Down The Slope

Here we go dear friends, the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story continues despite the huge disappointment that we had to endure last month at Wembley Stadium, Everton defeated us quite heavily in the Carling Cup final. We had to patch our wounds and keep on fighting, we still had to gain promotion to Coca-Cola Championship.

The first game of the month was away at 19th placed Bristol Rovers, they held us to a 2-2 draw at Meadow Lane in September. Luck was on their side again, they caught us unprepared and netted an early goal. My boys reacted well and Nikita Andreev headed home a good cross from Nicolae Mitea. One of Bristol Rovers‘ defenders got sent off right before the break after picking up a second yellow card, it seemed that we were in control. Unfortunately the second half began like the first one did, they caught us on a counter attack and scored! We continued to push forward but missed our chances, hit the woodwork on one occasion but generally looked a bit too nervy upfront. While we were trying hard to score Bristol Rovers succeeded, they sent in a free kick from 25 yards out… It was our second consecutive defeat and our first league defeat.

We had to get out of the black hole we were in, last placed Port Vale were coming at Meadow Lane. It was the perfect chance to get another win and regain some of the lost confidence. The team did all that it could do but my players were still too nervy, they rarely picked the right solutions to finish the attacks.

Next up, an away game at 13th placed Oldham, a team that we defeated 2-0 in October. We had to win, no question about that. We tried hard to score in the second half but it was Oldham that did it after a counter attack. Tomas Pekhart finally scored just before the break, there still was hope for a win. Centre back Ritchie De Laet gave us the lead with a corner kick header, it seemed that we could finally get a well deserved victory. It wasn’t to be though, we conceded an absurd goal six minutes before the final whistle after a stupid wrong back pass… I was quite desperate, I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to joke and consider sending the players to a priest to confess their sins, or maybe hire Harry Potter as an assistant manager… :) :(

The next game was away at 11th placed MK Dons, we won the home game 3-1 in October. Although I was expecting a difficult games I told my players that I wanted a win and no more excuses, just three points. They felt the pressure in the first half and didn’t play too well, MK Dons deserved to score and they did. Fortunately Shelton Martis scored a corner kick goal, we still had the chance to win. We played better in the second half but my strikers looked bereft of confidence, they just couldn’t play as they used to do. In that situation it was our captain, Shelton Martis, who had to take things into his own hands. He scored again from a corner kick, he was determined to end the bad break. Phew, finally a win!

And it was the right moment to get that win, the next game was against the best team in the league (except us, of course), Huddersfield. They took advantage of our bad break and took the top spot from us, they were 2 points ahead of us but we had a game in hand. We were determined to win the game and we pushed forward right from the start. On of Huddersfield‘s defenders got sent off in the first half for elbowing Pekhart in the face, things were going our way. Unfortunately their keeper had a sensational game, he denied us a few certain goals. We scored in the last possible moment, Gasmi made a great run on the left flank, crossed to the far post and Szalai was there to head it in! With that win a playoff place was secured with 10 games to spare but at that point I only cared about promotion and the League One title.

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The last league game of the month was at home with 11th placed Hartlepool, a team that we defeated 3-1 away from home back in October. Tinga gave us the lead just before the break with one of his trademark long range shots, it seemed that victory was ours. My defenders started the second half with a bit less concentration and we paid for a defensive error right away. Luck wasn’t on our side that day, we had countless headers from inside the box but most of them went high or wide…

We were back in 2nd place after that draw but we had two games in hand…

But March was not over yet, we had to get back at the crime scene, Wembley Stadium… The painful memories of the Everton game had to be erased and replaced with some nice ones, we had to play the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final with League Two side Luton Town. It was the first final in the club’s 149 year history and we had to seize the opportunity and bring some silverware home. And we didn’t give Luton any chance, we solved things before the break. First Szalai scored with a missile from inside the penalty area, then Pinzi placed a shot from 25 yards out and Grosicki scored from inside the box right before the break, a quick combination left him completely unmarked with only the opposition keeper in front of him.

Hopefully the «Wembley curse» is now gone, we still have to fight for the League One title. The last game of the season will be away at Huddersfield but I hope to secure the title before that match, I wouldn’t want to fight for it in a difficult away game.

I’m glad that the month is finally over, it was quite a tough one. The next few games will be very important but I feel that the confidence level is back up, so we should be able to win the title. But things can always go wrong, stay tuned to find out!

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