A difficult away game right up against 3rd place Stockport. Just a season ago, they were playing league 2 football. The first half saw them taking control of the game but we defended well to force the first half into a draw. Five minutes after the break, the referee saw an infringement and we were awarded a penalty. Regular taker James Lawrie was dropped due to poor form and right back Jared Wilson stepped up and converted confidently. We scored in quick succession three minutes later as a long ball from young left back Sean Howarth saw Michael Uwezu clear on goal. He unselfishly squared the ball for Fabrice Otshudi to score. Things went horribly wrong when Tasos Kapsalopodas picked up his second yellow card and was sent off. They went all out and pull a goal back with a header in 75th minute. The equalizer came in injury time and the Telford fans were disappointed with the result. Grimsby couldn’t capitalize as they also drew their game.

Our next game was against 21st place Hayes & Yeading and our chance to claim three points. Greg Mills gave us the lead in 14th minute after he get on to the end of a cross by Michael Uwezu. The lead was doubled after Shane Killock headed in a goal from a set-piece just three minutes later. They played better in the second half and reduce the deficit to 1-2 in 56th minute. Things just got nervy as they had some clear cut chances. James Lawrie calmed it down when he came on and headed in a goal in injury time. Our title had to be delay as Grimsby is not giving up the fight with them also winning.

We will be facing 5th place Histon and we need to win to claim the title. The players looked lively and they were playing well creating chances after chances. However, the ball just won’t go into the net. As time passed, the players were getting frustrated. The morale was affected when they headed in a goal in 37th minute. They played better after the goal and went on to scored another goal nine minutes after the break. As the match was going on, i was busy checking out the game of Grimsby against Cambridge. They were trailing by a goal and if things remained as it was, we will win the title. The players were urged to mount a comeback and James Lawrie scored a wonderful goal one minute before full time. We lost the match 1-2. I checked the full time results and Grimsby lost the match against Cambridge. WE WON THE TITLE AND PROMOTED TO LEAGUE 2. They had no chance to overtake us with a game left. It was a proud moment for the team.

The board and the fans were absolutely ecstatic and all the praise were directed at me. I was one of the favored personnel after the promotion. Our last game against Mansfield ended with a loss and the players can’t really be blamed. They were already celebrating the achievements.

This is the final table. Grimsby won the play-off against Stockport and will be joining us in league 2. Teams that are relegated are Hayes & Yeading, Havant &W, Boston Utd and Southport.

James Lawrie missed out on the player of the year award but i was awarded my first manager of the year award.

These are the players who contributed to our success and all having an average rating of 7.00 and above. Oliver Nicholas and James Lawrie are the two most important players we have. James Lawrie scored a total of 36 goals in all competition. Fabrice Otshudi and Michael Uwezu each contribute 19 and 15 goals respectively. Some of them will surely leave as we will be looking for better players to equip us with the league 2 challenge.

I have already started looking for players even though i don’t have any idea on the transfer budget given by the board. I secured the signature of first ever American to play for Telford. His name is Anton Peterlin.

Hopefully he is the first of many quality players that we will be bringing in for next season. I will be searching for players who want to join us so will be busy looking at attributes. Thanks for reading and following this updates. See you in my Telford story 2012/13 pre-season report.

An incredible run saw us winning all our games. The players stood up to the challenge when it matters. I am really proud of them.

First game of the month was against 15th place York. We were rock solid at the back in this match. We had been conceding a number of goals in the last few games. I change the match preparation to focus on defensive positioning. Probably it made the difference, i’m not sure. Anyway we never allow York to create any real threat at goal. We were a bit wasteful in front too. Just when the game was entering half time, Fabrice Otshudi unleashed a shot which flied into the net from maybe 35 yards. It was an absolute cracker. I will be submitting this for Johnny’s goal of the month competition. The second half saw both side creating many but no end results. We started off the month with a good win but Grimsby is keeping close on us.

Next game was against 8th place Macclesfield. They were favorites to win this game even though we were at home. We took the lead first in 12th minute after a clever through ball from Daniel Johnson found James Lawrie through. They level the score 14 minutes later with a well taken freekick. It was even when both sides headed towards the dressing room. We got off to a bad start in the second half as we conceded a header three minutes after the break. The goal spurred the players into action and we tried to search for the equalizer. It came in 67th minute after a cross by Greg Mills was met with the head of Daniel Johnson who directed it to the top corner. There was no further action as both sides seem destined for the draw. However, we had the last laugh in injury time when a mistake by their defender saw a low cross fell to James Lawrie in close range and he just had to tap the ball in. This was really a hard fought win against a good side.

An away trip to face 13th place Chelmsford awaits us. Grimsby had a perfect start same as us and both teams are still level. We were quite solid at the back but there was a lack on creativity. It was goalless until there was action in first half injury time. Oliver Nicholas gave me an easier half time talk when he headed in a goal from a Alexis Nikolas freekick. Chelmsford was playing better than us but their chances was limited to long range shot. We secured the win seven minutes from time when James Lawrie broke the offside trap to strike the ball in the net. I looked at the table, Grimsby had a draw and we are now two points ahead of them.

Next was against the bottom team Havant & W, there is no reason why we can’t keep another three points based on current form. Fabrice Otshudi got us going in 8th minute when he hit another long shot to the top corner, 1-0. Daniel Johnson brought the ball past the defender in the penalty area and he was brought down in 20th minute. James Lawrie stepped up and scored to put us two goals ahead. We made it three just before the referee blew the whistle. Fabrice Otshudi scored his second goal in identical fashion at the edge of the box. Second half was a bit boring as we were relaxed and just waiting the final whistle. Luckily Havant & W could not do any damage to us. With this defeat, they were relegated from BSP with seven games left.

20th place Altrincham will be the next team we will be visiting. I was delighted to welcome Jody Morris, Michael Uwezu and Matthew Wells back from injury. This wasn’t a convincing performance by the players but we took the chances really well. Daniel Johnson had a great game. His deep run from midfield saw him scored his first ever hat-trick for the team. Altrincham pulled back a goal from many chances they created. Our sixth win for this month and seventh in a row.

Next game was against 17th place Barrow. We never really settled into the game initially and we conceded a goal from 25 yards in 13th minute. The players were woken by the goal and we bombarded them from every directions after that. Michael Uwezu who was installed to the first team line-up brought us level when he pounced on a rebound from a James Lawrie shot. Oliver Nicholas then scored his sixth goal of the season from a set-piece to put us ahead in the first half. We dominated the whole game and Michael Uwezu scored his second goal when he robbed the defender off the ball and hit the ball past their goalkeeper. Jody Morris had to go back to the treatment room once again after he was injured in this game. We will be seeing him in next season.

Last game of the month was against 7th place Darlington. We never seem capable of winning as Darlington was the better team in this game. We took the lead due to the vision of Daniel Johnson. He lobbed a ball to the path of Michael Uwezu and he kept his composure to score. We suffered heavy pressure for the rest of the game. We defended brilliantly to frustrate Darlington and completed our 100% record this month.

The 100% record saw us leading Grimsby by four points. They are also having an unbeaten run but draw two games out of that. Both teams have achieved a play-off spot with four games left. There are few players who perform well but Daniel Johnson remains the players who deserve the most credit. He has been scoring and providing the assist from midfield.

Match Preparation

I wonder whether there is any relation. After reading How to Use Match Preparation in FM11 by Vitaliy Mokosiy, i tend to change the focus before every match. All along, the team focus was set to team blend and i seldom use this feature. In the games this month, i set “Defensive Positioning” for defensive tactics and “Attacking Movement” for attacking tactics. It seems to make a difference and i will keep on monitor this feature.

We have four remaining games left but the games are not easy. Stockport and Histon are chasing for a play-off spot and they will provide some stern challenge for us. We look good for promotion but we need to be very careful to avoid any slip up. My assistant has informed me we need eight points to wrap up the title. Stay tune for the next updates. Thanks for reading and see you soon.

P.S I have found a problem in the tactics. Every time after i view the goal highlights, my corner settings which is set to “far post” will automatically reset back to default. Anybody else has this problem?

Our fitness problems has no signs of easing and i had to rotate the players in numerous occasion. The results was neither good nor bad. We were dumped out of the FAT because i sent in the reserves. In the league, we had two wins, two draws and a loss.

First game of the month was against 23rd place Southport. We had an advantage when they had a man sent off in 12th minute. The players started to pass the ball around and seven minutes after the sent off, a cross from left back Abdou El Kholti saw James Lawrie scored in a crowded penalty area. We made it 2-0 four minutes later. Greg Mills robbed their defender off a cross and scored from close range. There was no way back for them as we fully controlled the match from start to end.

I sent in a strong line-up for this FAT 3rd round match against Barrow. There was a lot of chances for us to bury the games. However, we need to wait until 54th minute before Fabrice Otshudi headed in a goal from a James Lawrie cross. It was a hard fought win considering the quality between the two sides.

Next was a vital game for us. We will face 2nd place Grimsby. They have a talented squad full with quality. We got off to the worst start when we conceded a goal from set-piece. It became uphill for us when they scored another goal from close range. James Lawrie pulled a goal back for us when he was put through by Fabrice Otshudi. It was 2-1 to them in the first half. We had another breakthrough nine minutes after the break when another through ball from Fabrice Otshudi saw James Lawrie scored his second goal of the game. They had better possession after the game but we held on for a draw.

We returned back to New Bucks Head to face 8th place Gateshead. They are having a good run of form and we need to be wary of the threat they have. They had a good start in 6th minute when a powerful shot from the edge of the box saw them took the lead. Three minutes later, Bradley Hudson-Odoi made a good run for the entire half and scored an magnificent solo goal. We went ahead in 20th minute when a great vision from Daniel Johnson spotted the run of James Lawrie and he couldn’t miss. The score was level 30th minute when their player was left unmarked to head in a goal. I was furious. Where was the marking?  It was 2-2 after 45 minutes. The games had a draw all round the air as both sides seem unable to score further. It was 3-2 in 80th minute when James Lawrie was fouled. He took the spot kick himself and successfully converted. I thought we had the win. Three minutes from time, their substitute headed in from a cross. The marking was simply terrible today. Both sides had to be content with a point.

Another home game for us and we were up against 11th place Cambridge Utd. I was disappointed with Oliver Nicholas when he was sent off being the last man to haul their player down. Cambridge Utd controlled the game with ease from that onwards and got a goal in the first half injury time. It was poor marking by us. Their player simply walked the ball into the net from a cross. We couldn’t find a solution and ended up with a defeat.

Another difficult match coming up as we had an away trip to face 3rd place Crawley. Surprisingly we had a better outing on the field as we had more possession and more chances than Crawley. The first half ended goalless as we couldn’t take our chances. Things remained no difference after the break but we had a breakthrough in 77th minute. Fabrice Otshudi received the ball on the right and hit the ball on goal from a tight angle. The ball hit their player and deflected in. It was a vital win against one of our rivals.

Last game of the month was the FAT match against Eastleigh a BSS side. I made lots of changes as my priority has switch to the league. We are now level on points with Grimsby and can’t afford to lose any more players through injuries. We put up a poor performance and were dumped out of the FAT after conceded two goals.

We are now level on points with Grimsby after poor form by the players. They are having a good run of results so far. We are still on top because of superior goal difference. Our fatigue problems has no signs of easing and i couldn’t keep the same eleven players for every game. A lot of players are not performing well. If things continue, heads will surely roll in close season.

A lot of points up for grab. Seven games in total. It will be a break or die month for us. We can’t repeat the poor performance if we want to win the title and promote automatically. Can we do it? Thanks for following this updates and i hope to have good news for you next month.

Not too bad, we played seven games in total. Three were cup games. Mighty Arsenal halted our progress in the FA cup and we progressed to the next round of the FA trophy competition. We won three and lost one in the league.

Without Kevin, Wrexham is lying in 18th place. As the squad is limited by the injuries, i had to play some players who had not recover to full fitness. Luckily for us Wrexham was having the same problem. The first half was full of mistakes and not much running from both sides. Substitute Mark Goodman made a good run in 60th minute and scored after a through ball by Fabrice Otshudi. The scorer was injured 14 minutes later but luckily it was not serious. We won the game by a single goal as Wrexham had trouble in threatening our goal.

We managed a smash and grab victory in this FA cup 3rd round match. For long periods, League 1 side Brighton had been attacking but somehow they just couldn’t score. A fine teamwork between the front two Fabrice Otshudi and James Lawrie saw the latter hitting the ball past their goalkeeper. We were through to the next round and will be facing Arsenal at home. Our injuries just keep on mounting. Left midfielder Jody Morris was the latest to enter the treatment room and he will be out for almost two months.

We had a terrible start just six minutes into the game against 15th place Kettering. Oliver Nicholas was sent off early for a professional foul and it was uphill for us from that onwards. We need to reshuffle the players. We hang on until last minute of first half when we conceded a goal. With one man down, we never look like we were capable of coming back.

We took our chances really well in this FAT match against BSN side Tamworth. Tasos Kapsalopodas got us going when he scored the fastest goal in Telford history. 19 seconds after the whistle was blew. Michael Uwezu then scored two goal in each half to send us through to the next round though they pulled a goal back in 23rd minute.

Next was at home to face 17th place Kidderminster. From the statistics, you can see we had the game fully controlled in our legs. Michael Uwezu scored from close range in 15th minute though i thought he was offside. He turned provider for his strike partner when he cut the ball back for Fabrice Otshudi to stroke the ball in. It was a comfortable win for us.

The team that promoted with us is a club in crisis. They are lying in 23rd position and looked doom of returning back to BSN. Yet their manager like to play mind games when facing us. I always fancy beating them to shut their manager’s mouth up. Left winger Mark Goodman had the simplest task of tapping the ball in when a cross by right back Franco Nacca hit their defender in 22nd minute. We were 2-0 up two minutes after the break when the goal scorer deliver a cross from the left flank for Michael Uwezu to finish the move. Greg Mills then scored from a tight angle in 61st minute to give us a 3-0 win.

Last game of the month was against Arsenal. Their manager Arsene Wenger finally left for Barcelona. Michael Laudrup is the new manager for them. They employed a strong side boosting Fabregas, Chamakh and Wilshere. There was no contest here as we were easily brushed off conceding five goals. Young Jack Wilshere was the Man of the Match as he scored one and had a hand in two of their goals.

We are holding a five point lead over 2nd place Grimsby. Crawley seems to drop off the title race. Hopefully Grimsby will start losing points. We are lucky there is no more injuries in the front department. Fabrice Otshudi and Michael Uwezu are two players whom carry us this month with Otshudi providing the chances and Uwezu scoring the goals. Daniel Johnson has returned from his injuries, we hope to see more coming back next month.

There are six games waiting for us next month. Most important of all will be the trip to face Grimsby and Crawley. We hope to pull off some results there to widen the gap. The financial situation has improved tremendously after the game against Arsenal. That’s how our month ends. Thanks for reading and i will see you soon in my February update.

We started pretty well but soon we were hit by injuries and fatigue for the last few games. We just managed two wins, two draws and one loss. The other victory is the FA trophy match which we progressed to the next round.

We entertained 4th place Histon at New Bucks Head for our first game in December. We dominated the proceedings from the start and Histon was doing most of the defensive work. Tasos Kapsalopodas executed a perfect tackle in the middle and the ball rolled forward to Michael Uwezu who sent a delightful lob over the goalkeeper to the net. It was 2-0 in 36th minute after James Lawrie was put clear in the penalty area and he couldn’t miss. We had Tasos Kapsalopodas sent off one minute before the break. I thought they will be coming all out attacking us but that was not the case. We were still controlling the game and Michael Uwezu scored another two goals to claim his first hat-trick of the season.

FA trophy 1st round against BSN side Hinckley. No surprises here as we ran out comfortable winners. There are some rotation on the players but the players still put up a superb performance. All the goals were scored in the first 45 minutes. Michael Uwezu was in great form. He scored his second hat-trick in a row. The other goal was headed in by Oliver Nicholas. We allowed them to pull a goal back but there was only one winner here.

We had a difficult trip to 6th place Mansfield. We had a poor start as Mansfield was outplaying us in all departments. They were wasteful in front of goal so there was no goals in the first half. We had a breakthrough in 57th minute when Ismael Fonfana sent a ball over the defenders to the path of James Lawrie who put the ball in between the legs of their goalkeeper. We had an injury in 71st minute when Jamaican International Daniel Johnson need to come off for an injury. I had made all substitutions at that time and had to play the remaining time with 10 men. We got lucky six minutes later when we were awarded a penalty which James Lawrie converted. We held on for the rest of the game and claim a vital win. It was confirm Daniel Johnson will be out for 8-9 weeks after the game.

Next was against 11th place AFC Wimbledon. We had a serious injury blow before the game. Ismael Fonfana was injured in training and will be out for 6-7 months. We won’t be seeing him in action for the rest of the season. This was a game with a lot of chances created but with no end results. The strikers from both side were leaving their scoring boots at home. There was no goals and the game ended as a goalless draw.

I had to make a lot of changes in this game against 9th place Fleetwood as several first team players were having problems recovering full match fitness.  It was a boring first half. Not much chances were created and again we had a goalless draw in the first 45 minutes. We conceded one minute after the break when they scored a close range goal. Things started to pick up for us as we mounted waves of attacks on their goal. We got a goal in 62nd minute when James Lawrie dribbled for Fleetwood entire half and scored a cracker. We had to settle for a second consecutive draw. Another injury for us as Matthew Wells was injured and will sit out for 7-8 weeks.

Last game of the month was against 7th place Newport. In a dull game, we struggled to get the ball around but Newport was nowhere better. We were down to 10 men when Michael Uwezu was sent off in the last minute of the first half. The numbers from both sides were even when Newport was down to 10 men too two minutes after the break. Both sides couldn’t create much but Newport was lucky to score a goal in 76th minute which caused us to suffer our first defeat.

We are still lying on top but our gap is reduce to five points with 2nd place Crawley have a game in hand. They have been grinding good results one after another. We need to improve things in the second half of the season else we will surrender the top spot for sure. We have no budget to sign new players and we will be looking for loans next month. Injuries and fatigue have definitely hit us hard this month. Michael Uwezu had a great start but faded off later. We need to rally while the key players are missing, hopefully things will turn for the better.

We will be playing six game and against teams lying in the bottom half of the table. We hope to have a great month starting against Kevin’s team Wrexham. We are the champions in 2011 but we are keeping our fingers cross for no further injuries. Alright friends, this is the updates of my Telford story December updates. Thanks for reading and see you soon.

]]> http://fmstory.com/2011/01/01/afc-telford-december-2011-results-%e2%80%93-hit-hard-by-injuries-and-fatigue/feed/ 8 http://fmstory.com/2010/12/27/afc-telford-november-2011-results-%e2%80%93-we-saw-a-return-to-fine-form/ http://fmstory.com/2010/12/27/afc-telford-november-2011-results-%e2%80%93-we-saw-a-return-to-fine-form/#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:09:23 +0000 Lye Kuek Hin http://fmstory.com/?p=2793 Hello friends, sorry to keep you waiting for this post. I had a short break with my family and just getting better after recovering from a cold caught two days ago. I found the time to get back to my favorite game till now. If you can remember, we are tie on points with Chelmsford but lying on top with a better goal difference. The first game in November will be clash of the top two teams. It’s extremely important for us and we need to win for some cushion between them and us. Here are the results.

Six wins and a draw saw us repeat our form in August. The players were playing well and the fans were clearly delighted. We also progressed to the FA Cup 3rd round at the expense of Walsall.

It was a much anticipated game. 1st vs 2nd. We got off to a great start when Ismael Fonfana was fouled inside the box just eight minutes into the game. James Lawrie converted the penalty to give us the lead. It was 2-0 six minutes later after James Lawrie scored the rebound after their goalkeeper saved a shot from Ismael Fonfana. We raced to a three goal lead in 20th minute when Ismael Fonfana received the ball from the edge of the box and power the ball in. Chelmsford got a man sent off in 43rd minute, from that onwards it was an uphill task for them. There was no more goals in the second half. We convincingly won the game and three points clear of them.

Next was the FA Cup 1st round against BSS side Forest Green. We need to progress for some prize money to ease some of our financial troubles. Few players were rested in the match. Michael Uwezu got the match underway for us when he took advantage of miscommunication between their goalkeeper and defender to score in 5th minute. Though we took control of the first half but we could only manage one goal. Our lead was doubled two minutes after the break when Shane Killock headed in his first goal of the season from a Matthew Wells freekick. Substitute James Lawrie then showed his presence on the field when he came on to score two goals. It seems he is seeing a return to his best form. We progressed to 2nd round which we face the winners of Eastwood/Walsall game.

Another difficult trip to face 5th place Darlington. We settled into the game fast. We should have scored four goals in the first half but twice from woodwork and two brilliant saves from their goalkeeper deny us the goals. We ultimately took the lead when James Lawrie was brought down inside the box. He took the spot kick himself and we were one goal up. However we couldn’t keep a clean sheet as we conceded a freekick goal six minute before the half time whistle. We continued our advantage after the break and took the lead in 61st minute. A fine team move saw the ball spread to Greg Mills on the right flank. He delivered a perfect cross and James Lawrie continued his fine form hitting the ball past their goalkeeper. We sustained heavy pressure in the final minutes and Liam O’ Brien kept our win with a fine stop near the end. We found ourselves six points clear after all our rivals dropped points in their respective games.

Next was against 6th place Stockport a team that was relegated from league 2. We lost to them once in the friendly games. We felt more comfortable in this game and was the better team throughout 90 minutes but we just couldn’t break down a stubborn defence. The game ended as a draw for us.

We had an away game coming up and we were up against 18th place Barrow. James Lawrie who had a magnificent game strike two goals in the first half. The first was deflected in off the frame and the second he got in front of the defender to hit the ball in. We created lots of chances but only managed to lead them by two goals in the first half. We continued the dominance and substitute Michael Uwezu scored a goal in 76th minute to round up the win for us.

We had a difficult draw against League 1 side Walsall for the FA Cup 2nd round. The players were full of confidence going into this game and Ismael Fonfana headed us in front in 23rd minute from close range. We kept them quiet for the rest of the first half and maintained the lead to the dressing room. They fought back strongly after the break and we conceded the equalizer in 54th minute. However we had a glorious finish when we mounted a late charge and scored three goals. A James Lawrie penalty and an own goal saw us widen the gap and James Lawrie got another goal near the end to give us a win against a superior side.

Last game of the month was against 22nd place Hayes & Yeading. It should be an easy game for us and we proved that by scoring an early goal by James Lawrie. However we struggled to extend the lead and they shut us out for numerous occasion. We had to settled for a single goal win.

After 21 games play, we are lying on top of the table seven points clear of 2nd place Crawley. We are looking good for a promotion spot but need to maintain the form for the rest of the season. I am extremely please with James Lawrie as he is seeing a return to form scoring 11 goals in the last seven games.

Next month will see us play six games with the first two games being the most difficult. 3rd place Mansfield and 6th place Histon will pose us some challenge but we are ready and will be up to it. This is definitely a good month for us and we should feel more confident now. Thanks for following this updates and hope to see you soon.

It was a fairly inconsistent month for us. We progressed to the FA cup first round beating minnows Arlesey. Our inconsistent form caused us to suffer two defeats and we managed to win the rest of the games.

First game of the month was against Gateshead a team lying in the bottom half. We struggled to settle into the game as Gateshead forced us into defending time and time again. We were extremely lucky to go ahead when Oliver Nicholas won a header and scored. For the rest of the half, we were under tremendous pressure but lucky to get away with a win.

Next was against 17th place York. We have three first team players missing due to international fixtures. Oliver Nicholas, Daniel Johnson and James Lawrie will not be featuring in this game. Even though we have more chances but the attacking players were unable to convert the chances. It was frustrating at time seeing them missing some easy chances. We failed to handle a cross and their players headed in a goal off the frame. We switched to attacking trying to search for the equalizer but ended up with a defeat.

We visited 10th place Macclesfield for our next game. There were worrying signs when Macclesfield came close on several occasion. They took a lead through a magnificent freekick. We produce a worse performance than the match against York. The passing was terrible. We kept giving the ball back to Macclesfield players. The play was switched to attacking in the second and the performance improved slightly. We had chances but had no accuracy at goal. We got some reward in 75th minute when Mark Goodman hit a strong shot in from the edge of the box. Fabrice Otshudi won the game for us in injury time when he hit a first time shot from a Michael Uwezu cross. I thought we were lucky to get a win here.

We seem to struggled against the bottom team as 18th place Havant & W was another bottom teams to inflict our 2nd defeat of the month. We conceded a goal in 9th minute and another sub-par performance saw us going back to New Bucks head with my face looking black. We also lost out top spot to Chelmsford after this loss.

This was a good chance to get some of the confidence back in this FA Cup fixture. The strikers were playing poorly in the last few games and this match gave them a chance to redeem. They got a man sent off as early in 6th minutes and things just got easier for us. The strikers were having fun. James Lawrie got a hat-trick and substitute Michael Uwezu got a brace. Ismael Fonfana and Fabrice Otshudi did not score but chip in some assist there. The other scorer being right winger Bradley Hudson-Odoi. But he was injured during the game and will be out for 2-3 weeks. Before the game, influential defender  Oliver Nicholas was injured in training and will not feature for 3-4 weeks.

Last game of the month was against 21st place Altrincham. We shouldn’t be losing any more points to avoid drifting further from Chelmsford. For the first time, I saw signs of the form that saw us unbeaten in August. Daniel Johnson got us underway with his first goal of the season after releasing a shot from 20 yards that flied past the goalkeeper. We got the second goal within five minutes after James Lawrie robbed the defender off the ball and hit the ball in off the upright. Ismael Fonfana completed the rout for us when he scored a long waited goal from close range nine minutes from time.

We regain back the top position after Chelmsford can only manage a draw in their last game. This is a torturing month for us as some of the performance from the players were looking like amateur. Hopefully the strikers will find the form back else we will be suffering again next month. No particular player stand out but i want to give compliment to 17 year old Daniel Day, the young left-back has shown his maturity in such a young age.

First game will be an important match for us as it is a top of the table clash between us and Chelmsford. If we win, we will be three points clear. The players must put in their best performance. That’s it friends, our October results ended with us still lying on top. Thanks for reading and have a great holiday no matter where you are. See you soon.

Young Daniel Day plays at left-back position and has the potential to play in league 1. He is a former Tottenham player who was just released.

We had a mixed month. Poor performances against Southport and Cambridge saw us suffered our defeats in the new season. In total, we had two wins, two losses and a draw.

Our first game of the month was against 14th place Boston Utd who gained promotion with us last season. Their manager Rob Scott doesn’t see eye to eye with me. He always released messages claiming he is not a fan of me probably to unsettle me. I am totally not interested in engaging in a argument prefer to let the players do the talking. They resonated with me and put up a five star performance. Fabrice Otshudi scored a magnificent solo effort in 12th minutes to give us the lead. He scored his second goal in 28th minute when he beat the offside trap to hit the ball past the goalkeeper. Things were under control after we took a two goal lead to the dressing room. The players continued the good form in the second half and hit three further goals. Michael Uwezu scored a brace, his first brilliant performance this season. Greg Mills was the other scorer when he headed his first goal from a set-piece. A five goal thrashing on Boston and left their manager red-faced.

Next was against the bottom team 24th place Southport. It should be an easy game for us but the players were showing complacency there. We had numerous chance to go ahead with a goal but the players were wasteful in front of goal. I was furious that their rare attack resulted in a goal in 41st minute though within a minute later, Fabrice Otshudi equalized with a wonderful goal. He just dribbled and dribbled and placed the ball in from 20yards. We got to to a bad start three minutes into the second half. Another lack of concentration saw us conceded another goal again. Fabrice Otshudi came to our rescue in 62nd minute with a close range effort. But we went behind for the third time seven minutes later. We couldn’t respond and suffered our first defeat of the month. Poor performance by the defenders.

5th place Grimsby was the next team to visit our home ground. The players were clearly demoralized by the defeat against Southport. We were able to match Grimsby for large periods but we conceded a goal in 18th minute. We failed to clear a cross and Robert Eagle a former Norwich players controlled the well and put the ball past our goalkeeper. We kept trying to search for the equalizer but the goal just won’t come. Moses Barnett was even sent off for a professional foul four minutes from time. Just as we were waiting for confirmation of the defeat. We scored a dramatic equalizer one minute after the sent off. A string of passes saw James Lawrie clear on the left flank. He sent a cross near goal and Greg Mills converted the ball in from far post. The fans were clearly delighted with the late impact.

Next was a difficult meeting against 3rd place Cambridge Utd. We put in the worst performance in our season so far. Cambridge was controlling the game from the start. We conceded a goal as early as in the 6th minute. We went behind further after Shane Killock was robbed off the ball. I thought it was a foul but the referee thought otherwise. Left-back Sean Newton was injured four minutes later and had to come off. We had to put in extra effort in the second half if we were to overturn the scores. We hit one in 55th minute after substitute Josh Morris scored his first goal for the club. We couldn’t capitalize and Cambridge Utd scored another two further goals for our heaviest defeat of the season. The injury of Sean Newton is serious, he will be out for 5 months.

Last game of the month was against 5th place Crawley who is having a good run. The match was quite even as both team came close to score in the first half. We were lucky as goalkeeper Liam O’ Brien put on a wonderful save to prevent us from going behind. We managed to score a goal in last minute of the first half, Fabrice Otshudi controlling a cross and strike with a place shot. We had chances to extend the lead after the break but the woodwork denied us thrice. A good return to winning form.

We dropped out of the top spot after defeats to Southport and Cambridge but claiming back with a better goal difference after the win against Crawley. The table on top is extremely tight. We are level on points with Stockport and Cambridge Utd is just a point behind. There are certainly some concerns on the performance from certain players. They couldn’t keep up the form and hopefully they will put up a better performance next month. Fabrice Otshudi is the only player who stand out with five goals to his name.

The teams we will be facing are mostly lying in the bottom half but there is no complacency there after the defeat against Southport. I believe we can get at least a play-off spot based on the players we have but the players must must show more determination and desire to challenge for the title. Thanks a lot for reading this updates. I will see you in my next update.