Our next match was away at 18th placed Hartlepool, I was hoping for a win there but surely didn’t expect it to be that easy. Simon Ferry scored the opening goal on 14 minutes, a good flowing team move gave him the time and space to shoot from the edge of the area and he sent the ball in off the underside of the crossbar. Then Omar Koroma was brought down inside the penalty area and young striker Peter Singh netted the penalty kick to end his goal drought that was dragging on for more than 10 hours of competitive football. We continued the dominant display and scored the third one a few minutes before half time when Zakaria Labyad found Omar Koroma with a great pass and the striker finished it off on the volley. We were less convincing after the break but still managed to score three more: captain Ryan Carolan with a corner kick header, then Singh again from the penalty spot and, last but not least, Koroma netted his 10th goal of the season.
The last game of the month was away at lowly Wycombe, they were down in 23rd place. The team looked overconfident though, we were playing quite poorly and our unconvincing defending gifted Wycombe the opening goal. Then we took control of the game, had lots of possession until half time but we were going nowhere useful with the ball. Things changed after the break, we started to lay siege on Wycombe‘s penalty area and got our equalizer on 68 minutes when Omar Koroma‘s parried shot fell into the path of debutant Craig Carlisle who pushed it home. My pair of strikers could have won the game for us during the last 20 minutes but they went on to miss quite a few easy chances so Wycombe held on to the draw. We should have won this game…
We dropped some points there and Coventry were tied with us on 40 points but we had a slightly better goal difference. Coventry seem to have regained their pace while we surely seem to have lost it, we definitely have to improve if we want to stay top of the table.
Midfielder Zakaria Labyad had something to celebrate at the end of the month, he was picked young player of the month in League One and I guess he deserves some recognition. He played pretty well so far, made five assists but is still chasing his first goal for us. He is on loan from Liverpool until the end of the season and his career started at PSV Eindhoven where he impressed and was bought by Liverpool for 1.7 million pounds in 2010. He has good vision and creativity and I guess he might turn into a good Premier League midfielder in the future.
Next month will see us playing mostly against mid-table teams, I hope that we’ll manage to keep our unbeaten record in the league until the end of 2012.
Mark requested a screen shot of the board confidence so here it is. They seem to be quite happy with the job I’m doing but being 5,500 pounds over the weekly wage budget surely raises a few eyebrows in the board room. I hope I’ll be able to correct the situation in January when I intend to sell a couple of players.
That’s how our November 2012 was, thanks a lot for reading. We managed to stay unbeaten in the league but were knocked out of the FA Cup, I was surely hoping to get some prize money from there… Anyway, the team continued to look fairly solid at the back and I guess they should play even better next month. We’ll see how that will turn out in the next post ;)
Laxeyman
20 августа, 2010 at 23:26
Hi Johnny, again that was a pretty good month, your team ate very solid, as proved by you still being unbeaten in the league. Shame about the League Cup, but well done in the JPT, you could go all the way in that! Hopefully you can also stay top of the table, good luck!
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 09:16
Thanks Laxeyman, I would really love to win the JPT after losing the final at Wembley last year. But the league is definitely more important.
Jean Paul
20 августа, 2010 at 23:36
Hey Johnny, real shame about getting knocked out of the cups, but like you told me, at least you can now focus more on more important things like the league. You managed to stay unbeaten and that is impressive. I’m sure you’ll do well against a few mid-table teams.
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 09:17
Thanks for the confidence Jean Paul, I didn’t intend to win the FA Cup but a couple more rounds would have been nice :)
Sears
21 августа, 2010 at 00:23
Hello Johnny,
I wouldn’t be to disappointed wwith the early defeats in the cup competitions. Their not so important in the lower leagues, despite earning some handy cash. You should be looking to win all your games next month since the majority of them are at home :-D Goodluck mate.
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 09:18
Thanks Sears. You are right, the FA Cup would have given us some cash in the next few rounds, I wouldn’t have played the final anyway.
Sayam Khan
21 августа, 2010 at 01:11
Brilliant, top of the league, well done!
Also, you gave hartlepool a good thrashing didn’t you lol.
And the new signing looks good.
Good Luck :-)
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 09:19
Thanks Sayam, winning 6-0 is always pleasing. I would have preferred winning that 1-0 though and winning the next one 2-1 :)
Lye
21 августа, 2010 at 05:12
Hi mate, it doesn’t turn out as good as what you have expected this month but i think thats only a slight hiccups. Your team is still unbeaten. I believe the team will gain some momentum back in winning more instead of drawing. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 09:20
Thanks Lye, I’m sure we’ll see some losing too sooner or later, I have to be prepared for that :) Anyway, like you pointed out, we’re still unbeaten and that’s quite important.
Kevin Mayo
21 августа, 2010 at 12:10
Hi Johnny
I guess if you have to be knocked out of the cup then against Notts Co somewhat eases the pain. I like your new stirker Carlisle and I hope he does well for you. Glad to see that you are still top of the league and I’m sure your side will start producing the goals again soon as you seem to be getting a lot of shots at least.
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 12:20
Thanks Kevin. It’s strange but I felt that I had to win that cup game especially because it was against Notts County! :)
Darren Smith
21 августа, 2010 at 12:16
Hey Johnny, don’t worry too much about the cups. Theres plenty of time for silverware, its promotion that will help Dorchester grow. You managed another good month and I am getting more and more confident about your promotion chances. Goodluck mate and keep up the good work
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2010 at 12:21
Thanks for the good wishes and for the confidence Darren, I hope we’ll manage to grab that much desired promotion.
java
21 августа, 2010 at 21:43
Well Done Johnny, I believe we’ll see Dorchester in Championship next month.
Your Dorchester story is the most interesting story I think.
I wonder if my story could be as interesting as your story. But unfortunately maybe I can’t post my Aldershot Story for two or three weeks. I have many things to do this month. :(
Goodluck for the next month!
Johnny Karp
22 августа, 2010 at 09:00
Thanks Java! I doubt we’ll be accepted in the Championship next month though :) Don’t worry about your story, take care of the things that you have to do and then make a swift and strong comeback to FM! :)
Java
23 августа, 2010 at 01:58
hahah… I mean next season. :D
yeah, for now maybe i can just comment on your and others’ blog.
Cal
23 августа, 2010 at 17:50
Good month Johnnyy your team is doing well
Some good signings too!!