August 2014

The first game of the 2014/15 season brought us up against Barnet at their ground. They had finished in the bottom half the previous year, and we'd won all four previous meetings over the past two seasons so it's safe to say we were the favourites for the match. Jordan Watson was the only new face in the starting line-up, beginning the game on the left of midfield. Mitchell McPike and Joe Benjamin made the bench, with the other new arrival, Sam Pitman, unavailable through injury. We had a good start though; Netan Sansara floated in a free-kick from the right hand side which was pushed into the net, rather strangely, by Barnet 'keeper Ross Rehman. Things got better for us when Denis Behan scored from another free-kick, and we went into the break 2-0 up. The Barnet manager must've said something spectacular in the dressing room though; as within 8 minutes of the restart, they were level. We piled on the pressure, with Benjamin, McPike and Lewis Alessandra all coming on as substitutes; one of them in place of David Fox who had to be brought off through injury after 62 minutes. It looked as though we were fighting a lost cause until in the third minute of a possible four minutes of stoppage time, Jordan Watson floated the ball into the Barnet box, and Mitchell McPike rose above the defence to head in from 10 yards. Not a bad way to introduce yourself really.

An injury in the previous game to David Fox meant McPike was given his first start for the club in the next game against newly-relegated Darlington. Jake Simpson also missed the game with a twisted knee, meaning Ryan Charles moved to right midfield and Lewis Alessandra started up front. After a goalless first half, we were awarded a penalty on 60 minutes when Denis Behan was brought down in the box. Behan himself stepped up and converted it to give us the lead. Darlington gave little response, and we should've added to our lead many times. It wasn't until the 92nd minute that we did eventually double our tally, with captain Lewis Montrose turning sharply in the box and hitting a low shot in the bottom corner to seal the victory.

Joe Benjamin started his first game for the club in the next match away at Gateshead, replacing the injured Denis Behan. Gateshead were definitely our bogey team; we'd lost all four of our previous meetings, despite them finishing 13th in the last two seasons. By the end of the game, that figure had increased to five wins from five for Gateshead, after a 3-1 victory ensured they went home with all three points. They scored first, but Lewis Alessandra cancelled their early goal out just after half-time. However, two more goals gave them the win, and I just don't understand why we can't beat them.

We were back to winning ways in the next match though, with a convincing 4-0 victory over Droylsden. A goal after just 19 seconds from Ryan Charles, the quickest in the club's history, gave us a very early lead, with Michael Noone doubling our advantage after 13 minutes. Joe Benjamin added a third on 85 minutes with a powerful effort, his first goal for the club, and Lewis Montrose rounded off the win with a 20-yard shot, taking his tally for the season to two, doubling his career goals and tripling his total for the club.

We travelled to Northwich for the next game, and once again went away with three points with a Denis Behan penalty on 27 minutes, followed by a Ryan Charles goal, giving us a 2-0 victory. The final game of the season was at home to 4th placed Macclesfield. Charles' third goal in three games gave us the lead, and although for the rest of the game they had the better chances, they failed to find a goal and we once again went home with 3 points.

This month was certainly one of the best in my managerial career in terms of results, and it was a perfect start to the league campaign. We were in 2nd place, behind Kidderminster, who were incidentally our first opponents in September. The success this month has come despite several injuries to notable first-teamers, including Jake Simpson, David Fox and Denis Behan, which shows the level of squad depth we currently have. I'm hoping for more of the same next month, so we shall see!