3 things we learned about Lincoln City after their 2-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town | OneFootball

Lincoln City were beaten 2-0 by Shrewsbury Town at the Montgomery Waters Meadow in League One on Saturday.

Luke Leahy’s penalty put the Shrews ahead just before half time and Tom Bayliss’ 60th-minute strike sealed all three points for the hosts. The defeat means the Imps drop to 11th in the table and are now level with Steve Cotterill’s side on 26 points, five points from the play-offs.

It ended a three-game unbeaten league run for Mark Kennedy’s men who are next in action when they host Wycombe Wanderers at Sincil Bank on Saturday.

Here are three things we learned about Lincoln from that defeat to Shrewsbury.

Struggles against lesser sides

While Shrewsbury are certainly a decent side in the third tier, sitting nine points clear of the relegation zone, the game continued the Imps’ difficulties against those in and around them.

One of the impressive aspects of Kennedy’s time in charge so far has been their ability to pick up points against some of the top teams in the division, including wins over Derby County, Ipswich Town and Barnsley and draws with Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle.

If Lincoln could replicate some of these performances against opposition who are further down the table, then the Imps would have closed the gap to the top six even further.

With just three wins against sides sitting below them in the table, Kennedy needs to ensure his side raise their game consistently in the way they do against the promotion contenders.

Quiz: What shirt number are these 25 current Lincoln City players?

1 of 25

TJ Eyoma

20 21 22 23

Away day problems

The Imps have only lost five of their 19 league games this season which is an outstanding record, but all five of those defeats have come away from home.

Kennedy’s men are unbeaten at the LNER Stadium all season, but have not been able to show the same resilience on the road.

While they have had some incredibly impressive away wins against the promotion contenders, they have also had some difficult days on their travels.

The home form is giving the Imps an excellent platform on which to build their play-off push, but Kennedy may feel Saturday’s game was a missed opportunity to rectify the away form against a Shrews side who were winless in six league games prior to the clash.

Lack of cutting edge

In terms of the stats, Lincoln seemed to have the better of the game on Saturday.

The Imps had 57% possession and also had 13 shots compared to the Shrews’ 10 attempts. While the hosts did have more shots on target, the visitors did not take advantage of their territorial dominance.

Aside from the Shrews, Lincoln are the lowest scorers in the top half of the table and their lack of ruthlessness in front of goal may restrict their progress up the league this term.

Ben House is their top goalscorer with six goals and Jack Diamond has five, but if their main front men have an off day, there are question marks over who will step up.

Tom Hopper is back to full fitness and with Danny Mandroiu hopefully returning in the coming weeks, Kennedy will have his attacking options strengthened and that could help to make the difference.