Day 268

I took a look at some Blue Square Bet Premier statistics today. Wrexham may be having a major downturn in form, but they’re still at an impressive fourteen games without defeat. Grimsby have that bettered with a fifteen-match unbeaten run. Gateshead’s run is perhaps the most impressive, though—they’ve won seven straight matches. If they can keep their run going, they might even sneak into second place.

Wrexham rather comically hold second position on the “games without winning” charts, too, thanks to their six successive draws. Kidderminster haven’t won in a month, with a woeful record of just two league wins this calendar year.

We’re one goal shy of a century, sporting an incredible goal difference of +63. That means my boys have scored nearly two-and-a-half goals a game, and conceded less than one a match.

My players take out five of the top six places on the Average Ratings table. Barnes-Homer, Olembé, Shuker, Koroma, and Gowling are all up there. Rui Marques and Peter Bore aren’t far behind, in equal thirteenth and seventeenth, respectively. Shuker’s still top of the assists charts, while Rui Marques has been on the field for every single one of our 99 goals.

I was also interested to see that Marques leads the league on “key” headers by fifteen—his 80 is followed next by Danny O’Donnell’s 65. It shows what a huge role he plays in my defence.

Day 267

Benjamin Laurant returned to the starting eleven today after sitting out the past six matches. Injured winger Chris Shuker made way for the Frenchman. Peter Bore and Ben May made the bench following their recent period of exile from the first team. I fielded an otherwise-unchanged side from the one that lost to Hayes & Yeading three days ago.

Our opponents Bath set out to crowd the midfield and keep us from playing our natural game; they lined up in a 4-5-1 formation.

With Birchall and Shuker both missing, the weight fell on Michael Woods to pull the strings in midfield. If he were to falter, I expected a tough encounter; if he were on form, I anticipated a big win.

Bath almost took a shock lead a single minute after kick off. A direct free kick from the edge of the area hit the bar, bounced off goalkeeper Elvijs Putnins, and was cleared away by my defenders. At the other end, Olembé crafted the first real chance of the game. An excellent run and cross along the left wing teed up Laurant at the edge of the six-yard box, but the Frenchman’s shot was blocked. He perhaps should have done better.

We dominated the next 20 minutes, managing several attempts on goal in the process but nothing clear-cut. It looked like Bath were going to frustrate us today, especially when Koroma was stretchered off the field after 40 minutes. He looked to be in pain; I hoped it wasn’t serious—the poor lad’s missed enough football this season through injury. Ben May replaced the young striker, necessitating a slight change in tactics.

May lined up as a target man, tasked with bringing his attacking teammates into the play. But it was he who had the best chance of the first half. Olembé and Barnes-Homer combined to slip the ball through to May, unmarked in the penalty area. He looked certain to score, but he snatched at the chance and put it wide of the post.

We came out strong for the second half, and managed to open the scoring in the 52nd minute with a bizarre goal. Kanouté threw the ball in to Laurant, who crossed to the near post. It bounced off a Bath defender’s back, then May picked it up on the byline. He dribbled into the box and passed low across the face of goal. The ball struck Sekani Simpson and bounced loose towards the edge of the area, where Woods raced in and fired hard at goal. Barnes-Homer found himself directly in the path of the shot, which took a huge deflection off the striker and flew into the back of the net. The poor goalkeeper had no idea what was happening, left wrong-footed and out of position by the game of pinball in his area. Barnes-Homer claimed the goal as his own, as any striker would.

Olembé doubled the lead ten minutes later, just as I was preparing to take him off the pitch. You couldn’t wish for a better final contribution. Woods made it, though, showing great vision to thread the needle between two Bath defenders and find the run of the evergreen Cameroonian winger.

I subbed Woods off five minutes later; he’d done his job, and done it well. Now I needed him fit and ready to repeat the performance in four days.

Left-back Alex Billington went off injured with ten minutes to play, which put us down to ten men for the final stages. I got worried when Marques went down hurt three minutes later, but he dusted himself off and returned to the match after some treatment on the sidelines.

My boys held on for a clean sheet and a two-nil win, with Woods deservedly-crowned man of the match. His two assists made the difference.

In other results, Mansfield won comfortably away at Darlington; Wrexham faltered again, however, with a draw at home to Hayes & Yeading. Wrexham are now out of the title race, leaving only eight-points-adrift Mansfield within shouting distance. If we win our next two league matches, we’ll be Conference champions. Even if we don’t, however, the remaining games look to be only a formality at this point.

The excellent news post-match is that Koroma and Billington are both fine. Koroma should be fit to start on Saturday, while Billington is unlikely to recover his condition in time—he’s looking exhausted and stiff. Barnes-Homer and Gowling have started showing signs of fatigue, too, so I’ll need to consider resting them against Braintree.

My scouts have spotted a very promising fifteen-year-old Northern Irish striker by the name of Roy Edgar. He’s got decent pace, incredible natural fitness, and solid technical and mental attributes for a boy his age. They think we should sign him, and I’m inclined to agree, but we can’t afford to pay his club the £96,120 they’d be due in compensation. Ian Gardner thinks we could probably buy him for less, but that’s still money we don’t have. Maybe next season.

Day 266

We’re being touted as “comfortable favourites” for tomorrow’s home game against Bath, but the odds strike me more as “slight favourites.” In any case, we have a point to prove following defeat at the weekend. My players tend to respond well to surprise losses, so I’m hoping for a big show. We beat Bath 4-1 in the reverse fixture back in November, with goals from Woods, Olembé, and Gowling.

My Reserves hosted Bodmin in a friendly match today. I put Halstead and Russell in for their first run-outs since returning from long-term injuries. Fringe players Sam Smith, Chris Atkinson, Nicky Nicolau, Jean-François Christophe, Karlton Watson, and Paul Robson all started, along with youngsters Will Rawdon, Karl Cunningham, and Sam Hancock—the latest recruit with potential.

It took less than five minutes for Smith to open the scoring, running onto a long ball and slipping his shot through between the keeper and the near post.

Karlton Watson made it two after 49 minutes, showing fine anticipation and desire to attack the ball from deep and nod it in from close range.

Hancock added the third ten minutes later with a brilliant volley from Russell’s right-wing cross.

I was pleased to see Russell performing so well on his first game back. With Shuker injured we need Russell to provide his excellent wing play off the bench as soon as possible. It was great to see young Hancock playing so comfortably with the senior lads, too. I’m thinking about giving him a run off the bench for the first team before the end of the season now.

Day 265

Coach Grant Brown had some thoughts to share about the development of midfielder Michael Woods today. Why I had to hear them second-hand from Martin O’Connor is beyond me, but apparently the lad has been training well. He’s improved his anticipation and composure, in particular. And he would be well served by an individual training regime to improve his passing. Great, I said. Let it be so. And just like that Woods was focusing on his passing ability.

Young Latvian goalkeeper Elvijs Putnins’ next game for the club will be his last—for this season, at least. His loan spell is due to end on the 30th of the month, and we can’t extend it until the end of the season. Mark Halstead will need to be ready to take over shot-stopping duties for the final five games of the campaign.

We’re approaching the point in the season where I need to think about life in League 2. My scouts sent word of a French defender by the name of Steven Thicot who may be a fine addition to the side next season. A product of the FC Nantes youth system, he was a part of the side that won the European Under 17 Championship in 2004. He appears to have been plying his trade as a squad player for Scottish Premier League team Hibernians for the past few years, although this season he’s been at Second Division side Brechin. With decent athleticism, solid technical ability, and fairly well-rounded defensive attributes, he’s a potential partner for Rui Marques—who probably has one good season left in him before Samba Kanouté takes his place.

Day 264

I made just one change to the starting lineup for today’s match against Hayes & Yeading. Toumani Diagouraga came in for the injured Chris Birchall. Injury returnee Mark Halstead was deemed fit enough for a place on the bench, while out-of-favour forward Francis Laurent also came into the 16.

We traded blows in the first few minutes, with both teams testing their opposing goalkeeper’s reflexes. It didn’t take long for one side to find the back of the net. After just five minutes, Hayes & Yeading centre-back Pelé headed a corner against the crossbar. His teammate Cristian Baz climbed high to meet the rebound, sending a looping header over the goalkeeper, under the bar, and beyond the goal-line. Pelé’s aerial prowess was almost our undoing last time the two sides met. He’s becoming a bit of a nemesis.

Michael Woods squared up the scoreline on 27 minutes with a ferocious right-footed drive from just inside the box. We started to take control of the match.

Koroma was twice denied during a period of domination over the following five minutes—once by quick hands from the goalkeeper and once by a timely challenge from Pelé.

The remainder of the first half was an even battle, but Hayes & Yeading reclaimed the advantage deep into stoppage time thanks to that man Pelé. The defender rose once again to meet a corner ball, and this time his header found the top corner rather than the woodwork. We were devastated to go a goal down with the last kick of the half.

I warned the players that their performance was unacceptable and sent them out to turn the game around. They did no such thing. And to compound the misery, Chris Shuker went off injured with ten minutes to go.

The problem was Pelé. Every time we looked like scoring, he was there to clear the danger. Unstoppable in the air, he towered over everybody. Meanwhile, his positioning was inch-perfect. Hayes & Yeading were ordinary; Pelé was extraordinary. That made all the difference. We lost 2-1, shell-shocked at the way the game transpired.

Thankfully Mansfield and Wrexham also faltered. Mansfield were beaten 2-1 by relegation-candidates Barrow, while Wrexham were held to a nil-all draw by York. Gateshead climbed to third, with 76 points from 39 games. Wrexham slipped to fourth, with 75 points from 37 matches. We remain eight points clear at the top, with 89 points over Mansfield’s 81.

Chris Shuker probably won’t play again this season. He’s sidelined for four to five weeks with a thigh strain.

Day 263

We’re clear favourites to beat 14th-placed Hayes & Yeading tomorrow. We beat them 4-2 in a thrilling encounter back in November (five months ago), thanks to braces from Koroma and Barnes-Homer. We’ll be at full strength, aside from the absence of central midfielder Chris Birchall—who picked up a strained knee ligaments injury in the previous match.

I’ll be watching the goal updates with great interest. Third-placed Wrexham will be hosting playoff contenders York, while second-placed Mansfield travel to Barrow. If either of them drop points and we win, that’ll just about knock them out of the title contest. Our lead is edging ever closer to unassailable.

Day 262

We had a backroom meeting today. Mark Halstead has been unhappy with his high training workload. I took him off the extra handling practice we’ve had him on, disappointed that he doesn’t have a greater drive to improve. Grant Brown coldly suggested that I change winger Simon Russell’s squad status from “backup” to “no longer needed.” I refused—he’s still useful, and will continue to be until the end of the season. I did agree, however, to bump young central defender Karlton Watson up from “hot prospect” to backup.