The next game was against another bottom of the table team, at home with 19th placed Middlesbrough. Andrea Romano was back in the starting eleven after recovering from his broken arm and he made an instant impact, a perfect assist for an early goal by Rafael Sobis. The Andrea Romano doubled the lead with a placed shot and he missed a couple more chances until half time. We were totally in control of the game but Middlesbrough scored somehow, it was a fluke goal that we should never had conceded. Anyway, Rafael Sobis settled things a few minutes later by placing in his 30th goal of the season.
The last Premier League game of the month was at home against 13th placed Sheffield United, the team that held us to a surprising 1-1 draw back in November. The first half was entirely ours, we dominated the game but the finishing was horrendous, my lads were unable to place the shots on target. A few minutes into the second half Ashley Young surprised everybody with a murderous tackle in midfield, he was sent off and that was just what we needed… Sheffield United parked the bus despite the one man advantage and it was all over, we couldn’t find a solution to get past their overcrowded defense.
While we drew with Sheffield United Chelsea lost a game, so the lead was now up to 14 points with a game in had. If my calculations are correct we only need two more wins to secure the title, I hope to get those six points as soon as possible.
The month was not over yet, we had to give our best for the Champions League quarter final with Werder Bremen. Having the first leg at home was a slight disadvantage but I was hoping for a good win to take away in Germany. Werder knocked out Galatasaray in the previous round and from what I’ve seen their most dangerous players were midfielder Mesut Ozil and gigantic centre back Mertesacker. Their team looked quite solid overall so I wasn’t expecting an easy evening.
The game started perfectly for us, Rafael Sobis headed in a cross from Fabio and things were looking good. Werder produced a fierce reaction though, they hit the post twice from close range a couple of minutes later. Then Andrea Romano stepped up, he created a perfect chance for Rafael Sobis and the Brazilian was not in the mood for forgiveness, 2-0. We were keeping the game under control but Werder clawed one back with a splendid long shot, Akinfeev was unable to get a hand to it. Then we had to withstand a bit of pressure until half time but we survived with a bit of luck. We played a lot better after the interval, Werder were under pressure but we missed quite a few chances. Cristian Zapata had to step up again, he flew high into the opposition box and headed in a corner kick, 3-1. We kept on pushing forward and Rafael Sobis finally netted his third goal of the evening, he could have scored 5 of them in the second half. We played very well in the last 45 minutes and I guess the three goal lead is a good advantage to defend in the second leg.
April will become pretty crowded if we get past Werder Bremen, so I hope to claim the Premier League title as soon as possible. We’ll also have the FA Cup semi final with Sunderland, it would be a shame to miss the final after reaching this stage.
That’s how it was my friends, the team played pretty well this month despite the two red cards. I would have wished for better finishing but I hope that my strikers are saving their goals for the Champions League semi final and, hopefully, final :)
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Laxeyman
4 апреля, 2010 at 15:08
Hi Johnny, another brilliant month. The title is yours, maybe you can do an Arsenal and be unbeaten all season. You are on course for a record points tally, and I think you’ll beat Weder in the champions league, hopefully you can go all the way in that!
Matthew
4 апреля, 2010 at 15:11
Hi
I have been following this story for a while now and it is great and Blyth Spartans was my favourite story. I have started a save with Bristol Rovers in League 1 and I need some help because my defence isnt playing well. My team have scored 10 goals in 4 games and let in 9 leading to 3 defeats and a 4-0 win. Also, my defenders are championship quality according to my scouts so I dont know what the problem is. Thanks for any help.
Matthew
Johnny Karp
4 апреля, 2010 at 15:59
@Laxeyman
Thanks mate. I guess winning the Champions League is more important than going unbeaten all the way but I’ll surely try to do both.
@Matthew
Thanks for the comment. Let me tell you a secret, the Blyth Spartans story is my favorite too :) About your defense problems, I think that you might have the defense set up wrong, for example if your defenders are slow you should set a deep defense. Maybe you could give us more details about the manner in which you conceded all those goals.
sam warren
4 апреля, 2010 at 16:39
well done johnny I know that it is not guranteed yet but you have easily won the premiership. Now you can concentrate on the Champions League and hopefully win it this year. Good luck for the rest of the season.
Matthew
4 апреля, 2010 at 17:01
Hi Johnny
I have decided to try a Blyth type story only I am using Dorchester. If you like I could keep you updated. I have a steam account if you want to get updated by that.
Thanks
Johnny Karp
4 апреля, 2010 at 17:17
@sam
Thanks mate, we’ll try to focus on the Champions League indeed.
@Matthew
I don’t know how that could be done through Steam but you can always come here and leave a comment to tell everybody how it goes. Good luck with Dorchester, seems like a really nice and tough challenge.
Kevin Mayo
4 апреля, 2010 at 21:32
Hi Johnny
Simply brilliant and your new reserve striker is amazing. you keep finding these «gems» so good for you. The title is yours pretty much, I don’t think Chelsea will catch you know. I assume you are trying to finish the season before Wednesday?
Lye
5 апреля, 2010 at 03:30
Hi mate, you are right about the 2 wins will definitely land you on another title. I believe you can get past Werder Bremen for the second leg as i think its very difficult for them to overcome your three goal advantage. It should be another fantastic season for you and will be looking forward to sweep all trophy this season.
Johnny Karp
5 апреля, 2010 at 11:32
@Kevin
You are right, I am trying to finish the season before Wednesday but I’m not hurrying things up. We’ll see if I manage to do that.
@Lye
Thanks mate, I don’t think we’ll lose the title, that would be a catastrophic experience. My main goal is the Champions League, I’ll be focusing on that once the title will be secured.
ravenie
5 апреля, 2010 at 14:48
I am quite shocked but I am bored with my current game with Southampton. I want to start over but I do not know who to do so with.
Johnny Karp
5 апреля, 2010 at 15:10
@Ravenie
Why are you shocked?
ravenie
5 апреля, 2010 at 17:48
Because I’m usually so into it but I’m ready to start anew with Coventry but I’ll need to do it on a different computer. I already started it on laptop so i know which signings im going to make
Johnny Karp
5 апреля, 2010 at 18:12
OK Ravenie, I get it. Good luck with Coventry then, hope it will be a successful career.
Kevin Mayo
5 апреля, 2010 at 18:13
Ravenie
Sounds like you are going through an FM mid-life crises. Welcome to my world and I think Martin’s too :)
Martin
5 апреля, 2010 at 19:10
Kevin, LOL