Rotherham United entertained Lincoln City at the New York Stadium on Saturday in a battle between two clubs who are back in the division after various lengths of time away: United returning to League One having suffered relegation from the Championship after one year back in the second division and after promotion last year, Lincoln were on their first away trip in the third tier for 20 years, last playing at this level in the 1998/99 season.
The Imps were the victors here, leaving south Yorkshire with a 0-2 win to back up their opening-day success at home to Accrington Stanley. Here, we will provide an in-depth tactical analysis of the match, with our analysis looking at the tactics employed by both teams and how successful they were.
Lineups
Rotherham lined up in a 4-3-3 when in possession and a 4-5-1 when not on the ball, with wide forwards Michael Smith and Kyle Vassell dropping into the position of a winger in order to give support to their full-backs. Freddie Ladapo was the central striker between the pair, whilst Matt Crooks and Shaun McDonald looked to offer support from midfield ahead of the deeper Daniel Barlaser.
As for Lincoln, they operated between a 4-2-3-1 in possession and a 4-5-1 when not, with Jack Payne and Jorge Grant – the two attackers of the three behind striker Tyler Walker – dropping in to give support. Harry Anderson moved from a traditional central midfield position to an attacking midfielder when on the ball, with defensive balance in the middle of the park offered by Michael O’Connor and Joe Morrell.
If you want to read the full tactical breakdown of the Rotherham United vs Lincoln City’s match, head over to totalfootballanalysis.com
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