March 2014

Shrewsbury Town were the first visitors of the month to New Bucks Head, a team who we hadn't beaten in the three previous games against them, and who were putting forward a strong case for a play-off place. Paul Green replaced Max Wragg at right-back in the only change to the starting line-up, and it was us who drew first blood. Jake Simpson linked well with Lewis Alessandra on the right hand side to bend a cross into the box where Netan Sansara was lurking. Sansara met the ball with his head for his 3rd goal of the season. However Shrewsbury were back level just 3 minutes later, and then, thanks to a Tom Parkes own goal, were ahead after 31 minutes. A powerful effort from David Fox just over 5 minutes before the break gave us an equaliser, but the visitors grabbed what proved to be the winning goal on 73 minutes when Alex Stavrinou scored, to make the final score 3-2 to them.

This game was followed by another defeat, this time at the hands of lowly Chester City, who were dwindling away towards the bottom half of the season. Two goals in the first half proved too much, and we didn't manage a comeback, meaning we went home with nothing. This called for some major changes in the next match at home to 3rd placed Cambridge; Max Wragg returned and Sean Hines started in left midfield, meaning Netan Sansara switched to left back. Tom Parkes partnered Chris Robertson at centre half, with Callum Harrison dropping to the bench, and Ryan Charles came in for Lewis Alessandra, who had taken a knock in the previous game. Jake Simpson's 2nd goal of the season put us ahead after 12 minutes, only for Cambridge to cancel it out 7 minutes later. Simpson unfortunately had to be brought off on 34 minutes after twisting his knee but a Denis Behan double in the space of 3 minutes shortly before half-time, one a header from a Sansara cross, and the other a penalty, gave us a massive advantage. Ryan Charles added a 4th on 62 minutes and David Fox completed the rout with 25 minutes left to make the final score 5-1.

The Cambridge game was followed by two 1-0 wins; first against Barnet when substitute Richard Offiong scored in the 85th minute, and then against Forest Green with Sean Hines providing the only goal of the game; his first for the club. We then travelled to bottom-of-the-table Altrincham for our final game of the month. Michael Noone replaced the injured David Fox for the second consecutive game, whilst William Mellors-Blair played right midfield in place of Jake Simpson who was still out with a twisted knee. Goals from Ryan Charles and Denis Behan meant we went into half-time 2-0 up, and despite a second half goal from the home side, we managed to hold on for a win; our fourth in a row.

A successful March left us in 7th place going into April, and meant we were still in the race for the play-offs. Next month will see the climax of the league, but hopefully it won't be the end of our season.

March 2013

After the convincing win at Ebbsfleet, we hosted fellow play-off contenders Shrewsbury Town the following weekend. Adrian Nevins was missing due to a thigh injury so Graham Coughlan, an ex-Shrewsbury player himself, returned to the side to partner the in-form Mark Arber at centre back. It was an overall even match, and we should've come away with at least a point. However, Shrewsbury winger Damian Scannell dealt a cruel blow to us in the 93rd minute by rising at the back post and heading past Alex Cisak to win the match for his side. It was practically the last kick of the match. Very annoying, to say the least.

Jake Simpson returned to the starting line up after injury for our next game at struggling Chester City, after coming on off the bench in the previous match. Lewis Montrose grabbed his first goal for the club on 12 minutes with a neat close range finish, but the home side responded with two goals either side of half time. Ryan Charles levelled things up for us on 67 minutes with an effort from the edge of the box, but once again, Chester got their noses in front less than 10 minutes later. They held on, and we were denied even a point in a match which we had 18 shots to their 10, as well as 60% of the possession.

2nd in the table Aldershot were our next opponents. Just what we needed; a tough match after two disappointing, morale-denting losses. Two defeats in a row had turned into three by the end of the game, as we lost 2-1 despite taking the lead in the first half through Michael Noone. Aldershot equalised on 60 minutes, and got the winner on 81 minutes. Lewis Alessandra was also carried off with a twisted ankle towards the end of the match. This saw us drop to 11th in the table; our lowest league position of the season.

Our losing streak came to an end in our next game, though. Our opponents were Barrow, who were 22nd in the league, off-form and looking pretty likely for relegation. On paper, an easy victory. However, it was Barrow who opened the scoring on 18 minutes. Ryan Charles was brought on on 68 minutes, and our formation changed to 4-3-3. Almost immediately, the change had made a difference; Jake Simpson crossed for Netan Sansara who headed in from close range to draw us level. Despite the introduction of another striker, Richard Offiong, we just couldn't manage to grab a winner. Nevertheless, we had a point in the bag, and that was good for morale, if nothing else.

The final game of March was against Fleetwood Town, who found themselves clinging onto their Blue Square Premier life by the skin of their teeth, as they stood in 23rd place, a fair few points from safety. Graham Coughlan and Adrian Nevins started together at centre back for the first time since the 6th of February, William Mellors-Blair (whose loan had just recently been extended for another month) started on the right hand side of midfield, with Jake Simpson dropping to the bench, and Richard Offiong and Denis Behan started up front. It was the latter, Behan, who opened the scoring for us on 32 minutes, only for the away side to reply shortly after half time. Netan Sansara restored our lead with his second goal in as many games, and his 5th of the season, and substitute Ryan Charles made sure we came away with 3 points in the 4th minute of stoppage time, after latching onto Lewis Montrose's flick on. This goal was a milestone for the striker, as it was his 32nd AFC Telford goal; making him the club's all-time leading goalscorer since their foundation in 2004. Montrose came away with the Man of the Match award, after setting up two goals and making some key tackles in midfield.

March started off very badly, but the win against Fleetwood in the final game made sure we didn't go into April with our heads down and our confidence deflated. Next month will see the culmination of the 2012/13 season, and we currently sit in 9th place. Reaching the play-offs is still mathematically possible, but it would be pretty unlikely. I think everyone at the club will be pleased if we managed to finish in 9th, or anywhere above that, considering it is our first season in the league. We'll see what happens anyway.

March 2012

After a 100% record in February, I was hoping for more of the same in March. Unfortunately, things didn't get off to the best start. An away game at Droylsden provided me with only my second defeat as manager of AFC Telford. Two first half goals finished us off, and the own goal in the second half was merely a consolation in a 2-1 loss.

Lewis Alessandra was missing through injury for the Droylsden game, and was absent once again for our next fixture against bottom-of-the-table Hednesford. It's fair to say that we didn't miss our top goalscorer that much though, as Ryan Charles stepped up to the mark. It was his first half hat-trick that sealed a comfortable 3-0 win against a very poor Hednesford side (who incidentally had confirmed their relegation by the end of the month).

Fellow promotion contenders Ilkeston were our next opponents. Lewis Alessandra was back in the team for the game at New Bucks Head, and carried on where he left off by bagging a couple of goals. Ryan Charles, continuing his own good form, also scored twice in a 4-0 victory, with his second of the game marking his 10th goal of the season.

We moved up to 4th in the league after the win against Ilkeston; Telford's highest position of the season. 5th placed Nuneaton Town made the relatively short journey over to Shropshire a week later, in what was another tough encounter for us. Ryan Charles opened the scoring from 25 yards just after the half hour mark, for his 6th goal in 3 games. Lewis Alessandra then doubled our lead shortly after, and we managed to hold on despite a second half goal from Nuneaton, which was the first goal Alex Cairns, who reclaimed the number one spot against Hednesford, had conceded in over 350 minutes of football.

As if we hadn't already had a pretty tough month in terms of fixtures, our next game brought us up against league-leaders Southport. We were leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Alessandra and Netan Sansara, until the a 70th minute penalty brought Southport back into the game. They then equalised 10 minutes later and that was the way things finished. A good result, but it was slightly disappointing that we couldn't hold onto our lead.

The final fixture in March was against Redditch, a game which we comfortably 2-0 through two Jake Simpson goals. We finished the month in 4th place, three points off 3rd placed Stafford, nine points off 2nd placed Southport and 11 points off the leaders Hinckley. Next month will see the climax of the Blue Square North season, and realistically, I think we should make the play-offs. With six games left, the gap is probably too big to win the league and claim the only automatic spot. I was 3rd in the Manager of the Month awards this month, but Ryan Charles was awarded with Player of the Month. All of the teams we have left to play are currently in the bottom half of the table, with the exception of Hinckley, who we play on the final day of the season. That could definitely be interesting.

March 2010

An away fixture against Stalybridge was our first test in March. Nic McDonnell, Simon Heslop and Sonny Cobbs were all still missing due to injury, so it was a bit of a make shift team that started the game. Stalybridge were sitting fairly comfortably in mid-table, whilst we were placed fairly uncomfortably in 16th. We didn't play well, and ended up losing the game 2-0, thanks to goals on either side of half time.

We were desperately seeking a win, and our next game brought us up against Fleetwood Town, who we had beaten 3-1 earlier in the season. Fleetwood were currently 2nd in the league, so it was going to be a tough ask to repeat our previous success. We couldn't have asked for a better start though; after six minutes, the returning Simon Heslop hit a first time shot from 30 yards that whistled past the Fleetwood 'keeper and into the back of the net. Apparently, we would be seeing that goal for some time. Brian Dutton doubled our advantage 20 minutes later with a strike from a narrow angle. We looked very comfortable, I must say. Someone who hadn't seen the league standings would've probably placed us in 2nd, and Fleetwood in 16th, not the other way round. This is what I don't understand about Harrogate. We go and do the double over one of the best sides in the league, yet we slip up against Solihull Moors and teams who look destined for relegation. It is really annoying.

A week later, we travelled to Ilkeston, who were 5th in the league and going strong. We were buoyed by our somewhat unexpected victory the week earlier, and we did have a good record against teams in the top six, so the whole team were expecting to get something from this game. Partnering Harry Hogarth at centre back was new recruit Joshua Vermooten, a South-African signed on a free after his Leeds United contract expired. He had a solid debut, but we ended up losing the game 2-0. Brian Dutton was given his marching orders with five minutes left on the clock, in what was a bit of a harsh decision. However, I kept my mouth shut this time though; I'd already been warned twice by the FA for comments made about refereeing decisions.

So that's March. Only three games this month, and only one month left of the season. Ideally, I'd like us to finish above 10th place, but somehow I don't think that will happen. Our run-in until the end of the season is pretty generous though; we still have to play Hyde who are bottom of the league.