FMS Patriots — December 2011

Hi boys and girls, its FMS time again and I’ll be taking you through December with a massive 7 games to get your teeth into. Buckle up!

Last month saw a mixed bag of results from a very tough run of games. Little unfortunate to not get anything against Spurs but I was more than happy with the draws against Chelsea and Man City and a win against Stoke! This month is a little easier on paper, and although it is chocked full of games we have winnable opponent. Hopefully this time we can make an assent up the table instead of dropping a place every month..

Anyway, first game would kick it all off as we hosted Blackpool at Patriots Park! We were hungry from the off as Pepper and Smith exchanges nearly lead to the opening goal as the formers shot sliced past the post. Kingston had to save from Smith a couple of minutes later before the game saw it’s first goal! No prizes for the side that took the lead.. Yep, that’s right it was the Patriots as Pepper hit home from a Hazza cross. The atmosphere was electric and it must have spured the players on as they went in search of another, Smith coming close again on two occasions but failing to hit the back of the net. Story of his life at the moment unfortunately, but I would give him till the end of the month to prove himself. Half time came and went, and it was Blackpool who were dominant in the early exchanges as they tested Vaibhav well in the Patriot goal. Things went a little lapse after 60 minutes as the game settled down to a snails pace but there was time to grab another goal, Smith’s shot rebounding to give Hazza a well deserved celebration and FMS the three points.

A trip to the Walkers Stadium next for the youngsters as they faced Sven Goran Eriksson’s Leicester. Fierce opening exchanges with shots flying everywhere from both sides, but honestly we looked more in control as Smith bossed the front line and came close when his shot hit the side netting. That was it really for the first half as the last 30 odd minutes were played out unenthusiastically, and I told my lads to do it for the fans when we sat down in the dressing room. They must love ’em, as we came out the blocks and hit the post 20 seconds into the opening minute as Johnson tried his look form 20 yards. There was a few chances for our front pairing but the only goal of the game came late in the form of a wonderfully slick goal as Hazza smashed it in from a tight angle as he dribbled and weaved his way in from the right hand side of midfield. Two goals and two ‘Man of the Match’ performances for the young Welshman. Contender for the Yong Player of the Month award…?

Third game of the month would see the Patriots travel to Ewood Park to face a Blackburn side that were hovering around mid table. I might have underestimated them though, as they left little time in making a mark scoring the first goal of the game inside two minutes! Lapse in the defence, there was little Vaibhav could do as Kalinic slotted home one on one. They were really pulling their weight too and we just never seemed to get going in the first half. They made their dominance pay too, doubling their lead when Mirallas pounced on a rebound. Furious, I wanted to see something change and luckily we did manage to get out of first gear and pull one back just before half time as Smith fed Pepper in to hit home from 6 yards. We never really got out of the blocks in the second half either and the home side were unlucky not to take the lead as a flurry of shots never quite managed to scupper their way in. One chance was all we needed though, and it came from the most unlikely of players. Well, not if you were reading last years updates but Smith managed to bring the game back to 2-2 and end his huge goal draught, even I was smiling as he danced his way around the box and hit home from the tightest of angles. Dancing was kind of his forté that day..

Haha. Anyway, that proved to be the final goal of the game which would give us a well needed point to take back to Scunthorpe…

Back to Patriots Park to host West Brom! Another relegation threatened team, but could we turn on the style in front of our own fans? Well, the first half was very nip and tuck. West Brom were really diciplined and there was little we could carve out going forward. It was almost like stalemate, which is worrying as most of the times that this has happened we normally loose. Urgh, anyway we ploughed on but failed to do anything before half time. I gave them some motivation in the dressing room and luckily it managed to get to Pepper as he put us one up inside the first two minutes as he bundled in a rebounded shot from Smith! We still never really got going after that goal, and it was capitalised upon by the Baggies as they hit home to take a point back to the Midlands. Much to my disappointment..

With the team now suffering heavily from fatigue, we ploughed on down to Birmingham to face another side in the midst of a relegation battle. They got off to a great start too, putting us on the back foot for most of the first half after a good display by their attacking players which included a well known Laxeyman in the Centre of midfield. They couldn’t carve anything out though, and it seemed we couldn’t either before the half time whistle went as our only chance was a Sears header that went a foot over the bar. Again, another team talk was needed.. Smith stepped up to the plate. Just two minutes in he opened the scoring after getting set free down the right, taking his chance when his initial shot was saved. We gathered some momentum after that too, with a barrage of shots towards the opposing net. Our persistence was rewarded too, as a Smith cross found Crosby at the back post to seal it late on for the Patriots! There was time for a nervy ending as Birmingham pulled one back, but it turned out to be a consolation goal much to the delight of me and the travelling fans..

Penultimate game of the year was a tough one as we scurried off to Anfield to face a Liverpool side that were in and around our mix. We needed a win, but we learned that inside 25 minutes you never get given three points at Anfield. It was none other than Uruguayan talisman Suarez to grab a brace inside the first 10 minutes to give the home fans something to shout about. The second one was an absolute peach too. We had our own talisman though, and Sears managed to grab one back five minutes later as he rose highest to head home a corner swung in by Pilgrim. Gerrard got Liverpools third to cap off a miserable first half for the Patriots as he scrambled in from close range. The second half wasn’t much better as it was more domination from the home side. Luckily it was us that managed to take our chance but it came too little, too late from the youngsters as Sears grabbed his second in stoppage time. Overpowered, we were leap frogged by Liverpool.. Bummer.

Final game of the month, and year for that matter as we searched for a morale boosting performance at home to relegation threatened Fulham. It was none other than captain fantastic who set the match alight as Sears headed in the first goal of the game to get some momentum into the players. We were knocked back a beg after the away side equalised almost instantly, but this was a minor blip in what was a brilliant half for the Patriots as we added another goal when Samlar, fresh off the back of his loan spell, crashed one in from outside the area to see us go in 2-1 at the break. The momentum was with us and it showed as we completely bossed the second half. McLean added a third after nipping on the end of a freekick and Bmwdestroyer added a fourth with ten minutes to go after his bullet shot from the left hand side almost broke though the net! That left captain fantastic to round off the rout in stoppage time as he found himself on the end of a Dami cross to give the Patriots a well needed win as we went into the new year. Happy days! :D

So where did all this leave us at the end of December?

Of course, it left us in exactly the same position as we were last month. Still, it was nice to know that we were keeping up with the pack and at least we hadn’t dropped a place this month ;)

So its that time again (January transfer ironically..), and I am sorry to say that I will be leaving the post for good. At the moment, it is quite tough to churn out two stories and with my Malmo save in full flow, I have taken the hard decision of passing the save on to someone who can keep up. Luckily there was a writer with a vacant position for a story due to the unfortunate loss of his saved game…

Go to the next page, to see the usual stuff, and find out who will be managing FMS…