Hello my friends, in this post i am going to bring you the games result played in October to December. After going unbeaten in the Blue Square South for two months, i know that a defeat will come sooner or later. But never did i expect my Thurrock team to suffer two defeats in October and one defeat in November. My players could not carry the good form over and due to some injuries we have a dip in form and we did not play too well in these few months. Probably we played too many games due to progress of the FA cup and FA trophy cup that’s why my players are showing some fatigue. Here is the results.

October

vs Newport Co 3-4
This is a match which two in-form teams went head to head with each other. They are also having a good run at the moment, eight games unbeaten before facing us while we won seven games in a row. We took the lead by a own goal from one of their players early in the 5th minute. But they hit us back with two goals and lead 2-1 until the whistle. My players did not perform well in the first half. I ask for a better performance from my players during the break and Paul Hakim got us level after a fine cross by Chris Black in the 55th minute. We created few chances but just could not convert them. I thought the match was heading for a draw but some disastrous defending resulted them scored another two goals inside four minutes near the closing end. Matt Paine scored a injury time goal but that was just consolation. We suffered our first defeat in nine game and totally deserved it. My defence was awful today.

vs Arlesey 1-0
This is a FA cup third qualifying round against a non-league team. We attack from start to end but only manage to score one goal. I am starting to worry about the form of my players now. They are not playing as well as they are in the last two months.

vs Staines 4-1
I am a bit worried about the form of my players as they did not play well in the last two games. Luckily my strikers got their scoring boots back for this game. Matt Paine give us a early lead after a perfect cross from Simon Heslop. Paul Hakim scored the second goal seven minutes later, knock down ball to the penalty area by Matt Paine. They pulled a goal back after a powerful shot from 35 yards by their midfield player. But just before the first half whistle Jack Jeffrey gave us back the two goal cushion after scoring from a freekick at the edge of the area. With nine minutes left, Paul Hakim scored his second goal after a fine through ball from Jamie Garry. I am pleased with my players as we managed to secure the three points.

vs Bath 3-0
FA cup fourth qualifying round against fellow Blue Square South team Bath, we showed our superiority and scored three goals, a place shot from Paul Hakim, and two penalties scored by Simon Heslop and David King. We will proceed to the FA cup first round and will be facing Shrewsbury the league two leaders at the moment.

vs Grays 0-1
Next up is against Grays, our rivals. They are playing in the Blue Square Premier last season and was relegated to Blue Square South this season. Both team played  very cautiously and we conceded a goal in the 75th minute and could not find a way back. This is our second defeat for the month. My fans are very upset that we lost the game to our close rivals. I think a draw would be a fairer result as both teams never created much in this game.

vs Eastleigh 3-2
They are a mid-table team who has suffered two defeats before meeting us. It was a game played in their home ground, i think they wanted to win the game for their supporters. They attacked us from the start of whistle and we were two goals down in the first 11 minutes. Eight minutes later, Matt Paine scored in close range after a knock down ball from Jack Jeffrey. Some interchange passing in midfield area, the ball was passed to the right flank, Matt Bodkin sent in a perfect cross for Paul Hakim to head in to keep us level till the break. Both team tried to search for the winning goal and it was us who got it through a penalty. It was a superb comeback from two goals down to win the game.

October was a bad month for us, we won two and suffered our first two defeats. The lead from the top was cut to 2 points. We have six games coming up in November but only three blue square south games, the rest is FA cup and FA trophy cup games. Here is the results.

November

vs Eastbourne Boro 1-0
First game in November is against 3rd place team Eastbourne Boro. Though we control the game from start to end, but could not find a way in. I thought the game was heading for a draw, however deep into injury time David Knight produced his moment of magic to score in the penalty area to give us a vital win against one of our title rivals.

vs Shrewsbury 1-3
In this FA cup first round, we were facing the league two leaders Shrewsbury who is having a good run in league two. They have too much quality in their squad and were too strong for us. We only created two chances in the whole game and was doing ball chasing most of the time. Congratulations to them for advancing to the next round.

vs Havant & W 1-2
This is game which we were very unlucky as we created more chances than but their players took their chances very well. From 2-0 down, it was always a uphill task to chase the game back. Though Jack Jeffrey scored a goal but it was too late. This was our third defeat and we dropped to 2nd place after this defeat.

Next game was FA trophy cup against Newport Co, it was played in their home and neither side was able to win it. The game ended 2-2. Four days later, the replay was played in our home ground, this time we showed more determination and desire to win the game in front of our fans. Jamie Garry scored the only goal in this game and we will be facing Sutton Utd in the next round.

vs Tonbridge 1-0
Last game of the month was against Tonbridge who was recently promoted. It was another game which we dominate, but yet we always leave it so late to find a way in. Jack Jeffrey scored in the 88th minute to give us another win. I am a bit concerned with my strikers, the goals seem to dry up  a little at the moment. I hope they will improve their performance for the coming month.

It was another congested fixtures in December, we will be playing 6 games. I need to rotate my players as they need more time to regain their fitness back. Here is the fixtures.

vs Bishop Stortford 1-0
This was not an easy game, they are occupying 7th place at the moment. In the 12th minute we took the lead through a swift counter attack resulted the ball bouncing to the goalmouth area. Their goalkeeper misjudged the speed of the ball and Chris Black sneaked in to put the ball into the empty net. The score remain as it is as both team never created much to the annoy of fans of both team.

vs Woking 2-1
Next up is against 3rd place team, one of our rivals, i thought we played quite well considering it was a away game. My players wanted to extend the lead on top of table and Chris Saunders and Paul Hakim scored in each side of the half to give us a 2-0 lead. Though they claw back a goal in the 78th minute but our defence held on to give us a vital win.

vs Sutton Utd 0-1
We did not played too well in this FA trophy game and lost the game by a single goal. I am not disappointed with this loss as i want my players to focus on getting promoted to the Blue Square Premier.

vs Hampton & Richmond 3-0
We showed our attacking powess in this match, we were already two goal up inside five minutes from the start of the whistle. Paul Hakim set the record of scoring the fastest goal inside 30 seconds. David King doubled the lead for us scoring a screamer from 30 yards. Chris Saunders then scored from a corner to give us a three goal cushion. It was a superb first half performance from my players, they try to chase the game back in the second half but it was not their day. They even missed a penalty, a good save by my goalkeeper. But we could not increase the scoreline too. This was our fourth win in a row and leading the table by seven points.

vs Dorchester 1-2
It was a match which i never expected to lose against this mid-table team. But credit to them, they payed really well and established a two-goal lead after some slack defending by my defenders. Matt Paine scored to give us some lifetime but we could not find the equalizer and lost the match.

vs Farnborough 0-0
Last game of the month was against 15th place team Farnborough, we did not improve from the last game and never really get going. Though they created more chances but they could not put the ball into the net either. They had a player sent off in the second half, but my players never took advantage of that and it ended up a boring draw. 

With half the season gone, my Thurrock team is leading on top of the table five points clear of Chelmsford, the team occupying 2nd place at the moment. Eastbourne Boro is further ten points behind in 3rd place. I believe it will be a straight fight for the automatic promotion spot between us and Chelmsford.

I just hoped that there is no more injuries that will disrupt our claim for the promotion spot in the next few months. There are a lot of injuries to my few first team players for the past 2 month, one of the reason resulting our bad form. I will be monitoring the situation, will sign 1 or 2 players if i need to. For the time being, i will keep on motivate my players for the final push in the second half of the season. Please stay tune and find out.