Hello dear friends, welcome back to Dorchester! The story continues into February 2012 with high hopes of getting promotion to League One after ending January top of the table and 12 points clear of the second placed team. We also had the Johnstone’s Trophy on our mind after a good 2-2 away draw in the first leg of the Southern section final. Let’s see what went on in February.
We kicked off the month with a home game against 15th placed Darlington, it should have been fairly easy but it turned out to be pretty complicated. That was all due to Mimoun El Kadi‘s two-footed tackle eight minutes into the game, he got sent off and I decided to take out one of the two strikers and set the team in a 4-4-1 set up. That was a mistake though, Darlington had no intentions to attack, we dominated the game but missed three clear cut chances until half time. I made another tactical change at half time, sent in another striker and converted to a 4-3-2 set up since Darlington were not attacking at all. We kept our opponents under pressure and eventually it paid off, Omar Koroma fired in a banana shot from 20 yards out straight into the top corner. We finally had some defending to do during the last 10 minutes and we stood firm, no problems at all.
Next up we had to travel to meet 13th placed Chesterfield. The first half was entirely ours, we kept piling on the pressure and my two strikers managed to convert that consistent play into two goals by half time. We found ourselves under pressure after the break, Chesterfield were trying to get back into the game, but captain Ryan Carolan lifted the siege with another fine corner kick header. The third goal unleashed my lads, the fans witnessed a superb display after that goal but unfortunately we didn’t find the net again.
The most important game of the month was coming up, the second leg of the Johnstone’s Trophy South final against League One side Gillingham. We had a pretty good away leg and managed to clinch a 2-2 draw, all we had to do was to defend that away goals advantage. The team started the game with great determination, I was quietly optimistic after the first 10 minutes but I surely wasn’t hoping to lead 2-0 10 minutes later. Omar Koroma was the man behind the success, first he set up right winger McKay for the first goal and then he scored the second himself after a beautiful counter attack run. Then we went on to miss a couple of chances and Gillingham woke up a few minutes before half time, they produced a solid reaction and eventually managed to claw one back a few minutes before the interval. I urged my players not to get careless in the second half, we still had to fight to go through to the final. Gillingham started pushing forward after half time and my goalkeeper, Daniel Tudor, pulled off a couple of great saves to deny them. We finally got our chance to strike on a counter attack in the 67th minute, McKay was inside the box but got tackled and the referee pointed to the spot! Simon Ferry stepped up, he took a decent penalty kick too, but Gillingham‘s keeper stretched and palmed it away! I was fearing the worse at that point but a couple of minutes later substitute midfielder Jason Mycoe settled the game with a fine diving header from inside the six yard box! We took control of the game after that goal, Gillingham were unable to react and we even missed another good chance to score. We were going to Wembley, the final is going to be played on the 25th of March and we’ll get to meet another League One side, Peterborough.
Back to the league then, our next game was away at 8th placed Cambridge. The first half was rather poor, we had the possession but our attacks were very predictable and wasteful. In fact, we didn’t manage to get any shots on target until half time. Things changed after the break thanks to substitute winger Mladenov, he netted two goals and generally looked lively on his flank. Rhys Murphy also managed to get one in and new striker Pedro came off the bench to net his first ever goal for the club. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Laxeyman
10 августа, 2010 at 20:53
Hi Johnny, another fantastic month, well done. The league title is now yours, which is a really good achievement, your team have had a great season. The league should be secured quite soon, possibly even as early as next month :)
Darren Smith
10 августа, 2010 at 21:22
Well done Johnny, some more great form. We should be reading about another title very soon. Well done mate and I cant wait to see you in League One.
Sears
10 августа, 2010 at 21:28
Hey Johnny,
great month. 17 points is a huge margin! I’m sure now you will win the title, unless the imposssible occur’s :-D
Johnny Karp
10 августа, 2010 at 23:03
@Laxeyman, Darren and Sears
Thanks for the compliments, I’m sure that we’ll secure the title somewhere around the end of March or the beginning of April. I hope we’ll secure the Johnstone’s Trophy too but that might not be too easy.
Vinners
10 августа, 2010 at 23:39
Good Work Johnny! I just noticed that Crystal Palace is in League Two, that’s a surprise that they’ve dropped 2 leagues in 3 seasons that’s unlucky
Lye
11 августа, 2010 at 08:21
Hi mate, i will offer my congratulations to you now. Its impossible to throw away 17 points lead. Your team is playing the best football now and you will be dominating with three months left. Good luck on the JPT final. Bring the trophy back to The Avenue stadium.
Johnny Karp
11 августа, 2010 at 10:05
@Vinners
Thanks, I was a bit surprised to see Crystal Palace there too.
@Lye
Thanks mate, I guess we’ll celebrate the title after the JPT final :)
Cal
11 августа, 2010 at 11:38
Well done Johnny you should easily get promoted
Good Job!!
Kevin
11 августа, 2010 at 12:33
Hello Johnny
That’s an excellent month and you pretty much have the league title wrapped up now. Good luck in the JPT final and hopefully you can do the lower league double!
Johnny Karp
11 августа, 2010 at 13:03
@Cal and Kevin
Thanks a lot, hope to publish the good news soon :)
Plobdork
12 августа, 2010 at 14:27
how do you write a story.
Johnny Karp
12 августа, 2010 at 14:32
Is that a question?
Plobdork
12 августа, 2010 at 22:41
yes
Plobdork
12 августа, 2010 at 22:41
by the way this story is brill
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 00:02
Thanks for the compliment. I don’t quite get the question though. To write a story you just have to play the game and write about what happens in there to share the experience with the others, that’s about it in a few words. If you want to add some details to your question then I’ll happily answer.
Plobdork
13 августа, 2010 at 09:07
thanx that explains alot :)