Dorchester Town Story: End Of Season Number 5

Hello folks and welcome to the climax of Dorchester‘s Championship season, the last games that were going to tell us whether we were going to step up to the Premiership or not. We were sitting 4th at the end of March, eight points behind the second place but also 8 points clear of the 7th. So we had a good chance to grab a play-off spot but also a slim outside chance of challenging for automatic promotion, let’s see how we fared.

The first game of the month was at home with relegation threatened 21st placed Barnsley, I was expecting nothing less than three points. We got off to a rather bad start though and Barnsley took the lead 10 minutes into the game with a good breakaway goal. We were dominating the game though and managed to net the equalizer in the 26th minute when Liam Parker‘s powerful finish rounded off a flowing team move. Nine minutes later midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos found himself unmarked at the far post and headed in a free kick cross to give us the lead. The second half was all quiet with Liam Parker heading in his second goal from a good cross by Tiberiu Paduraru.

The next game was a lot tougher and also a crucial one: away at 3rd placed Southampton. They were ahead of us only on goal difference, we were tied at 73 points. We got off to a flying start this time, young striker Peter Singh sidestepped a defender and powered the ball in from just inside the area nine minutes into the game. We were forced to defend after that goal but we were doing it pretty well. It got even better, we doubled the lead against the run of play when Francesco Tosto popped a corner kick header. Southampton clawed one back three minutes into the second half, it was a very good team move that left my defense standing. We were under pressure but managed to survive until the 68th minute when a big error in the middle of our back four gifted Southampton the equalizer. We had a couple of chances to strike on counter attacks but I have to admit that we were lucky to get the draw as the Saints hit the woodwork twice after the second goal!

Next up, a very difficult home game against league leaders Newcastle. Promotion was already secured for them so I was hoping they would show some complacency :) Unfortunately they took the lead only three minutes into the game, a Rory Delap style throw-in was headed in by Xisco… We played pretty well, especially after the interval, but Newcastle‘s defense was rock solid and we didn’t have enough strength to break through.

Despite that defeat our play-off spot was secured! We didn’t have any chances left for automatic promotion but we were going to be in the play-offs, that’s something I really wasn’t expecting at the start of the season.

The last two games of the regular season saw two good displays from the lads, especially against Nottingham Forest. The game against Millwall was special for Ryan Carolan, he scored his first goal of the season since he didn’t have too many chances to play for the first team.

We finished 3rd and that pitched us against Ipswich for the play-off semi final!

We had a good record against them, we won 2-1 at home in November and got a good 2-2 away draw in March. Things appeared to be different this time though, we were under pressure right from the start of the game but our defense was coping with it pretty well. I was hoping to strike on counter attacks and we did have a good chance on 25 minutes but failed to convert it. Three minutes later a corner kick cross was headed in past our keeper and Ipswich were leading 1-0… Things were pretty quiet until half time and then we started playing a bit better after the break. Unfortunately Liam Parker wasted two huge chances, it was looking like one of those days in which everything goes against you… Somebody had to do something and that somebody was Mohammed Tchite, he took the ball 20 yards out, weaved between three defenders and placed it in, magnificent individual effort! Nine minutes later Tchité made another one of his great runs but this time he squared the ball for Liam Parker who tucked it in! Ipswich were trying hard to get back level but they were leaving gaps behind and we had another good chance to score on a counter attack before Liam Parker finally sent one in during injury time! It was a great result that gave us a big advantage before the second leg. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

The second leg became even easier, Francesco Tosto headed in a corner kick 11 minutes into the game and we were almost safe. The lads continued to play the ball around and stay out of harm’s way, we were through to the play-off final at Wembley!

I was expecting to meet Southampton in the final but Leeds surprisingly beat them with a healthy 5-2 aggregate score. We had a very good record against Leeds, 1-1 away in November and 1-0 at home in March, so we had a good chance of getting promoted! Leeds were fielding some very good players though, especially upfront. I had no injury problems other than Omar Koroma, he picked up a knock in training just before the game. That was not such a big problem since Liam Parker was in good shape…

The first 20 minutes saw a fairly even game, both sides were cautious and careful. Unfortunately it was us who made the first error, Jonathan Dos Santos gave the ball away in midfield, it was passed straight to Kakuta and he rifled it past my keeper… Leeds were showing confidence and strength, they dominated the game until half time but didn’t create any clear chances. We were quite lucky though, one of our few attacking moves went all the way on the stroke of half time: Packie Doolin made a good run down the right and bent in a good looking cross, Mohammed Tchite was faster than the defenders and headed it on from the near post, past the keeper and into the back of the net!

It was all square at the break but I had to make two substitutions because of fitness problems: Mancini was replaced by Matt Richards and Packie Doolin was replaced by striker Peter Singh with Liam Parker moved back as a right midfielder. The fresh blood did the team some good, we took control of the game after the interval and managed to take the lead too seven minutes into the second half! Mohammed Tchite was the key man again, he showed great vision to set up Singh and the substitute striker powered the ball in from inside the penalty area. Get in!

Then I switched the strategy to counter, Leeds were trying to push forward but we were solid at the back. We could have wrapped up the game o n counter attacks but missed a pair of great chances. That made the three minutes of additional time seem endless, Leeds were throwing the ball forward but my defenders were always managing to clear it… And it was finally over, we won it!

It’s our fifth consecutive promotion, I bet the board are quite proud of that despite not doing anything to help me in the process ;)

Here are the player stats for the season, a memorable season for most of these players who never played in the Premier League. Some of them will be staying with the club to play in the top flight, others will have to leave because I have to build a better side.

I don’t know what to do with Mohammed Tchité, he was our hero this season especially in the last months but he’s 30 years old already and there are quite a few clubs chasing him. I’ll have to think about that but I guess I will not sell him unless I find better and younger strikers.

We’ll probably get more money in TV rights than the club ever had but there are lots of things that require some spending. Our stadium has a capacity of 5009 but only 697 seated, the pitch is a mess, the training and youth facilities are shameful for a Premier League club…

I hope there will be some money left for transfers too though, the club’s balance is around 1 million pounds in red at the moment!

Anyway, we shouldn’t be worrying about the next season before we’ll actually have to. Manchester United won the Premier League title this time but they’ll have to face Dorchester Town next season! :)

This concludes a memorable season for me and for my Dorchester Town, we managed to get promoted again against all odds and also against my expectations. The first few months of the season were anything else but impressive and I was not hoping for more than a mid-table finish but the players had a nice surprise for me :) Thanks a lot for reading and please continue to show your support for us in the Premier League, we’re surely going to need it! :)