Hello folks, welcome back to the exciting Dorchester Town FM 2010 story! The transfers were made, several players left the club and more players and staff joined us at the Avenue Stadium during the summer transfer window, now it was time to finally face the real deal, the League One matches! Let’s see what happened in our first month as a League One team.
Our first game was quite a tough one, we had to face promotion contenders Preston away from home. They were predicted to finish sixth and they surely proved why as we started the game well and showed a couple of good attacks but it was Preston who scored the very first time they came forward. Five minutes later our opponents doubled their lead with a corner kick header, League One was looking a bit too tough for us at that point. My players reacted pretty well though, the team started pushing forward and we managed to claw one back 15 minutes before half time through right winger Tiberiu Paduraru (click on player’s name to view his profile). We resumed our attacking display after the interval but Preston were defending very well and also looked quite threatening on counter attacks. Time was running out on our hopes of a good debut but Preston‘s keeper felt bad about us so he gifted striker Michael Garrity a golden opportunity by coming out of the box to intercept the ball and missing it completely. Garrity kept cool and slotted the ball home for a late equalizer, I was pleased with the fightback. Unfortunately the physio had bad news for me at the end of the game, Barbero was going to be out for three weeks while Koroma was going to be sidelined for a month.
Our next game was the Carling Cup clash with fellow League One side Colchester. They were freshly relegated from the Championship so they were considered as strong promotion contenders in the league but I was hoping for a good display in front of our own fans. The team played pretty well during the first half, we dominated the game and finally managed to convert that into a goal just before the break when Simon Ferry showed good awareness to push in a parried shot. The second half was like a dream for us… First left winger Matt Richards curled in a beautiful free kick shots from 20 yards out, the ball went past the keeper and in off the post. Then Szymon Kazmierowski netted his first goal of the season from inside the box and Aleksandar Mladenov came off the bench to complete the rout with a placed finish. You can’t imagine how happy I was to see the team playing so well, pre-season was pretty tense and I was finally having reasons to rejoice. It was too early to celebrate though, we had to confirm this performance in the following matches.
We had another home game coming up, this time in League One, Bournemouth were coming to pay us a visit. They were predicted to finish 19th so not too far above our predicted 24th :) The game didn’t start too well for us though, Bournemouth had a good chance to score an early goal but our young goalkeeper Gabriel Nicolau pulled off a great save. Then the lads got going and Jonathan Obika rounded off a team move to score his first goal for the club in the 25th minute. His good movement off the pall paid off again 11 minutes later, he coolly slotted the ball home from inside the box. Unfortunately we were caught napping on a counter attack and Bournemouth clawed one back just two minutes later. We missed another couple of chances until half time but Michael Garrity restored our two goal lead just after the interval by pushing in a good assist from Obika. We were playing very well, creating (and missing) lots of chances until centre back Tom Thorpe settled the score with a corner kick header. I was quite pleased with the amount of chances that we created, the team was looking determined to succeed.
The next game was expected to be a lot tougher, away at promotion contenders Colchester. We just beat them 4-0 at home in the Carling Cup but I was fearing their desire for revenge… In fact, we found ourselves under pressure right away but managed to withstand it somehow and take the lead 23 minutes into the game thanks to a great pass from Obika and a good finish from Revy Rosalia. Then we defended pretty well with a bit of luck too as Colchester hit the crossbar a few minutes later. I was hoping to keep the lead until half time but the pressure was too high and Colchester netted the equalizer during stoppage time. We started the second half with a slightly better attacking attitude and that eventually showed its fruits as young striker Peter Singh showed good personality in skipping past his marker and powering the ball home from just inside the area. Our joy was short lived though, my centre backs lost one of Colchester‘s strikers on a quick move and it was all square. We were under a great deal of pressure again but goalkeeper Nicolau did very well again to keep us in the game. Colchester were knocking on our door but it was us who opened theirs in the end, captain Ryan Carolan banged in a corner kick header 4 minutes from time! You could say that we stole this win, Colchester had quite a few chances but we survived and won it somehow.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
java
16 августа, 2010 at 17:30
Hey Johnny, wonderful debut there. Like what I said before, I can’t predict anything from your game but I believe you’ll get at least a playoff spot. :D Cheers!
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2010 at 18:42
Thanks Java, I can’t make a prediction now either but I hope your belief will be proven right.
Darren Smith
16 августа, 2010 at 17:57
Nice one Johnny…what a way to introduce Dorchester into League One. Obika looks like he could be key this season. I honestly think you might be looking at a play-off place. Goodluck and keep up the great work!
ps thanks for your advice the other day, you really are a top bloke. Ill email when the company has replied to me. Thanks mate
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2010 at 18:44
Thanks Darren. Unfortunately we won’t see Obika on the pitch until January and he might be back in top shape in February so it’s more than half a season lost for him. I’m happy that you found the advice helpful, you can ask anytime, no problem.
Kevin Mayo
16 августа, 2010 at 21:12
Hello Johnny
Well, pour yourself a glass of Plum Brandy and celebrate the great start to life in League One. Not too much though as I don’t encourage drinking :)
That’s a set back losing Obika early on like that, do you think you will gaet a loan signing in ? Good luck in the the local derby with Exeter.
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2010 at 21:25
Thanks Kevin but the weather is a bit too hot here to have a glass of plum brandy, I might think about having one in November :) I don’t think I will bring in a striker on loan as we already have one (Garrity) and with Koroma recovering from injury we’ll have four strikers if you add Singh and Kazmierowski. There will be some problems once Garrity’s loan will expire in a couple of months but I guess we’ll manage.
Sears
16 августа, 2010 at 21:29
Hi Johnny,
another promotion is on the cards for you I think. Your team are doing way better then my Chelmsford City team. We found it extremely difficult to adapt to League One. Goodluck.
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2010 at 21:31
Thanks Sears but it’s way too early to start thinking about promotion.
Sears
16 августа, 2010 at 21:35
So far so good! By the way, you know the way if you click on a player, how do you get their profile to come up?
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2010 at 21:43
I manually hyperlinked their names to the respective profile pictures. You can do that in Blogger too but I don’t know if you will have the same overlay effect as I have here, the picture will probably open up in a separate tab or window.
Plobdork
16 августа, 2010 at 22:04
hi johnny you have done a wonderful start i dont belive you wont keep it up sad to here about the strikers it will be a setback but you will sort it out
question???? i am a league 1 team (leyton orient) what will i need for a lm for the one ive got is no good???
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 09:09
Thanks mate. I would suggest my left wingers, Revy Rosalia or Matt Richards. They both seem to be very good and reliable as left midfielders.
Plobdork
17 августа, 2010 at 16:01
does revy rosalia a regen or is he real cos i cant find him
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 18:26
Rosalia is not a regen but your game database probably doesn’t have him.
Cal
17 августа, 2010 at 08:04
Unlucky about the stiker but you had a great start!!
I think Koroma will do just fine!
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 09:10
Thanks Cal. Koroma should do well because in theory he is better than Obika and was our top goalscorer last season. I expect a lot from him.
Zheljo
17 августа, 2010 at 09:30
obika is a good player, loan from i used him in shrews game, he came on loan from parent club stoke. im also now a debutant in league one and the main problem i have is that i cant sign more coaches than 4.
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 09:43
Only four coaches? Your club must be in a very poor financial position then… I think I’m allowed to have 10 coaches.
Zheljo
17 августа, 2010 at 09:50
what is the main thing too look regarding finances? mine finances graph is currently at €1.4 M, the value of the team is € 2.8 M.
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 10:54
The main thing to look at is obviously the balance (difference between income and expenditure). If your balance is negative (in red) then you have to find ways either to increase the income or cut some of the expenditure or both. I never look at the team’s financial value, that’s just statistical information with little impact on the game.
Mat
17 августа, 2010 at 10:28
Hi Johnny.
Im a long time reader but first time commenter. I’ve loved all your stories especially your Blyth story but this one is certainly giving it a run for its money.
One question I had if you dont mind me asking but where do you actually live? I know your originally from Romania (At least I think) but still you still leave there? Im a proud follower of football here in Australia and I’ll try to be a bit more regualar in my contributions to the community
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 10:57
Thanks for the first comment! The Blyth story remains my own favorite too :) I still live in Romania, in Bucharest, the capital city. We used to have quite a few Australian footballers in the Romanian league a few seasons ago but now I think there is only one left, Spase Dilevski who plays for my favorite team, Universitatea Craiova.
Laxeyman
17 августа, 2010 at 10:53
Hi Johnny, that’s a great start, your team look fantastic going forward and are scoring a lot of goals, well done. Shame about the injuries, but hopefully your side can overcome those and continue your good start. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 10:58
Thanks for your support Laxeyman, I hope that we’ll keep on scoring a few goals every game :)
Lye
17 августа, 2010 at 11:19
Excellent start there mate. You can be cautious as you like but i am hopeful its another straight promotion :) Just two words from me «absolutely brilliant».
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 11:29
Thanks for your optimism Lye! I just don’t want to get carried away, two or three wins don’t mean too much for a whole season in which you have to play no less than 46 league games. But I surely hope you’re right about the promotion :)