Only A Win Tonight Will Do

I believe that nothing less than a win will do tonight, as Town entertain Lincoln City at Portman Road. Even the most optimistic among us surely would not deny this.

If we could get another early goal as we did recently against Burton Albion at our place, then it will settle a few nerves both on and off the pitch. The longer the game goes on without us scoring, the more confident the opposition will become, and we have witnessed this a few times already this season. To use that over-used football cliche about goals winning games, we all know that we cannot afford to settle for a draw this evening. It was good to see Kayden Jackson score in our last encounter because if he finds some form, he usually finds some goals as well, and we cannot perpetually depend on our midfield or defence to wade in with them.

And talking of goals, the one person we have to watch very closely this evening is John Marquis. After netting twice in the victory over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, the striker has now scored an impressive five goals in nine matches since he signed for them in January. Their other threat is Anthony Skully, who has netted five times in 27 appearances for The Imps. They are the main goalscoring threats because the club has scored just 40 goals in 34 encounters so far.

I hate to be the harbinger of doom and gloom but I am a football realist and I would have to say, if we do not win today, our promotion dreams are over for another season. We need a bit of a football miracle anyway – even if we are triumphant tonight, but getting into the winning habit helps to create some momentum, and momentum is key if we have any chance of playing catch-up between now and the end of the season.

And we must ask whether Kieran McKenna will shuffle the pack? He has made this a bit of a habit of late, and it not only fools the football journalists but our opponents as well! I think if he does make changes this evening, they will be subtle ones – or simply because they have been forced upon him. I am sticking with my original prediction of 3-1 to Town, and if we are victorious, we can go into the game here on Saturday with renewed confidence. Come on you blues!