September 2014

Jordan Watson was called up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad and therefore missed the first game of the month against Kidderminster Harriers, who at the point of playing us, sat at the top of the league. We found ourselves 2-0 down within 60 minutes, which left us a bit of a mountain to climb in order to salvage something from the fixture. Richard Offiong and Callum Harrison were brought on for Max Wragg and the injured Lewis Montrose and the formation was changed to an attacking 3-4-3. An 83rd minute Netan Sansara free-kick from the edge of the box brought us back into the game at 2-1, and then in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Sansara was once again involved when his cross was met by Tom Parkes at the back post, who headed past the Kidderminster 'keeper to level things up and ensure we didn't go home empty-handed.

We went into our next match against Ebbsfleet without Jordan Watson who was still on international duty, and Lewis Montrose who was injured in the previous game. David Fox replaced the captain with Chris Robertson taking the armband, whilst Richard Offiong replaced Lewis Alessandra up front. A spectacular 35-yard effort from Ryan Charles put us in front after 12 minutes, with Tom Parkes' 2nd goal in as many games doubling our lead before the break. The decision to include Richard Offiong in the starting line-up proved to be a good one, as the striker grabbed a second half brace, either side of a consolation reply from Ebbsfleet's Jamie Forshaw. Offiong was named Man of the Match; an award that could've gone to any of the 14 players involved on the day.

A disappointing goalless draw away to York City was followed by another win; this time against last season's runners-up, Wrexham. Ryan Charles converted a penalty after 12 minutes, only for the Welsh side to grab one back on 35 minutes. However, in first half stoppage time, Richard Offiong put us back in front with a neat finish after he found himself one-on-one with the Wrexham 'keeper. The game finished 2-1 after a rather uneventful second half.

Our unbeaten run, which spanned seven games, came to an abrupt end when we travelled to Histon, as they beat us 3-1. Having come on as a substitute in the previous game for his first appearance for the club, Sam Pitman made his first start, replacing Max Wragg at right-back. Despite having 18 shots (double their efforts), including four clear cut chances, two shots that hit the woodwork and four blocked shots, we just couldn't find the finishing touch, and a Lewis Alessandra goal with not long left on the clock was merely a consolation.

We hosted AFC Wimbledon at New Bucks Head, hoping that we could get back to winning ways. Michael Noone partnered Mitchell McPike in the centre of midfield, as David Fox was taken off injured in the previous match, and unfortunately would be out for 3-4 months with a damaged Achilles tendon. The visitors scored first; centre back Leon Johnson rose at the back post to head in from a free-kick after 19 minutes. A scramble in the box just before half-time though, saw the ball fall to Jordan Watson's feet, who passed it into an empty net for his first goal for the club and to level things up, and this was the way things finished, at 1-1.

The final game of the month was an away fixture at Burton Albion, who found themselves second to bottom in the league, making it on paper an easy victory for us. It was far from that though. Two Michael Noone goals gave us a good start; the first a 25 yard shot into the top corner, and the second a penalty; but in the second half Burton responded with two goals of their own to draw themselves level. In an effort to find a winner, Lewis Alessandra was brought on to add some extra firepower, and the formation was changed to 3-4-3. It worked; on 75 minutes, Darius Charles was sent off for bringing down his namesake Ryan in the box and we were awarded yet another penalty. There was only one man who was going to take it; Michael Noone. He didn't disappoint, and cooly converted it to give us the lead and seal his hat-trick. Richard Offiong rounded things off with a low shot just minutes later, leaving the final score 4-2 to us.

We finished September in 2nd place behind Cambridge who were just a single point ahead of us. It was yet another good month, so all I can say is: more of the same next month... please.

September 2013

After the disappointing performance against Gateshead that ended the previous month, we were determined to start September with a win against Burton Albion. On the bench for us was a familiar face; William Mellors-Blair, the right winger who made 12 appearances for us at the end of last season, had once again joined on loan, this time for the full season, to provide cover and competition for Jake Simpson. Callum Harrison replaced Tom Parkes at centre back in the only change to the starting line-up, and we were given the perfect start after only 50 seconds when Lewis Montrose played in Denis Behan who hit a curling shot into the top right hand corner from the edge of the box. Ryan Charles then doubled our lead with a neat finish; Montrose once again the provider. Despite an instant reply from Burton, and a second half injury to Charles, meaning he'd be out for six weeks, we were able to hold on for the 3 points.

A goalless draw away at struggling Southport followed, with an injury to captain Lewis Montrose adding to the disappointment. He twisted his knee and would be out for 3-4 weeks. On the plus side, our defence played well; Chris Robertson was beginning to show what a good player he is, and why he was signed in the first place, winning almost 80% of headers. Winning ways were restored in the next match against Ebbsfleet as we won 1-0 thanks to a Denis Behan header off a Tommy Lee free-kick, taken from just outside of our penalty area. Lee's assist, and a string of top saves earnt him the Man of the Match award. Richard Offiong damaged his elbow in the game, causing him to miss up to 3 weeks.

Mid-table Macclesfield Town were our next opponents. Lewis Alessandra partnered Denis Behan up front for only his second start of the season, whilst Callum Harrison started in centre midfield for the second game in a row in place of Lewis Montrose. The injuries to Offiong and Charles meant the substitutes bench included 16-year-old striker John Bailey, a product of our youth set-up. The game ended goalless, despite the introduction of Bailey with 20 minutes to go. The same starting line-up was selected for a home fixture against bottom of the table Worcester City, a game in which we proved far too strong for our visitors. It was amazing how we didn't win by more than 3 goals; we had 18 shots overall, whereas they only had one. Denis Behan's 7th of the season, Lewis Alessandra's 1st of the season and Chris Robertson's 1st for the club brought us the goals, in what was a convincing victory.

We finished the month with an away fixture against play-off contenders Shrewsbury Town. Earlier in the week, I had signed a very exciting 19-year-old left winger called Dale Hannah on loan from Derby County for 3 months on the advice of my scouts. Hannah went straight into the side to face Shrewsbury, replacing Netan Sansara. However the result was a bad one; we lost the game 2-1, despite drawing level in the second half through Lewis Alessandra.

An altogether impressive month left us in 7th place at the end of September, just one point away from the play-off places. Our defence, arguably the weak link in the team before the start of the season, is looking assured and solid, whereas the attacking side of the team still could do with kick-starting their season. But, I'm not complaining, and there's hopefully more of the same to come in October.

September 2012

After an unbeaten August, September started with a defeat away to Accrington Stanley. Denis Behan's goal was not enough for us, as we lost 2-1 and slipped to 6th in the league. Our winning ways were restored a week later though, in a 3-1 victory at home to Histon. The visitors broke the deadlock after 5 minutes but Jake Simpson levelled things up shortly after with a header at the back post off a Carl Tremarco cross. Tremarco was making his first start of the season, in place of Matthew Duffy, and impressed throughout the game, narrowly missing out on the Man of the Match. Two goals from Denis Behan in the second half, his 5th and 6th of the season, ensured that we went home with 3 points in the bag.

A midweek game at Barnet followed, in wet and windy conditions. A neat finish from Richard Offiong and a close range effort, yet again, from Denis Behan, gave us the victory, either side of a solitary Barnet goal. Promotion contenders Ebbsfleet were our next opponents, and it looked as though we had the game under wraps after goals from Behan and Offiong gave us a 2-0 lead after 48 minutes. However, Ebbsfleet's Brazilian striker, Magno Vieira, grabbed a 4 minute brace to level things up, and leave us with just one point, in a game which we felt we should've won.

A very frustrating game against Woking followed. They were 18th in the league, and should've been a team we were able to beat, but after they opened the scoring from a free-kick in the first half, we seemed to be always on the back foot. Despite an equaliser from Denis Behan, his 6th in 5 games and 9th of the season, we just couldn't find the back of the net again and squandered several good chances. We finished the game with four strikers on the field; Lewis Alessandra and Ryan Charles, returning from injury, were brought on, but it still wasn't enough to get the win.

A trip up north to Gateshead was the penultimate game of September; and yet again it was a game that we should've won. After going 2-1 up thanks to goals from Ryan Charles and Michael Noone, we took our foot off the gas, so to speak, and let Gateshead come at us, and subsequently take the game to us. They scored two second half goals to give them the 3-2 victory, and the full set of points, much to my displeasure.

We hadn't won in three games, and to make matters worse; we were up against top-of-the-table Shewsbury, who up until playing us, had won 8 games out of 11, and lost just the once. Things didn't start off well for us; Shrewsbury's James Spray scored on 17 minutes, and then just after the break, got another one to double his team's tally. On 69 minutes, Richard Offiong and Lewis Alessandra were brought on for Denis Behan and Carl Tremarco, and I changed the formation to 3-4-3, in a bid to get two goals back. Literally two minutes after coming on, Alessandra combined with Lewis Montrose and Ryan Charles, who fed in Richard Offiong for his 4th goal of the season. This gave us some sort of hope. With 5 minutes of normal time to go, I told the team to go full throttle and go for an equaliser. It worked; in the 4th and final minute of stoppage time, Ryan Charles picked up the ball in the centre circle and once again played it through to Offiong who, in an almost identical finish, scored his 5th of the season, and the leveller for us. We came away with a point, although it did feel like a win, against a very good Shrewsbury team.

The draw meant we finished a fixture-congested September in 7th place, but next month's games are, on paper, easier than what we've just played. But then again, as everyone says, football is not played on paper, and as I know from experience, anything can happen.

September 2009

September didn't begin well. Come to think of it, it didn't end well either. Defeats away at AFC Telford (1-2) and Droylsden (0-1) left us struggling in 17th place. The players' morale was low, my morale was lower, and I needed to change things, and fast.

Next up were two home games against Redditch and Stafford; ideal chances to win the fans and the board round with wins. However, this didn't happen and both games ended in goalless draws. We should've won both games though, as the stats show. We had nine shots to their single effort, with three on target, we had 60% of the possession, hit the woodwork twice, and had two blocked shots. The game against Stafford was exactly the same; 11 shots, 51% possession, woodwork once, and no less than five blocked shots. It was clear that Lawrie Dudfield (yet to score for us) and Nic McDonnell weren't firing on all cylinders. My prediction of McDonnell 'shining in September' was clearly unfounded.

The next game brought Farsley Celtic to Wetherby Road in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round. It was a chance for us to put our poor league form behind us. Judging by our recent results, you can probably guess the score of this game. Yes, 0-0. We had a replay on our hands which would take place only four days later. A goal after only two minutes for Farsley proved to be enough to see us off, but yet again the stats show that we should've won, or at least had something to show for our effort. As it was, we failed to score for the fifth consecutive game.

A very, very disappointing month as a whole, as I'm sure you'll admit. The positives that I can take though, is the fact that we're not conceding an endless amount of goals. No, our defence is actually quite good. Gareth Stewart even kept a clean sheet for about 280 mins of football. We just need our strikers to hit the back of the net a bit more often. I'm not going to predict anything this time. Instead, we'll see what happens.