Thurrock November 2020 results-Great run of results

Hello friends, welcome to my Thurrock November updates. Things are pretty tight at the top of the table and we are not far behind from a play-off spot. I would say that our defensive display has been good so far but just that we need to improve on the attacking side of our game. There are six games waiting for us this month with a difficult game against 4th place Derby in our first game. Lets take a look at the results.

November Results

I would say this was our best month so far. We were unbeaten for the whole month and won four out of the six games that we played. We draw the other two games so overall we were happy with the run.

Home against Derby

First game of the month was against 4th place Derby. They like to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation with three attacking midfielders and without any wingers. I used a 4-3-2-1 formation with three midfielders to disrupt their play. It seemed to spoil their momentum as we took control of the game from the start. In the 8th minute, Bastian Bruckner scored a real cracker from almost 35 yards to give us the lead. The ball flied like rocket and gave the goalkeeper no chance at all. Things were looking good and we doubled our lead in 22nd minute. Colin Madden headed towards the goal from a corner and the ball hit the upright. The ball fell to the feet of Richard Munro and he had the easiest task to slide it in. Derby tried coming back after the break and hit the post during the closing stages but we held on for a win. Their consistent fouling resulted in a sending off in the last minute of the game. We are glad to open our account with a win against a team that place higher than us.

Home against Portsmouth

Next was against recently relegated 17th place Portsmouth. They are underachieving at the moment as they are expected finish 2nd in the league. We had several chances early in the game to take the lead but we end up going behind from their first attack due to a mistake from Richard Munro who played their striker onside. We reacted strongly but without a goal and disappointedly hitting the post twice. We went behind further when they scored another goal in the first half injury time. We were controlling the game without any success and i decided to throw in Gary Lewis and switched to 4-4-2 formation. We hit the post immediately after the restart and the fans cheered louder sensing a goal coming. They were not disappointed when Bastian Bruckner hit a shot from their clearance to reduce the deficit to 2-1. From that onwards its all Thurrock and Gary Lewis made use of his skills to level the scores in 71st minute. We couldn’t find a winner though we were the better team and the game ended as a draw.

Away at The Madejski Stadium

We went to The Madejski Stadium to face 14th place Reading in the next game. An extremely fine team move saw us took a early lead when John Leonard ran with the ball and squared to Gabriel Torje to hit it to the net. Everything went under control and we got the second in 17th minute after Reading player scored an own goal from a corner. We went into the break leading by two goals. Second half saw them started to get more adventurous but we were resolute in our defending and in the closing stages substitute Gary Lewis saw his shot saved by the goalkeeper and bounced off to their defender. He showed great determination to win the ball back and hit the ball past the goalkeeper. We finished the game winning by three goals and a great result by the team.

QPR Approach

I was officially approach by QPR after speculation that i am the favorites to take over but i rejected it without any consideration. Looking at their wage budget, i felt tempted but i had to finish my job here in Thurrock.

Away at Selhurst Park

Next game was an away game facing bottom team 24th place Crystal Palace. It was a big contrast compared to last season when they finished 5th. We didn’t perform well in the first half as Crystal Palace was the better team but they were short of confidence thus unable to inflict any damage to us. We switched to 4-4-2 in the second half bringing Gary Lewis in. He deservedly gave us the lead with his silky running in 55th minute when Colin Madden sent a delightful chip to his path. Colin Madden was a handful for the Crystal Palace players and he was the provider again for our second goal when he put Jim Beardsley through in 61st minute to give us a 2-0 win. We had an injury after the game when Moreno Marra was ruled out for 2-3 weeks for a groin strain.

Home against QPR

We welcome 16th place QPR the team that wanted me as their manager earlier. We controlled the game well from the start and Colin Madden was pulling the strings in the midfield area. We were missing the chances created and we finally took the lead in the middle of the first half. Colin Madden showed his scoring powess when he pop up at the penalty area to head in a goal from a Gary Lewis cross. We had one goal to show our superiority heading to the dressing room. Shortly after the break, we doubled the lead after John Leonard played Gary Lewis in and he simply cannot miss the one on one chances. QPR could not find a way back and we got another three points in the bag.

Away at The City Ground

Last game of the month was against 21st place Nottingham Forest. We totally dominated this game from start to finish but unlike the previous few games. The players seemed to have trouble in finding the net. I have been using the same set of players because of the great run, i wonder whether fatigue was the answer to the players unable to convert the chances. Bastian Bruckner had a chance to put us ahead but he missed the spot kick. There was also some resolute defending from the Nottingham side so i guess i am happy to bring a point home. Carlos the young Spanish midfielder was injured in this game and will be out for 7-8 weeks.

Table

Our position looks really good at the moment with us lying in 3rd place 4 points off the automatic promotion spot. The two relegated teams Wolves and Bristol City are occupying the top two spots. This month really saw us having a good run of results and there are few players that contributed it. First is Colin Madden who provided a few assist to the strikers and Gary Lewis is the one benefited from his passes. John Leonard also played well in his overall ratings and won his second young player of the month in a row with Colin Madden in second place.

December fixtures

It will be a busy December for us as we will be playing seven games. As we are lying in 3rd place, the teams that we meet all place below us so we need to consolidate our position with another good run of results there. There is no room for complacency.

Wrap up

Dear friends, this is how we fare in November and i am really please with the players performance this month. Thanks for reading another month of updates and see you soon in my next post.