but the character that we’ve shown to dig in and fight when we had to put our backs to the wall was really pleasing. It’s another good point on the tally towards where we want to get to.
“There was some good attacking play [in the game]. We had spells where we created a couple of nice opportunities, so did they. There were a few errors in there for both teams too.
“When one team made an error, the other team seemed to build a spell of pressure. It was a good fight; two teams who were fully committed and went for it.
“We obviously wanted to come here and get three points, but a point away from home, given good the start of the season has been, and how strong our home form has been, is a good point.
“You’ve got to remember that other teams see where we are in the league, see how well we’ve been playing. We’re top of the league, they are going to be desperate to take the scalp off us. The commitment and effort Lincoln. Showed today, they probably deserve the point out of it.
“We’ve got to learn from that and understand that in those games you need to just be calm, not make too many errors, and if we do create opportunities, be a bit more clinical with it.
“I’m definitely not disappointed with one on the road.”
Schumacher introduced Matt Butcher from the bench just after the hour mark, followed closely by Sam Cosgrove, but did not use any further substitutes until stoppage time.
Once Butcher and Cosgrove were on, the outfield options remaining comprised three teenagers plus Macaulay Gillepshey, who is on the road to recovery from injury.
The final change generated a nice moment though, as Freddie Issaka came on for his EFL debut, aged 16 years and 107 days, making him the second-youngest Pilgrim to appear for Argyle in league action, behind Lee Phillips.
“Everyone knows we are struggling a little bit at the moment, with injuries,” Schumacher said. “The whole squad had to dig in today, fight and work really hard. The subs who came on did well. They helped us settle down, especially Butch. Sam Cosgrove did well for us, got us up the pitch and meant we could go a little bit more direct.
“I’m pleased for young Freddie, making his league debut. It won’t be the last we see of him.”
Nearly 1,200 members of the Green Army filled the Lincoln away end, and after the previous weekend’s ill-fated jaunt to Lincolnshire, losing to Grimsby Town 5-1 in the Emirates FA Cup, would have headed back to Devon in a much more contented state.
The trips get a little shorter next time, with an away game at Burton Albion before Home Park again sees league action, in December.
“It’s one of our longest trips in the league,” noted Schumacher. “Last week [at Grimsby] was a bit further in the cup.
“Last week we didn’t put in a performance for our fans, we were well below par. How well we have played this season, the fans appreciate the effort that the lads are putting in.
“We won’t play brilliantly every week, we won’t control games every week, but the support that we’ve got, as long as they keep sticking with us, the players will give everything they have got for the shirt. They’ll go home, happy with the point I’m sure, and I’m sure they’ll all be there next week at Burton.”
