Dorchester Town Story: March 2014

Hello folks and welcome back to the Dorchester Story! Our life in the Championship was getting better and better, we had another good run of results in February and were sitting 5th at the end of the month, six points clear of the 7th placed team! We had a chance to grab a play-off spot but the seven games we had to play in March were absolutely crucial for our challenge.

The first game of the month was at home with 11th placed Huddersfield, they were play-off contenders too since they were tied on points with the seventh placed. Omar Koroma got us off to a flying start, he blasted in a banana shot only 30 seconds into the game! Then we showed a solid display until half time but not too incisive to be honest. Things changed after the break because I was forced to make some dramatic alterations in the team because of some fitness issues. I had no more fit central midfielders so I chose to change the tactical set up to a 4-3-3 with one CM, one central striker and two wide strikers. That was a counter attacking set up and I was hoping to score another goal and settle the game. We were under some pressure after the break but we were defending pretty well and our breakaways were looking quite threatening. One of those counters ended with Liam Parker being brought down inside the box, Omar Koroma netted the penalty and it was all over despite Huddersfield‘s injury time consolation goal.

We had another home game coming up, 19th placed Wigan were coming to meet us. We had a rather disappointing first half but we managed to score one, Liam Parker powered one in a couple of minutes after the half hour mark. Things were looking set for a quiet second half but some poor defending allowed Wigan to score the equalizer two minutes after the interval. My lads woke up and started pouring forward but our finishing was below par so we dropped two points.

Despite the poor performance against Wigan it appears that my name is listed among the probable successors to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, that’s quite pleasing :)

Back to the league, we had a good chance to get a win as we were playing away at last placed Watford. Omar Koroma set us on track again with a magnificent solo effort but we were not playing too well and Watford were pushing us back. They got a penalty kick on 23 minutes but the shot was saved by Davide La Rocca, it was the turning point of the game. We started to play a bit better and Mancini didn’t miss the chance to score from the penalty spot after Koroma was brought down inside the box. We had no more problems in the second half, we created countless chances and midfielder George Thorne made it 3-0 by scoring his first ever goal for the club.

Back at home for the next game, Pompey were coming at the Avenue Stadium. Portsmouth were touted as promotion contenders at the start of the season but they were sitting 14th before that game, they were having a disappointing season despite having some very good players in their squad. Our first half was a total mess, we were invisible in attack and sloppy in defense… Pompey scored the first goal from a free kick after my defenders failed to clear the crossed ball and then a similar second from a corner kick. Things got a bit better after the interval, Mancini came off the bench and clawed one back but just when our hopes were back up Javier Vila had to be taken off so we were down to 10 men. We were still in with a chance to get one point but it was all over on 74 minutes, Angelo Rossini had to be taken off too so we were down to nine men. Pompey netted another one, they were too many on the pitch :) The bad thing was that both injuries were quite serious: Rossini had to be out for three months and Vila for two months. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

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

Luckily we had another home game coming up so we had a chance to bounce back. The game was quite difficult though, we were facing 5th placed Leeds (we were 4th before that game, one point ahead of Leeds). It was a direct battle for promotion so we had to give our best. We were under a bit of pressure during the initial minutes of the game but we managed to break through on a counter attack and that resulted in a penalty kick. Young striker Peter Singh coolly slotted the penalty and we were leading 1-0! We put on a solid display until half time and could really have scored one or two more. We found ourselves under fire after the interval, Leeds were driving forward and we defended very well and held on to get three very important points.

The next game was away at mid-table side Leicester, they were sitting 13th before the match. They took an early lead thanks to a good flowing team move but Omar Koroma pegged them back immediately and the score was level again in the 9th minute. We took control of the game and got rewarded for the good display just before half time when Graeme Owens rounded off a team move. Tings got even better a couple of minutes into the second half, Mohammed Tchite headed one in to double our lead. Unfortunately some poor defending gave Leicester a way back into the game on 55 minutes but Koroma fired in a volley nine minutes later to ease my concerns. My boys got a bit complacent though, they missed a few great chances to wrap up the game and Leicester scored again six minutes from time! I was fearing another injury time comeback but this time we managed to withstand the pressure and walk away with the three points.

The last game of the month was away at 8th placed Ipswich, another direct clash with a play-off contender. We got off to a poor start, our offside trap was beaten quite easily and Ipswich took the lead six minutes into the game. Our reaction was not very convincing and Ipswich made it 2-0 three minutes before half time when a fabulous 30 yard drive went past our keeper. We had to do better after the break and the boys understood that, our game improved in the second half and Omar Koroma missed two huge chances before Francesco Tosto clawed one back from a corner kick on 63 minutes. We had enough time to chase the equalizer but Koroma seemed to be in the most wasteful day of his career, he missed a sitter before Mohammed Tchite finally rounded off a team move to level the game 10 minutes from time.

We moved up one place since the start of the month, we are sitting 4th! We have eight points on the seventh placed team now, I guess the play-off spot is ours to lose.

Mohammed Tchite was very important during the last few games, he managed to end a goal drought that was going on for six or seven games. I guess that was all due to the transfer rumors that went on during January and February, he was unsettled by the media attention but hopefully he’s past all that now.

We have five more games to play and we need three wins to secure a play-off spot. Automatic promotion is eight points away so I guess only five consecutive wins would give us a chance to grab the second spot.

I don’t think we can get 15 points out of the last 5 games, especially because we are going to meet leaders Newcastle and 3rd placed Southampton. We should hold on to the play-off spot though, it would be a shame to lose it now… Thanks a lot for reading, it seems that we’ll be in for an exciting last episode this season :)