Southampton could only draw 1-1 at Lincoln today after Welington lashed in the opener a minute before the break.
A late Mikkel Ladefoged header from close range levelled matters with just three minutes left to play at Sincil Bank (ProAmpac Stadium) after Tonda Eckert tinkered needlessly with his team.
Goalkeeper and Defenders
Daniel Peretz — 8/10. Four saves, two of them diving stops. Lincoln worked 2.61 expected goals on target and scored just once, which put Peretz at 1.61 goals prevented. He claimed one cross cleanly and punched another clear, then swept up with three clearances. Distribution was the shaky part, at 70.7 per cent from 41 passes. Even so, a fine answer to his uncomfortable night at Birmingham.
James Bree — 6.5/10. Quiet and tidy. Bree stayed glued to the right touchline. Three clearances, an interception and a block. Only one of his three crosses found an ivory Saints shirt. Passing held up at 89.7 per cent from 39 attempts.
Keven Schlotterbeck — 7.5/10. The busiest Saint on the pitch. Schlotterbeck racked up 94 touches, won nine duels and hacked away eight clearances, six of them headers. His heat map shows how far forward he stepped, with 54 per cent of his touches in the middle third. He nodded a set piece wide two minutes before the goal, too.
Jack Stephens — 7/10. Ten clearances. Three tackles. Stephens barely left his own half, and against this much pressure, that was exactly the job. Those 56 passes went at 94.6 per cent, so the ball kept moving whenever it reached him. Not a bad performance from the often maligned captain.
Welington — 8/10. What a finish. Left foot, from outside the box, high into the corner, and Opta valued the chance at 0.02 expected goals. The left flank was his all afternoon, with 32 per cent of his heat map pushed into the attacking third. Four clearances, a block and two fouls won before he made way unnecessarily in the 78th minute.
Midfielders
Flynn Downes — 7/10. Sixty-two passes at 96.8 per cent is a tidy afternoon's work. Just 16 per cent of his work came in his own defensive third. One tackle, one interception, one block, one clearance. Two fouls conceded showed his aggressive edge, though no Saint was booked all afternoon.
James Ward-Prowse — 8/10. Six key passes. One of them led to the goal, but it's hardly a claimable assist. Ward-Prowse hit 73 passes at 97.3 per cent and landed all six of his long balls, which is absurd accuracy in a game this stretched. Two tackles and two interceptions say he worked hard without the ball as well. His heat map covers the full width of the pitch. The homecoming looks smarter by the week.
Attacking Players
Kuryu Matsuki — 7/10. Matsuki tested the keeper inside 12 minutes and got another effort away later. Two shots in all. He held his width high on the right, and 39 per cent of his touches were in the final third. Four clearances show he tracked back, though three loose touches let him down.
Finn Azaz — 5/10. Both his shots were blocked. Azaz drifted infield and right instead of sitting in behind Larin, and 42 touches produced no key passes at all. Four unsuccessful touches and two occasions dispossessed, though a pair of tackles helped. A flat afternoon.
Léo Scienza — 7.5/10. Nobody in ivory played higher. His heat map put 57 per cent of his work in the attacking third. Four shots. One rattled both posts on the hour mark. Lincoln fouled him four times, more than any teammate, and five crosses came in from his left. Off on 63 minutes, short of a goal rather than short of ideas. This was a substitution made with Tuesday night in mind.
Cyle Larin — 6.5/10. Three key passes from 19 touches is a return worth noting. Service was scarce, so Larin dropped deep to hunt for it. He headed off target midway through the first half. A breakaway effort on 56 minutes was easily saved. Southampton created no big chances all game, and that is not on him alone.
Substitutes - Player Ratings
Divin Mubama — 5/10. On for Larin just after the hour. Sixteen touches, four of them lost, and two fouls given away. Mubama nodded a stoppage-time corner tamely wide from a promising position. A downgrade on Damion Downs? Possibly.
Samuel Edozie — 6/10. Replaced Scienza on 63 minutes. Six passes, all of them accurate, plus one successful dribble. Dispossessed three times as he tried to do a little too much on the ball.
Ryan Manning — 5.5/10. Slotted in at left-back for the final quarter. Nine touches brought a key pass, a tackle, a block and a clearance. Caught out of position at least once. A terrible substitution by Eckert.
Lewis Dobbin — 5.5/10. Four touches. One was a shot on target deep into stoppage time. A passenger in a game that needed more from him.
Nathan Wood — 5/10. On to shore things up on 84 minutes. Lincoln equalised three minutes later through Mikkel Ladefoged, whose chance Opta rated at 0.59 expected goals, comfortably the best either side carved out. Wood let the ball drift over his head as he momentarily lost Ladefoged. That was enough to concede the goal.
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