Vauxhall Motors Story: December 2012

Hello folks and welcome to a fresh episode of the Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story! I hope you still remember the last update in which I told you about our matches in November 2012, a great month that saw my team grabbing a new record win, 8-0 at Oxford! We were top of the table at the end of November, four points clear of second placed Southend, but we had no less than 8 games to play in December (including a league derby against Southend). Let’s see what happened.

The first game of the month was the FA Cup second round clash with fellow League Two side Bradford. We started the game very well and missed a few good chances before striker Darryl Duffy broke the deadlock four minutes before half time. I was forced to make three substitutions at half time due to several fitness problems within my first eleven and that choice backfired just eight minutes into the second half when centre back Daniel Pappoe left the field on a stretcher. We were down to 10 men but we held out until eight minutes from time when Bradford leveled the match with a superb goal. Luckily we restored our advantage just three minutes later when Omar Koroma slotted home with a perfect finish and we managed to go through to the next round. We got 27,500 pounds in prize money for this win, not bad at all! The bad news was that I had two major injuries to deal with: defender Daniel Pappoe and midfielder Nathan Rooney were going to be out for a whole month.

We had another cup game coming up, the Johnstone’s Trophy North semi final against League One side Rotherham. The match was fairly even but both sides could have clinched it in the second half as Rotherham missed a good chance and we hit the crossbar in the 89th minute. The match ended goalless and went straight to the penalty shoot-out. Unfortunately most of my players were unable to keep calm so Rotherham won the shoot-out and knocked us out of the competition.

The first league game of the month was at home against 14th placed Leyton Orient, I was hoping that my lads were not too affected by the shoot-out defeat. The opening five minutes were quite entertaining as my lads hit the post before the visitors were denied by the crossbar. Omar Koroma broke the deadlock 10 minutes before the break with a fine individual effort but our opponents leveled the match just before the hour mark with a superb goal that saw the ball bouncing in off the underside of the crossbar. We hit the woodwork again seven minutes from time and then we finally managed to clinch it when Shane Williams weighed a perfect through ball for Darryl Duffy who slotted home. Unfortunately Duffy picked up a slight injury during the game and he was going to be out for two weeks.

We had a tough game coming up, away at 7th placed promotion contenders Lincoln. We were second best throughout the opening half hour, Lincoln were dominating the game, but we struck on a counter attack that was finished by loanee Luke Williams with a spectacular lob from distance. We were not incisive enough after the break but our opponents were not looking too strong either. Unfortunately they caught us napping on a counter attack and leveled the match four minutes from time. The draw wasn’t a bad result but Southend were just two points behind us!

Our next game was at home with second placed Southend, we had to get at least a draw to stay top. Go to the next page to see what happened!

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Southend were in great shape before the league derby at Rivacre Park: they were on a six-match unbeaten run and they also kept a clean sheet for six games! We had a pretty good start to the game and nearly took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes when striker Akwasi Asante saw his cracking shot from inside the area bouncing clear off the crossbar. We did take the lead on 18 minutes though when defender Derrick Williams nodded home from a corner kick, it was his first ever goal for the club! Unfortunately the same defender gifted Southend the equalizer, an error just three minutes before the break made the score level again. We started to push forward with more determination after the interval and the reward came 18 minutes from time when Asante‘s shot deflected off a defender and went into the back of the net! There was no reaction from Southend and we could have scored at least one more goal before the end of the game. I was very pleased with the result as it gave us a five-point cushion at the top of the table.

The next game was away at 23rd placed Exeter, we had to be careful and not get complacent. The game started very well as Omar Koroma converted a Pietro Palladino counter attack move just seven minutes into the game but Exeter produced a very good display and it was goalkeeper Martin Hansen who preserved our lead with a few great saves. Unfortunately the home side netted the equalizer on 53 minutes, it was a free kick header that was facilitated by some dismal marking from my defense. We needed just two minutes to restore the lead though, a very good team move was finished in style by Luke Williams who volleyed home from inside the penalty area.

Next up, a tough home game against fifth placed Stockport. We dominated the opening half hour but unfortunately we conceded a free kick goal yet again, it seemed that my players were marking each other rather than the opponents! Luckily we reacted instantly as Darryl Duffy celebrated his return on the pitch by scoring his 20th goal of the season. Stockport were playing well though and they came close to taking the lead just before the break when they were denied by a great save from Martin Hansen. Duffy was tired so I replaced him with Koroma at half time and the move proved to be inspired as Omar Koroma scored moments after the interval after a nice one-two with Luke Williams. Our joy lasted just six minutes though, Stockport pegged us back and then took control of the game. They had another couple of good chances before the end of the match but we held out and grabbed a point.

We had just one more game to play before the end of 2012 and it seemed to be a fairly easy one, away at struggling 22nd placed Morecambe. Well, I still can’t explain what happened there but we were totally outplayed and deservedly lost the game 3-0. During the game I suspected those were not my players on the pitch wearing the Vauxhall shirts, somebody might have replaced them with plumbers and engineers! It was by far the worst performance of the season and it really gave me something to worry about.

Our unbeaten run was over but I was happy to see that we held on to the five-point advantage over Southend. We will have to start playing better again though, otherwise that lead might vanish real fast!

However, that last game can not cast a shadow on what was a very good first half of the season. My players are dominating the League Two tables: Darryl Duffy is the league’s top goalscorer, Peter Leven tops the assists table while the average ratings table is totally dominated by my lads.

Overall the players did better than I would have expected at the start of the season, especially my first choice strikers, central midfielders and centre backs. I don’t think there will be any changes in the squad during the January transfer window unless some big club will come to steal one of my players.

We will have seven games in January, including the FA Cup third round match against Championship side Crystal Palace. I would surely love to win that one but we will have to focus on the league games and grab as many points as we can.

That’s how it was folks, not bad overall but I’m still quite upset about that defeat at Morecambe. They played a plain 4-4-2 formation, no tactical surprises there, but my players were simply unrecognizable. I hope to see them back in shape in January, otherwise what seemed to be a perfect season might turn into a nightmare…

By the way, if you have not joined our forum you should do that quickly because all the members that will join until tomorrow morning will have the chance to win a Football Manager 2011 DVD!