Next up, the FA Cup second round game against fellow League Two side Cambridge. The first half was completely under our control and my strikers gave us a well deserved two-goal lead at the interval. Veteran striker Leonardo Biagini came off the bench to make it 3-0 five minutes into the second half but Cambridge clawed one back two minutes later with a fine shot from distance. That goal seemed to have fueled my team’s desire to score, we created loads of chances and eventually netted another two goals to get through to the next round. We were quite lucky with the draw, we avoided the Premier League teams and we’re going to play League Two side Port Vale in the third round.
Back to the league for the last game of the month, at home with 8th placed Oxford. We got off to a good start and took the lead 15 minutes into the game thanks to a nice flowing team move: striker Koroma exchanged places with right winger Andy McKay and the 17-year-old Manchester United player placed the ball in from inside the penalty area. My boys continued to display flamboyant attacks but wasted lots of chances until half time. The show went on after the interval, we were pouring forward and eventually doubled the lead thanks to a good finish from substitute winger Mladenov. Unfortunately our top goalscorer, Omar Koroma, picked up a knock and will be out for three weeks.
We dropped in 3rd place at the end of November but we have a game in hand, the postponed one against Wycombe.
Our player of the month was Polish striker Szymon Kazmierowski, the 24-year-old netted three goals and also played one assist in November. I still hope he can do a lot better than this though but I am satisfied with his work so far. He never played outside Poland before joining our club so I guess he needs more time to settle.
We’ll have an action-packed December, no less than eight games to play! I’m looking forward to the two cup games but I also hope that we’ll be able to get a few more league wins and consolidate our position among the top three.
That’s about it my friends, a fairly good month apart from the deserved defeat at the hands of Luton. I’m quite curious to see how we’ll manage to play without our top goalscorer, Omar Koroma, Marius Dabu and Leonardo Biagini will have to prove their worth and maybe steal Koroma‘s first team place. Thanks for reading, it feels great to be back in action with my Dorchester.
Kevin Mayo
4 августа, 2010 at 21:37
Hi Johnny
Good to see you posting again. Some mixed results in the league which I’m sure you will no doubt rectify next month and with a decent cup draw you should get through to the fourth round. If your Polish striker can settle he could become a key player for you. Good luck!
Darren Smith
4 августа, 2010 at 21:53
Hey Johnny, you’ve managed to string some good results together there. I wouldnt worry too much about the loss to Luton. Your beating teams by a reasonable margin. Unfortunately everyone gets the odd game were their tactic is countered well by the oppostition. Anyway your looking good for the playoffs at least. Im looking forward to your next post. Goodluck mate
Sears
4 августа, 2010 at 22:11
Hi Johnny,
that was a good month, despite dropping a place. However, if you win your game in hand you will be in first position!
PS Like you, I have started a game with a lower league team. My story is being published at http://allthatisfootballmanager.blogspot.com/ and I’d appricate your input sometime! Thanks.
Vinners
4 августа, 2010 at 22:47
The defeat was gonna happen, I seem to think that FM doesn’t like you winning all the time and gives you a defeat somewhere along the line. See you believe you were unlucky with missing the premier league teams but I like playing them especially away even though you get destroyed by them you get a lot of cash which can help a small club finances a lot.
Lye
5 августа, 2010 at 05:36
Hi, glad to see everything back to normal and to your Dorchester story. Apart from the loss to Luton, your team actually did well in the league and the cup competitions. i have a feeling that you will get better. Hopefully your team can cope with the loss of Koroma.
By the way, hows your Shanghai trip? Do you like the place. I have been there once few years back and it was snowing that time. Felt so excited as its all summer in Singapore.
Johnny Karp
5 августа, 2010 at 06:18
@Kevin
Thanks, I hope we won’t have any fatigue problems in December. But I’m pretty sure we’ll have them :)
@Darren
Thanks, I guess we’re not unbeatable in League Two but we’re doing pretty well.
@Sears
Thanks mate, I did check your new story a few times but since there is no email notification of the new posts there I forgot to drop by.
@Vinners
I guess we’ll get even more money if we meet a Premiership team in the 4th round instead of the 3rd :) I think that the club will finally be out of debt if we manage to get past Port Vale in the FA Cup.
@Lye
Thanks for the comment mate. The trip was a bit nightmarish, the weather in Shanghai was extremely hot and humid. You felt like you were in a sauna the minute you stepped out into the streets. It also was quite tiresome but I did enjoy the experience, it surely is a lot more crowded than any city I have seen so far. It all ended with a plane take off thriller, the damn thing didn’t manage to take off on the first attempt but I’m glad I made it back home in one piece. Now I’m still a bit off due to the time difference but I guess my «clock» will get back to normal in a few days.
Ana Garcia
5 августа, 2010 at 12:15
Welcome back Johnny and your still doing really well despite some slip ups this month. Your team bounced back well after the defeat and you are still in contention for automatic promotion.
Hopefully you can keep the positive results going for the rest of the season.
Laxeyman
5 августа, 2010 at 12:31
Hi Johnny, despite that defeat it was still a good month, and that game in hand over the top 2 could be crucial. You’re still in with a good shot at promotion, although Koroma’s injury could hinder you a bit. Hopefully it won’t, and good luck.
Cal
5 августа, 2010 at 17:03
Glad to see that your back.
Good job in that your team finished very strong.
Good luck with your frantic next month!!
Sears
5 августа, 2010 at 18:48
@Johnny,
Oh sorry, I never knew that. I think you can subscribe now though at the blog. There should be a email notification at the top right hand corner at the blog!
Johnny Karp
6 августа, 2010 at 06:14
@Ana
Thanks, it’s great being back.
@Laxeyman
Thanks for the positive words, I hope that Dabu will score a few while Koroma will be sidelined.
@Cal
Thanks a lot for the good luck wish, we might need some of that good fortune :)
@Sears
Thanks, I just subscribed.
Jack
6 августа, 2010 at 12:47
Great month Johnny! Surely the club’s accounts are in the black after all that prize money you won? Keep up the good work.
Johnny Karp
6 августа, 2010 at 13:29
Thanks Jack, we’re getting closer to clearing the club’s debt indeed.