Hello friends, we had a good but not perfect start in August with 1 defeat to Cheltenham.  Due to some injuries along the way, we concede 5 goals in the last 2 games. I need to tighten up the defence while Troy Archibad-Henville is out injured for the games in September. It will be a busy schedule with 7 games awaiting us. As i mentioned in the last post, the opposition is not strong except for Crawley but i certainly won’t be underestimating the opponent. I just need my team to gather as many points as possible in the early season to prove our title credentials. Here is the results.

We had a great month. 6 wins and a draw, i think my players are starting to understand each other better after last month.  I was really pleased with the strikers upfront, Izale Mcleod and Marc Richards are scoring goals for fun. Seems like their partnership is working well and i think there are still a lot to come from them.

First game of the month was against Crawley, a team that finish 3rd in the last campaign. It was not an easy game for us but the result turn out to be quite easy. The first half had nothing for both side of fans to cheer about as both side are looking for possession and control the game. But a minute before the half time whistle, we took the lead through Robbie Threlfall who scored at the edge of the 6 yards box. This is his first goal for the club since joining Thurrock.  I was please with the team and ask them to finish the job during the break. We doubled the lead in 55 minutes when Matt Paine poke in at far corner after a well deliver corner from Kevin Macdonald. The third goal came when Paul Hakim robbed the ball off the defender, sending a pass to Izale Mcleod. He dribbled pass 2 defenders with his pace and finished his move with a goal. What a superb solo goal. Though they pulled 1 goal back immediately after the kick-off, it was just consolation for them. We had a good win against one of our title rivals.

Hampton & Richmond is currently lying at the bottom of the table with no wins so far. So i expect my Thurrock team to win the game easily. And sure enough, we dominate the possession on the field. Izale Mcleod gave us the lead in 16 minutes when scored from close range after a fine cross from Kiernan Hughes-Mason. Paul Hakim, a rare start for him as i rested Marc Richards, scored another close range goal in 51 minutes to give us a perfect start of the month.

Gateshead is a mid-table team that we will be facing next. Before that i am delighted to welcome Troy Archibad-Henville back to the first team. Both side had almost identical shots but with them having a better share of possession. The difference between us is at the strikers department. We took the lead in the first half through a Steven Leslie penalty when Marc Richards was fouled inside the 6 yard box. The Gateshead defenders are definitely having a nightmare of handling Izale Mcleod. Twice he raced pass the defender to score a brace in the second half. I believe the BSP defenders will be take extra care on him after this fine performance.

This was a well entertain game for both side of fans as there were a lot of goals. Our performance in the first half was fantastic as we raced off to a 4 goal lead. Marc Richards scored a wonderful hat-trick  and Izale Mcleod continued his fine form with the other goal in this game. Though Hereford pulled back 2 goals in each of the half but it was a fine win for us. I got another injury to my player after the match, Kevin Macdonald pick up a knock and will be for 2-3 weeks. He was an important player for us as he had created 6 goals for his team mates so far. The creativity will be affected while he is out but i will using Robin Shroot as a replacement.

Tamworth will be the next team visiting our Ship Lane stadium, they were predicted to struggled this season by the media. The absence of Kevin Macdonald doesn’t seem to affect the supply as Robin Shroot who came in for him did very well. We are still creating a lot of shots and having 10 shots on target. My players were quite clinical in front of goal. David King gave us a lead in 26 minutes and we went into first half with this 1 goal lead. We were doing most of the attacking after the break and Izale Mcleod, yes its him again doubled our lead in 58 minutes. But 2 minutes later, they pulled a goal back to make it 2-1. Matt Paine ensured 3 points in the bag with a well taken goal 10  minutes later. They gave us a scare when they scored another goal 3 minutes from final whistle. However it was too late for them.

Lewes is fighting against relegation in the bottom half of the table but they gave us a good fight for this game. All the goals were scored in the first and we took a early lead immediately after the starting whistle when Marc Richards received a through pass from Robin Shroot sidestep his marker to score his eighth goal for the club. A clearance from the opposition keeper was headed back to the 6 yards box and before the goalkeeper can reach the ball, Izale Mcleod slide the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper to make it 2-0. They reduced our advantage when they pulled a goal back in 36 minutes. It was a boring second half and neither teams can increase the goal tally anymore and the scores remained as it is. This is our sixth win in a row.

They are having a mixed results with even wins and losses of five at the moment. I am full of confidence after my players turning in a series of good performance week in week out. However they spoil our party of having a perfect month by taking the lead in the second. After looking back at the replay, i was convinced that the player was offside when he received the ball. We were the better team in this match but somehow my strikers are not as clinical as in the previous game. I switched to attacking strategy with 30 minutes remaining and the equalizer came 5 minutes before the final whistle with Marc Richards the scorer. Their defensive game gave us some problems but i was glad that we got a point when the whistle ended the match.

With the good run of form in this month, we leapfrogged York and Mansfield and were leading the table for the first time this season. Stars of this month definitely will be my 2 star strikers Izale Mcleod and Marc Richards. Both player now have 9 goals each and they were the reason that we have the most goals among 24 teams. I was awarded my manager of the month award for September after leading my team to 6 victories.

Next month will saw us playing 5 games and we were be facing York, our closest rivals in the middle of the month. It will be a real test for us as we will be playing away from home. I am relishing the challenge of meeting them so early in the season as a win will widen the gap between us.

To find out how we fare against York, please come back to check my next post Thurrock-October 2012 results. See you then.