Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea head coach, admitted he had to get angry with his players as they trailed League One Lincoln City at half-time but believes his young players will be better for the experience of overcoming such an intense battle.
Lincoln scored from 30 set-pieces last season, more than any other side in the top four English divisions, and led after a ferocious barrage of long balls and long throw-ins in the opening 45 minutes. Rob Street gave Lincoln a deserved lead at the end of a bemusing first half in which Chelsea, fresh from defeats against Manchester United and Bayern Munich, were outfought.
However, two goals within the first five minutes of the restart – from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte – denied Michael Skubala’s side a famous cup victory. Chelsea unsurprisingly made eight changes but, unexpectedly to the neutral, allowed themselves to be bullied for the first half.
Maresca said: “We knew already, we were aware, the game that we expect in terms of long balls, duels, throw‑ins, every time inside the box. I know that some of [my players], they didn’t play this kind of game [before]. I asked today, how many of them had played against League One teams. Then you know you need to play a different kind of game.”
Asked if he had been obliged to deliver some harsh words to his players, he replied: “Absolutely, absolutely. And sometimes it’s more about desire … and we struggle. But if the next game is away to a League One or a League Two side, we need these experiences.”
Lincoln head coach Skubala said: “I’m really proud of the way the lads went about their work. We are adaptable and we changed shape, went 5-diamond-1 and really pressed with our No 8s and ‘put it on them’ first half – but it’s with design. Not many teams can make Chelsea time-waste at the end of a game. We can take massive confidence from this.”
