October 2013

Captain Lewis Montrose and Richard Offiong returned to the squad after injury for out first game of the month against Chester City. It was a game which we should've won, and one in which we had plenty of chances to do so; 12 shots to be specific, to their 5. Once again our defence impressed, but our attack just couldn't quite find the finishing touch to some good moves. Their keeper got Man of the Match, which shows how much he had to do, as the game ended goalless.

Ryan Charles was back from injury for the next game against Cambridge, but the striker lasted just 50 minutes before being taken off with concussion. Just 3 minutes after, substitute Callum Harrison fouled a Cambridge player in the box and they were awarded a penalty, which they subsequently converted. This was the way the game finished.

Max Wragg made the bench for the next match after missing 9 months through injury. The right back was voted our Fans Player of the Year last season, despite missing nearly 4 months of it with damanged cruciate ligaments. It was good to see him back in contention though. Dale Hannah missed the Cambridge game as he was on international duty with Scotland U21s, and he was still away for the Barnet game. Lewis Alessandra opened the scoring with his 3rd goal of the season after 7 minutes, and two goals from Denis Behan shortly after half time, both of which were provided by Lewis Montrose, sealed the win for us, despite a Barnet consolation with 20 minutes left to play. It was a comfortable victory in the end, and one that took us upto 6th place in the league.

Forest Green were our final league opponents of the month. Dale Hannah returned and took his place on the left wing, meaning Netan Sansara moved back to play left full back. In over 60 games for the club, Sansara had played left midfield for all of them, even though he's a natural left back. Hopefully he won't have forgotten how to play there. After squandering numerous chances, it looked as though we were heading towards yet another 0-0 draw. However, Richard Offiong was brought on for Lewis Alessandra in the 62nd minute, and less than 10 minutes later scored the goal which proved to be the winner, with a powerful finish in the corner from a Lewis Montrose through ball.

We ended the month with an FA Cup fixture. It was the 4th Round Qualifying and we were drawn against Willenhall Town away from home. They were a small semi-professional club from the West Midlands and one of the only teams left in the competition from below the Blue Square North or South. Max Wragg started his first game after injury, with Paul Green moving to left back. Dale Hannah and William Mellors-Blair missed out because of the terms of their loan, Michael Noone and Graham Coughlan started their first games of the season, with the latter partnering Callum Harrison in defence. We had a good start; Lewis Alessandra fed in Richard Offiong after just 5 minutes to open the scoring. This was followed 15 minutes later with a bizarre goal which was credited to Michael Noone. Offiong hit a shot from the edge of the box which was deflected by a Willenhall defender onto Noone, who I don't think knew much about it, and into the back of the net. Offiong did get his second of the game, and our third, in the 26th minute; Lewis Alessandra once again the provider. David Fox was brought on in the second half and scored his first goal for the club with a thunderous 25-yard strike into the top corner. Substitute Ryan Charles, back from injury, completed the scoring with 2 minutes of normal time left, with a back post header off a Michael Noone cross. We sailed comfortably into the second round.

Forgetting the Cambridge result, it was an overall good month for us, and we finished in 6th place, just one point away from Cambridge in 5th. Next month's fixtures are pretty varied; we play two teams from the top 5, two teams from the relegation zone and two from mid-table.