Dorchester Town Story — September 2011

Hello my friends, welcome back to the Dorchester Town Football Manager 2010 Story! As you know we had a pretty good first month in League Two, we lost the opening game but then went on to win the next four in a row. We were sitting in an honourable 2nd place at the end of August but we had to confirm the good run in order to stay in the high zone of the league table. Let’s see what happened in September.

The first game was at home with 23rd placed Brentford, a good opportunity to continue our winning streak. 17-year old on-loan right winger Andy McKay had a great start, he gave us the lead with a superb individual effort as he skipped past two defenders and placed the ball in from the edge of the area. That was his first goal for the club and I hope he will bang in a few more until the end of the season when he’ll have to go back at Manchester United. The team was playing pretty well, we were dominating but the finishing was below par. Striker Kazmierowski finally managed to tuck one in a couple of minutes before half time, the three points looked to be safe. Another good team move allowed winger Mladenov to score with a placed finish after the break, I was pleased with the team’s display.

Next up, a more difficult home game with 8th placed Cambridge. We got off to a flying start again, centre back Stefan O’Brien scored with a corner kick header, the ball went in off the underside of the crossbar. Cambridge nearly scored the equalizer around the half hour mark, they broke through on a counter attack but veteran goalie Daniel Tudor pulled off a stunning save. We were not playing too well though and Cambridge deserved to level the game, that happened around the hour mark. We were unable to create any clear chances upfront and we nearly lost the game in the last minutes when a corner kick header from Cambridge hit the crossbar. The performance was not pleasing at all but I had more to worry about after the game, O’Brien got injured and was going to be out for around a month.

Because of that injury I felt I had to check the scout reports once again and see if there were any good centre backs available on loan. It didn’t take too long to spot a good target, West Ham‘s towering defender Martin Kelly. I made the offer and, to my surprise, the player agreed to join us for three months. He’s not very quick so I will have to see if he will have what it takes to fit in but he should provide good backup until O’Brien‘s recovery.

The next game was away at 16th placed Darlington, I was hoping for a good game and at least a draw. Somehow we managed to score an early goal yet again, and it was quite a bizarre goal. We had a throw in in the opposition half, the ball was flicked on twice by my players and eventually found left winger Rosalia inside the area, he showed no mercy and headed the ball in. We continued to play well until half time and Rosalia was having a very good day, he could have doubled his tally just before the break but his shot hit the crossbar. I replaced him with Mladenov at half time just to give him a bit of rest and the Bulgarian substitute made the most out of his chance, a cross from the right flank found him unmarked at the far post and he tucked it in. The last goal of the game was scored by new signing Martin Kelly, he managed to score a debut goal with a corner kick header. I was happy about the performance and the result but the physio had some bad news for me after the game: right winger McKay was going to be out for a month, central midfielder El Kadi 3 weeks, centre back Gavin Hoyte 3 weeks…

Next up, an away game at 23rd placed Tranmere. Believe it or not, we scored an early goal yet again! Midfield playmaker Juanje played a pinpoint through ball for Rosalia and the left winger rifled it in from inside the penalty area. We were in control of the game and Rosalia doubled our lead 10 minutes after the interval with a great shot from the edge of the area, straight under the crossbar. Things were looking pretty calm but Tranmere managed to claw one back after a good counter attack move. My lads were playing with fire, we were wasting good attacks and our giving the ball away provided Tranmere with a few good counter attack opportunities. My goalkeeper did very well to keep us in front but then disaster struck a few minutes from time, a terrible back pass was intercepted and the game ended all square. We should have won this game but the defending was disastrous, there were no excuses! 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 last game of the month was at home with 16th placed Chesterfield, I wanted to grab a win and end the month on a high note. We didn’t score that early goal this time though, the game was quite spectacular with both keepers having a lot of work to do. Eventually Chesterfield took the lead thanks to a corner kick header, we had to react. We wasted a good chance to score before half time but after the break the players looked a lot more determined to prove their worth. We were piling on the pressure but the finishing was poor, I was a bit worried. Luckily centre back Martin Kelly came to the rescue, his impressive stature and strength allowed him to score with a corner kick header. There still was enough time to win the game, we were pouring forward but the ball just wouldn’t go in. I even sent the goalkeeper upfront for the corner kicks during the last 10 minutes but he had no luck either.

Despite the three draws we were still sitting second, not bad I guess.

The player that impressed me this month is Aleksandar Mladenov, a Bulgarian right/left winger. I brought him in as a backup player and he constantly did a good job, especially after McKay‘s injury. He has fairly good vision and also a good foot for set pieces, I’m happy that I managed to sign him. He came on a free transfer from Slavia Sofia but he was raised as a footballer in Germany at Hertha Berlin. He even played a few games in the Bundesliga but then went to Bulgaria and Russia to continue his career.

We’ll have a few tricky matches next month, especially the double encounter with 3rd placed Crystal Palace in the league and also in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

That’s how it was folks, I am quite satisfied overall but also a bit frustrated because we could have won at least two of the games that we drew. Anyway, things are looking good apart from the numerous injuries, I hope we’ll stay out of trouble in the following months.

P.S.: The next screen shot was requested by Sears, a picture of my coaches and their abilities. Here you go mate, I hope this is the screen that you wanted.