The next game was at Wembley, the Nottingham Derby again but this time in the FA Cup semi final. Manchester United had a league game to play on that day, they won 1-0 at West Ham so we were tied at 77 points now but we had three games in hand. Anyway, back to Wembley… Forest outplayed us in the first 20 minutes of the game, they were looking determined to get revenge. We slowly took control of the match in the last part of the half and Sam Hinshelwood gave us the lead just before the break by finishing a team move. We doubled the lead only seven minutes into the second half, Defour lobbed the ball past Forest‘s defense, Sobis picked it up and powered it home. We took the foot off the gas but still managed to score one, Agnaldo deserved a goal after playing very well throughout the game. Arsenal will be our opponents in the final, luckily scheduled on the 17th of May.
Back to the Premier League, we had a tricky away game at Wolves only three days later. They were in 7th place after a very good season and the last meeting between the two sides ended with a win for us, a narrow 1-0 in the FA Cup back in February. We got off to a slow start and Wolves nearly punished us 10 minutes into the game, they missed a great chance. Sam Hinshelwood was in great shape though driving the team forward, he picked up an assist from Demba Ba and placed it into the back of the net. We took control of the game after the goal but the better ball possession didn’t convert in dangerous attacking moves, the team looked a bit uninspired. We continued to play a bit below par in the second half but Demba Ba finished a quick counter attack and the game was as good as over although there were around 20 minutes left to play. This was one of the three games we had in hand over Manchester United, so now we were 3 points clear with two games in hand.
We had another away game coming up, a more difficult one: at Anfield Road with 9th placed Liverpool. They had a disappointing season and they had to win the game in order to preserve any chances of getting an Europa League place. We won the home game 1-0 in December and I was hoping for a good result. Manchester United were continuing their good run, they beat Newcastle 2-0 the day before our game, so the pressure was on us again. The first half was fairly even overall but Liverpool were better than us in the first 20 minutes, they missed a couple of chances. We were looking much better after the break, we kept Liverpool under pressure in the first few minutes and Rafael Sobis converted that into a goal with a fabulous volley from the edge of the area. Liverpool reacted in style, they were pushing us back and Romero had to make a couple of great saves to preserve our lead. I was hoping to survive until the end of the game but it wasn’t to be, a harsh penalty decision brought them back level. I admit that it was the just result though, Liverpool deserved to get at least on e point.
We had to travel quite a few miles for the next game, it was the first leg of the Europa League semi final with CSKA Moscow. They had a very strong team, they knocked out Juventus and Stuttgart in the previous rounds and their squad featured some great names like Igor Akinfeev (goalkeeper), Alan Dzagoev (midfielder) and Vagner Love, the Brazilian striker. The first 25 minutes of the game were entirely ours, we were all over them but their keeper was in top form, he made four fantastic saves to keep the score level. There was nothing he could have done a few minutes later though, Sobis received the ball inside the box and he powered in! The keeper didn’t touch it but I think that it would have broken his arm if he would have reached it. Guilherme wrapped up a fantastic first half with a fine dribble and a perfectly placed shot from the edge of the area, I was extremely pleased with the performance. The second half saw CSKA trying to push forward but they were leaving huge gaps behind the defense. That gave Biglia the chance to play a perfect long ball for Guilherme, the Brazilian picked it up and lobbed it past the goalkeeper from 20 yards out, fantastic! CSKA were coming forward but Romero proved that he’s at least as good as Akinfeev and pulled off a few magnificent saves. The last 20 minutes were a bit more difficult as we had to play with only 10 men, Sobis got injured and I had already made all the substitutions. We were a bit under pressure but had another great chance on a counter attack a few minutes before the final whistle, unfortunately Guilherme missed it. That was a superb win and a great performance but we couldn’t enjoy it too much, the injury to Rafael Sobis was quite serious and he was going to be out for a full month! That could be a big blow considering that he scored 32 goals until that point of the season. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Laxeyman
16 февраля, 2010 at 21:28
Hi Johnny, not a bad month there. That schedule is horrible, it shouldn’t be allowed! 2 games in 2 days! It looks like the title is going to come down to that game against Man Utd. If you win or draw I am pretty certain the title will be yours! Good luck you’ve got a hugely important month coming up!
Kevin Mayo
16 февраля, 2010 at 21:54
Johnny
What a massive post almost like a Tom Clancy novel in size :)
I’ve only got time to quickly review it so I’ll print and read on the subway tonight. Anyway what drama has unfolded for you in a hugely challenging month and I can relate to sacrificing sleep for playing when it gets down to the wire.I’m confident you will walk away with three trophies come the end of May and maybe a World Cup to follow?
Well done though!
Sears
16 февраля, 2010 at 21:59
Good win in the Europe league.. Hope you win it! Tough game ahead against man u..title decider! Confident you should win all 3 cup’s though! Wish you luck!
Johnny Karp
16 февраля, 2010 at 22:37
@Sears
Thanks mate, I guess everything (including the cups) depends on the Man Utd game…
@Kevin
Thanks for the comment and don’t forget to get off at the right stop mate! :P
@Laxeyman
Thanks mate. The schedule was horrible indeed, I’d rather say 3 games in 4 days!
Sears
17 февраля, 2010 at 00:41
I’v just won the playoff’s beating Huddesfield 4-2.. need to rebuild for the Premier League!.. Any recommendations for the following will be very much apprciated- Goalkeeper,Right,Left,Center Back,Defensive mid,Right winger + Center Mid.
Bilal Ahmad
17 февраля, 2010 at 02:21
I agree with Laxeyman if you win or draw against united the Premiership is yours! Hope you win against Palermo in the Europa League Final (Also how the hell did Arsenal lose!! It would have been a better Final if they were there) and you got Arsenal in the FA Cup final that’s going to be difficult however still believe you will win.
Lye
17 февраля, 2010 at 02:43
Hi mate, what a hectic schedule and what a long post you had made. I am as relieved as you when you finished the month as it certainly won’t be easy playing those matches. Can you sleep after that? :)
I will be cheering for Notts County mate, with the support of the home fans, i hope you can prevail over Man Utd. Come on, you can do it. Hope to see you bringing all 3 trophy back in the cabinet when the season ends. Good luck.
Elections
17 февраля, 2010 at 13:16
Great story thus far and I cannot wait for the ending. You make the whole experience of computerised football management so realistic with your story telling. Very very cool! Keep it up
TheZiggy
17 февраля, 2010 at 14:31
That’s bad luck with the insane schedule. I’ve seen it happen in my game to Tottenham one time, who had also progressed that far in both the EURO Cup and FA Cup. Hopefully SI will resolve that, because in real life the fixtures wouldn’t get to be that congested with matches on consecutive days.
I don’t know if it’s a weird effect from the schedule of the EURO Cup, or some bad luck which fixtures get moved.
If you lose out because of it, a large part will have been due to this bizarre scheduling of matches. Good luck.
Martin
17 февраля, 2010 at 21:19
Well Done On Your Great Progress In The Europa League And For Staying In The Running For The League Title.
You Just Have To Keep Focussed And Prepare For A Tough Battle
Sears, You Should Try Salvatore Bocchetti For The Centre Back Place.
Also, Kyle Naughton For Right Back, Eric Tie-Bi For Defensive Midfield. Mcdonald Mariga For The Centre Mid. That’s All I Have To Offer. Lol
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 00:08
@Martin
Thanks mate and good recommendations :)
@TheZiggy
Thanks for the comment. The fixtures thing should definitely be resolved, I hope the new patch will do that.
@Elections
Thanks a lot for your kind words.
@Lye
Thanks buddy. I can sleep pretty well at the moment because I’m awfully tired after a tough day at work :)
@Bilal
Thanks for the comment and for the confidence :)