April 2014

Promotion-contenders Kidderminster brought an end to our run of consecutive wins with a 2-0 victory in the first game of the final month of the season. We arguably had the better chances but it was the visitors who converted the chances into goals, and we went home with nothing to show for our efforts. However we were back to winning ways in the next game against Grays Athletic, as we ran out 2-1 winners, thanks to goals from Sean Hines and Denis Behan, with the latter coming on with 20 minutes to go and scoring the winner from the penalty spot. Michael Noone twisted his ankle in the game, leaving him out for the rest of the season, which was a big blow considering David Fox had already been ruled out as well.

The Grays game was followed by two away 1-1 draws, firstly against Salisbury and then against Droylsden. In both games, we scored first and in both games, our opponents equalised within the last 20 minutes, which was very annoying to say the least. Ryan Charles hit his 50th league goal for the club in the Droylsden game, whilst Denis Behan grabbed his 20th in all competitions against Salisbury. The two draws also meant that we couldn't make the play-offs, with 6th place being the best we could achieve. It was disappointing, but 6th place would obviously be an improvement on last year.

However with two games left, we were determined to end the season on a high. The penultimate game of the season came against Woking, who were 21st in the league and looking almost certain relegation candidates. 17-year-old Paul Gower started alongside Lewis Montrose in the centre of the park for his first start for the club. It was the away side who scored first; Chris Pavlou slotting the ball neatly past Tommy Lee after 21 minutes. Their lead only last 9 minutes though, as a scramble in the box left the ball at Jake Simpson's feet, who calmy finished into an open goal. On the stroke of half-time, Richard Offiong broke through the Woking defence to score his 14th of the season, with his 15th coming after a Ryan Charles penalty. The game finished 4-1 in the end, with Offiong receiving the Man of the Match award.

The final game of the season brought us up against Rushden & Diamonds, who had occupied the top spot for over half of the season, and for the other half had been in 2nd behind Wrexham. Going into the game, they had already been crowned champions and had sealed promotion to League Two, so it was a bit of a nothing game for them. We however, could still make 6th place, as we were 3 points behind AFC Wimbledon. Rushden were 2-0 up by the 21st minute though, and it looked as if we didn't have enough to come back, until a goal-mouth scramble allowed Tom Parkes to score his 2nd of the season on 53 minutes, and then just 4 minutes later, William Mellors-Blair was played in by Richard Offiong for his 1st goal of the season in what could be his final appearance for the club due to his loan period ending after the game. After this, we had the momentum but failed to make our chances into goals, as the game finished 2-2. It was a good performance in the end, and one that we could've won on another day.

So that was it; the end of the 2013/14 season. We finished 7th, two places better than the previous year, which was something to build on for next year. The next installment of the blog will be a summary of the season, so look out for it!