retired_karamelkel

Saturday afternoon in London was dry and pleasant. All the regulars except for Fuff, who was suspended and Reilly continued to hold that spot down. Just over 1800 attended the game and they got their money’s worth for the first time all year.

We started the carnage early. Two minutes in, Howard nailed a follow-up shot to give AXFC the 1-0. Bradshaw responded for Stevenage just three minutes later when he took a deep cross and blasted it in past Browne to tie the game 1-all. What followed was one of best offensive performances of my tenure as manager. At 17, German headed in a cross from Asser to give the home side the 2-1. But, we weren’t done yet. Seven minutes later, Asser laid in another cross to the near post. This time Wade was the recipient and he obligingly headed it in past West head to give us the 3-1 lead. At that point, I signaled my players to take our foot off the gas. They did, but that didn’t stoop us from making the score 4-1 with one minute left in the half. Asser collected a loose pass from Apilinga and blasted it top corner. We walked into the dressing room at the half feeling very good about ourselves. It seemed the team had finally started jelling and was finally running a corner. The second half saw both teams going up and down the pitch, thrilling the fans with spectacular shots that went nowhere. On 60, Stevenage missed a penalty; it was just that kind of day for them. On 68, I subbed in Fennelly for Apilinga and Law for Kirkwood. We held on for the victory. The big win moved us up to 11th in the standings. We had little time to celebrate as we had to prepare for an away game against Dag and Red on Tuesday night in three days.

The board was pleased with our win, as well they should be. The day before the match, Durkin showed up late for practice. He was promptly reprimanded. He didn’t say a word to anyone about my harsh words.

Tuesday evening at Redbrige was a hot and windy place to play a game. All the regulars, except German were fit enough tore the starting lineup. Kavanagh took German. Just shy of 1200 fans showed up at Victoria Road to cheer their side on.

As had been the case in the last couple of games, we came out swinging and struck quickly. Twelve minutes in, Duffy headed in a beautiful deep cross from Kavanagh to give AXFC the 1-0 lead on the score sheet. Dag and Red were not scared easily and two minutes later, Sills broke through the defense with the ball and nailed a fire volley to tie the game 1-1. For the next few minutes neither team could convert its chances, but Dag and Red moved ahead just before the half-hour mark when Bruce squared a pass to a wide-open Turner who applied the simple finish for the 2-1 lead. The two teams traded chances for rest of the half. Both teams were efficient with chances and possession. Dag and Red had just been a bit better in the half. Once again, just as in the Chester game last year, my players seemed to check out mentally. This time, the culprits were Chandler, Fuff and Wade, none of whom would see action on Saturday when we played Rochdale at Yankee Stadium. With a quarter of the season over, we stood at three wins, three draws and five losses. There wasn’t any doubt that this was going to be a long season.

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The afternoon of Saturday September 28 came soon enough as there was not much team news. As was usual, there was plenty of turnover in the reserves as better youth players arrived each day. Yankee Stadium in London was dry and warm (for late September). The lineup card for the game saw some changes. Taylor, who was suspended and Fuff, who had played poorly, were held out of center defense. Reilly and Dodds took their place. Durkin got the nod at left back since Chandler had been ineffective and Seam Moran got the start at AMC due to Wade’s lousy play in last game. The rest of the lineup was all regulars. Just over 2500 faithful came out to cheer us on and they were not disappointed.

Rochdale got things going on four when Beech headed in a corner to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We didn’t panic. Instead, throughout the rest of the half, we patiently built up attacks and shots. We were 7-8 for the half and it was only a matter of time before we got on the scoreboard. But, while we were focusing on attacking, our defense slipped a notch and we allowed Rochdale to bang away at our goal. Fortunately, Rochdale was not that accurate after the first goal and they were unable to add a second. On 39, Moran got a rebound and put it back into the net past Edwards to tie the score 1-1. AXFC scored again late in first half injury time. Moran collected another Edwards rebound and sent it in to make the score 2-1 at the half. The second half saw us focusing on defense. Even so, both teams continued to get excellent chances and only good work by both goalkeepers kept AXFC and Rochdale off the score sheet during the half. On 68 I sent in Todd for Apilinga. Todd was just now making his first appearance of year because he had injured his knee early and was just now recovered. We managed to get through the rest of the game unscathed and won it 2-1. We had a win off until next Saturday, October 5th when we would travel to Farnborough.

Tuesday October 1st, the board met and pronounced themselves happy with my performance. Thanks to a sizable cash injection during the last month, AXFC’s once again had debt it could handle safely. Near the end of the week, the FA Cup Qualifying Round was drawn. We would face Lancaster at the Giant Axe on October 19th. It was at this point that I began to think that AXFC could benefit from some veteran help. Only two players were available as free agents that fit my requirements and neither Lee Ashcroft nor Paul Byrnes was remotely interested. They demanded six-figure salaries. Still I thought it might be possible to wear them down. After all, how could they be that good if they remained unsigned at this juncture in the season?

Saturday afternoon in Farnborough was dry and cold. Fall had definitely snuck up on us. With the exception of Taylor, who was now injured and who was replaced by Reilly, the regulars got the start. Just over 1200 attended this contest.

Farnborough seemed to be on the defensive from the get-go. They were unable to mister any sort of attack, but that might be because we were pelting them with shots of our own. We converted a chance on 22 when Asser chipped a pass into the penalty area that Wade drove into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. From that point on we concentrated on keeping the ball in the Farnborough half. We were successful in keeping them from our net. We went into the half pretty much controlling the game. During the break, I put in Gordon for Howard, who appeared to have a foot injury. The second half was all ours. Despite playing defensively we continued to pile up chances. None of them went in for a goal, but at least we were forcing Farnborough to play defensively. On 68, I sent in Todd for Asser and Moran for Duffy to put some fresh legs out there. The outcome of the game was not altered by these subs and we won out 1-0 to move up to tenth place in the Conference. We had a home game in a week against Halifax, who were sitting in the cellar.

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The week passed with no incidences, as expected both Byrnes and Ashcroft spurned our offers, but I kept them in mind, figuring they might sign one day. After all, they surely wanted to play football again at some point. London on the afternoon of October 12th was dry and cool. It hadn’t rained much, so the pitch was dry. All the regulars, Dave for the injured Taylor, got the starting nod. Just over 2300 fans crowded the park.

Halifax struck quickly. On 11, Lee headed in a Bevan cross to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. Both teams continued to battle in midfield as each tried to clog the other’s attack. This worked fine until 32, when we got a chance to attack. Halifax keeper Jon James brought down Kirkwood intentionally and was ejected. German scored the penalty to give us the tie, 1-1. We took advantage of being a man up on our opponents when, at 38, Duffy sent in a cross from the right that Kirkwood quickly put into goal to give us, AXFC, the 2-1 lead. We killed clock in a second half that was rather pedestrian in character. The win put us in seventh place in the Conference. Now we had to prepare for our FA Cup game against Lancaster the following weekend.

The week before the game was only eventful because Dodds turned up late for practice on Wednesday. I gave him the riot act and he promised to improve his behavior in the future. FA Cup Saturday afternoon in Lancaster was wet and cold. All our regulars got the start. I spent a good amount of time during the warm-ups trying to figure out why Lancaster sounded so damn familiar to me. Was it a famous place in history? Was it a part of Middle Age rebellions, or the Civil War? I never did figure it out and it was annoying me. Nearly 2000 fans turned out to cheer their side to the upset victory.

To be honest, I spent more time thinking about why I’d heard of Lancaster than I did watching the first half. We were firmly in control and took the lead on 19 when Asser dribbled his way through the defense and potted the shot perfectly to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We continued to control the half as Lancaster had no shots whatsoever. In fact, their team stat sheet showed one foul and one throw-in and the rest were goose eggs. We continued our mastery in the second half. While Lancaster got a couple of shots on Browne, there was really no doubt about the outcome. At the hour mark, I subbed in Moran for Wade and Todd for Duffy to inject fresh blood into the game. At 70, Fuff sealed the game for good when he took a pass off a German free-kick and blistered it through the net to give us the 2-0 lead and the win. We had good momentum heading into an away match with Chester next Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday the first round of the FA Cup first Round. We drew fellow Conference side Exeter and the game was to be played at Yankee Stadium on Saturday November 16. The week also showed that Roman Abramovich was slightly insane as he sacked Jupp Heyneckes after hiring him at the end of the 01/02 season. For the record, Chelsea was third in the Premier and had only one league loss.

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We traveled to the Deva Stadium on a rainy, cold Saturday to face Chester. All the regular starters got the call for the game. I wasn’t about to mess with a winning combination, though a healthy Taylor reclaimed his starting spot from Jim Reilly. Only about 850 fans turned up for the game, but they probably included a younger Chesterfan2.

The first half was strange. Both teams were attacking reasonably well, each taking good shots in turn. Both teams had goals ruled offside and so there was no official scoring until just before the half-hour when Middleton crossed to Rapley, who powered a header at goal to give Chester the 1-0 lead. The next fifteen minutes passed without incidence. Chester pretty much controlled the second half. On 64, Stamp nailed a fine strike to give the home side the 2-0 lead. At that point I pulled Duffy for Todd and four minutes later, Wade pulled us back within one as he top cornered a rebound to make the score 2-1. I replaced Howard with Gordon as the teams resumed play. The move did no good as Chester’s keeper kept us at bay. With the loss, we dropped to ninth place in the standings. Worse, we had two weeks to think about the loss as we didn’t have a game until Saturday, November 9th at Yankee Stadium versus Northwich Vics.

On November 1st, Chelsea hired Fulham’s Chris Coleman as their new whipping boy. The board met and issued a press release saying that they were happy with my performance as manager. However, as usual, the finances were again dire. All I knew was that it was getting damn frustrating trying to find good free agents who could come in and contribute immediately. The way things seemed to be going it didn’t look like we were ever going to make the League.

We were on the national Conference game of the week, so we were slated to play on Saturday morning. London that morning was dry and cold, at the Yankee Stadium pitch was in good condition. All the regulars got the nod for this one. They didn’t appear to be nervous in front of the TV cameras that snaked their way thorough the grounds. The 1900 fans seemed to be impressed with the cameras and generally made like idiots during the panning shots.

We got the game going early. On 4, Howard headed in an Asser corner kick to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The Vics weren’t intimidated and kept pressuring us with the occasional good try. On 21, they took advantage of their own corner when Garvey swung it in to Came, who headed it in to knot the score 1-all. The rest of the half saw both teams taking good chances, but the goalkeeping had stiffened and neither team could take advantage. Play flowed smoothly and it really was a good match for TV viewing. The second half mirrored the first in the style of play. Both teams put in a good offensive show, but both goalies refused to budge. At the 75 mark I pulled Wade for Moran. By then I figured it was going to be a dare, but in injury-time, Chandler lobbed a ball from the left that Howard leaped and nodded into goal to give us the late 2-1 win that put us in seventh place in the league. Next weekend was the start of the FA Cup as we prepared to play Exeter at home.

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Saturday afternoon brought a surprise as we were entered into the Vans Trophy Southern section draw. We got a home game against struggling D2 side Wycombe. The day after that, we were entered into the FA Trophy with an away match against Halifax.

FA Cup Saturday afternoon arrived. Yankee Stadium was damp, wet and cold. Not all was lost however as we’d drawn a referee named Elvis. All the regulars were penciled in. Despite the weather, we had a complete sellout. All 5000 seats had a live body occupying it. It was an unbelievable atmosphere.

The first half was an exercise in futility. Exeter made it clear that they were going to do nothing but defend and that they did. They took no shots during the first half and gladly let us dominate the ball. We took advantage, mounting attack after attack that broke against the shore of Stuart Fraser. As I paced the sideline, I kept spitting tobacco juice in the direction of the Exeter half to make it plain just how I felt about their chicken-livered tactics. The half mercifully ended and we got a chance to regroup. I told my AXFC team to attack with abandon during the second half. We poured on pressure and abuse on Exeter in the half as they finished the game not having taken a single shot. We finally broke through on the hour mark when Howard smashed in a mis-hit German pass to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Shortly after, I pulled Wade and Kirkwood for Moran and Gordon. It was the young Irish lad who sealed the game for us four minutes from the end when he headed in a pass from Asser to give us the 2-0 win. The board loved it as we had set an attendance and revenue record thanks to the Cup. We had the FA Trophy match at Halifax the following Saturday. Sunday produced a bit of luck. Our second round match would be away at either Doncaster or Mansfield, both D3 teams.

Saturday morning in Halifax was rainy and cold. The regulars got the start. To be fair, we could have cared less about this FA Trophy match. Just shy of a thousand fans braved the rain to watch a rather dull half.

The only excitement came on 6, when Thomas and Wade were ejected for fighting. After that, both teams settled into a plodding style of play reminiscent of “hairy-arse caveman football.” At the half-hour mark, Asser launched a deep cross that Kirkwood buried to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. By the end of the half, Exeter still had a blank stat sheet. We sealed the win five minutes into the second half when Asser swung in a corner that Fuff headed into goal to give AXFC the 2-0 lead. We tacked on one more goal at the 75 minute when Asser delivered his third assist of the day to Kirkwood, who volleyed the shot in to make the final 3-0. Our next match was the following Saturday against Hereford at Yankee Stadium. The FA suspended Wade for one game for his part in the altercation. Round three of the Trophy would see us traveling to Chippenham.

During the next week, I made a move that probably perplexed AXFC fans. I made Howard available for transfer. I reasoned that he would bring good value to the club right now and we had a few good forwards in the reserves that could fill his place more than adequately. We also received word that we would play Mansfield at the Field Mill on December 7.

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Our match with Hereford was the national Conference Game of the Week; so once again, TV cameras filled Yankee Stadium that Saturday morning. The weather was dry and pleasant for the last day of November. All the regulars got the start. We were on fire, and I wasn’t going to mess with the lineup at this point. Nearly 3000 fans came out to watch what turned out to be a very dull first half.

Neither team seemed to want to be there nor did it show in the play. Neither wanted to attack and so the ball circulated around midfield. We had good chances with the three shots we took, but the Hereford keeper saved each. Hereford, for their part, only managed two shots that Browne didn’t even have to contest. At the half, I subbed in Fennelly for Taylor, who was extremely fatigued. I also told the boys to attack. Even attacking, AXFC had a hard time putting anything together despite a surfeit of chances. Finally, Asser broke through, gathered a loose ball and stuck it into the net to give us the eventual 1-0 victory. On 68, Fennelly went down to injury and was replaced by Moran. Hereford never challenged us, getting only one shot off in the half and we walked away with a victory that put us in sixth place in the Conference. The bad news was that Fennelly had torn his groin and would be out for three months. Young Scot Fraser Smith was called up to take his place on the first team. As December began, I was notified that I had won the Manager of the Month award. Late in the week, Howard signed a contract with American A-League side Hershey. We would receive 110K pounds if the deal went through on January 9. The board, were, as usual, happy with my performance. On Friday, to cap off a busy week, AXFC made its first ever Bosman signing, 28 yr old left back Derek Fleming of Partick Thistle. He would join us on June 3, 2003.

FA Cup Saturday rolled around and we traveled to the Field Mill to take on Mansfield. Conditions were dry, cool and the pitch was in good shape. That was about all we could ask for. All the regulars, except the suspended Wade got the nod for this game. I was reasonably confident that we could be competitive. Around 4250 showed up for the match.

Any notion of being competitive was quickly disabused as Mansfield cored via Curtis on 20 and Foley on 25 to give Mansfield the 2-0 lead. It seemed that several AXFC starters had picked this game to take an off day. We were unable to rally back and went into the half behind by two. So many players were dogging it on the pitch that I couldn’t sub them all out. So they remained, though I tersely told them to switch to an all out slack in the second half. We performed much better on offense in the second half, but to no avail. Mansfield’s defense had tightened and we were unable to crack it and were bounced from the FA Cup by a 2-0 score. We didn’t have time to stew, however, as we had the Vans Trophy game on Tuesday. Several players would not get the start in that game, even if they were fit enough.

Tuesday evening in London was not good weather. The temperature was in the mid-20. It was snowing lightly and the pitch was frozen. Yeah, it was great weather to play football in. Several changes were made to the lineup due to fitness problems or incompetent play. The lineup that took the field was a new one. Brook in goal, Durkin and Kavanagh at the fullbacks, Reilly and Fuff in center defense, F. Smith, Asser and Todd in midfield, Wade at AMC and Kirkwood and Law at the forwards. No one wanted to brave the bad weather and only 160 souls showed up. Not that anyone missed much.

From the opening whistle. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the AXFC and Wycombe players not to do much as neither side wanted to be here at this time. Accordingly, the first half went by in a rote manner. Only one shot was tried all half and it was shanked badly. Kirkwood slipped on the ice on 34 and had to be helped off the field. He was replaced by Gordon. I lit into my players during the break and they responded. We had five of eight chances during the second half. Unfortunately, Martin Taylor was having a brilliant night in goal and he stopped us cold. Meanwhile, Wycombe only had two chances, but they made the one they needed count as on 71, Last broke loose and put the winner in past Brook to give Wycombe a 1-0. At least we could now go back and focus on the Conference campaign. Kirkwood would be out a week and half with a bruised shin. We remained at home for our next game, a Conference contest against Burton Albion on Saturday December 14th, four days hence.

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Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in London was not all roses. It was in the mid 30’s and it was raining, a damn near freezing rain that chilled to the bone. At least the pitch was normal and playable. All the regulars save for the injured Kirkwood, who was replaced by Gordon. Just over 2300 fans came out for the game. It seemed our crowds had grown more this season, always a good sign.

It was disappointing half for us. We got a few chances, but were unable to put any of them away. Burton Albion had the same number of chances, but they did far more with them. They score first just after twenty minutes when Corbett bagged a rebound to make the score 1-0 for the visitors. They added to their lead 25 minutes later when Corbett laid a ball across to Shilton who nailed the shot to make the score 2-0 Burton Albion. We had the edge in possession, but couldn’t break the Albion defense. We were discouraged at the half, and I told my AXFC team to attack in the second half. I also put in Todd for Asser, who was simply fatigued. We tried to follow through in the second half, but failed miserably. Our chances kept getting foiled by the Albion defense. Even after subbing a fresh Law fort Howard, we failed to achieve anything. We were just outplayed and all we could do was wait for the next game in a week at Telford to redeem ourselves. The loss didn’t hurt us in the standings as we remained in seventh place.

Saturday afternoon at Telford, four days before Christmas, was not a great day. It had rained the night before and the pitch was still wet and damp. Besides that, it was cold, in the mid-30. All the regulars were penciled in on the lineup card. But, some of them had to be nervous because the halfway point of the Conference season was approaching and that is always a good time to re-evaluate the regular lineup. Just over a 1000 turned up for the game only to see their Telford team not get the breaks in the first half.

Telford pretty much dominated the first half. They had a number of shots, but were unable to get them around Browne. We were not playing all that well, seemingly cowed by the opposition. However, it was us, AXFC, who got on the scoreboard first. Early in the game, Asser took the ball, dribbled it in past the Belford defense and placed it neatly into the goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We held on to the lead throughout the rest of the half as Telford was unable to take advantage of their good play. At the half, I noticed that Chandler had a potential knee injury, so I put Durkin in there for the second half. Telford essentially sealed their fate when right back Leeson was sent off two minutes info the second half. We continued to scatter shots as Telford attempted to regroup. They were unable to do so and on 80, I sent in Todd for a weary Duffy. We fended off a late Telford surge and got the 1-0 road win. We had five days off until our next game on Thursdays, the day after Christmas, a home contest against Southport.

Thursday evening came soon enough as the holidays kept everyone busy. At least the weather was great, if a bit cold, but we’d had winter weather enough by now, so it shouldn’t have been a problem. All the regulars, except for a slightly unfit German, got the start as Kavanagh replaced German and Gordon continued to fill in for Kirkwood. Just shy of 2000, turned out for the game gains the Conference cellar-dwellers.

Of course, Southport played like they were the league leaders and not the doormats. They bottled us up in our half, keeping an unrelenting pressure on. We managed to break through on 25, when we quickly struck up the pitch in a concerted effort. Duffy sent in a cross that Gordon took, and losing his man, blasted into goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Southport grimly stuck with their game plan, continuing to pressure us and they finally got their breakthrough on 44 when Sullivan dribbled through and smashed the ball in to tie the game 1-1. The half was generally entertaining for the fans as both sides were shooting well. At the half, the trainer informed me that Wade had a possible foot injury and so I sent in Moran for the second half. The second half continued to be an offensive showcase for the fans. On 52, Gordon got a cross delivered by Asser and struck it home to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. However, Southport’s Sullivan answered promptly, three minutes later when he beat Taylor in the air and nodded the ball past Browne to tie the game 2-2. As the rest of the game ground on with neither team managing much, I subbed in Moran for Wade tem minutes to time. Then, the ref gave us a break in injury time. The ref awarded AXFC a penalty off an unfair jump violation and Moran deftly struck it to give us an undeserved 3-2 win. Our next game was in two days against Exeter at St. James Park on Saturday afternoon. The game would mark the halfway point in the Conference season, so perhaps it was appropriate that the backups would play in that game.

The morning of the Exeter game, Barnet came in with a bid for Gordon, which I accepted. Exeter’s St. James’s Park was extremely wind, but at least it was warmer than usual. The only regulars to get the start were German and Kirkwood. The rest of the lineup was filled out by backups. Just over 2100 fans came out to the park to watch their home team continue the defensive tactics they’d frustrated us with in the FA Cup.

Exeter again went defensively and once again, we couldn’t do much to counter it. They had no shots at all during the half, preferring to kick it long. We had a few shots, but we couldn’t do anything until a half-hour had passed. When Kirkwood took a Moran pass and blasted it with venom through the Exeter goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half passed uneventful as the Exeter deep-freeze continued. Exeter got with it in the second half, but we put on a stall of our own that kept them off the board despite 4-7 shooting. We hung on, blunting their attack and sealed the win on 77 when Todd sent in a corner that Dodds headed in to make the score 2-0 AXFC. We coasted from there and walked out with our third win in a row, which put us in fourth place in the Conference at the halfway point of the season.

We had four days to sort out the second half lineup. Fittingly enough, our next game would take place on January 1, 2003. On the 29th, Gordon was sold to Barnet for 45,000 pounds. The move, plus Howard’s departure would mean radical changes up-front. The depth chart would change in every area except in goal. The other positions would be as followed for the second half:
DL:
Chandler
Durkin

DR:
Kavanagh
German

DC:
Fuff
Reilly
Dodds
Taylor

LMC:
Asser
Fraser Smith

CMC:
Apilinga
Mark Smith

RMC:
Duffy
Todd

AMC:
Moran
Lynch

FC:
Kirkwood
Speight
Bradley

As you can see, Fatid was sent back down to the reserves along with Law. Both needed to revive their seasons in the reserves. Replacing them would be replaced by talented players who were having great seasons in the reserves. Another call up was Lee Bradley, who had revived his first team hopes by playing well on the second team. Everyone was ready and rested for the New Years game.

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<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * American Exiles Football Club - Saturday 28th December 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adamson, Carl - - - - - - - - ---- - Apiliga, Moses 21 (1) 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.91 - Asser, James 23 4 0 0 9 0 0 3 7.17 - Bradley, Lee 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Brook, Robert 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.25 - Brown, Steven - - - - - - - - ---- - Browne, John 22 0 22 0 0 0 0 1 7.14 - Byrne, Matty - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Chandler, Jeremy 20 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7.00 - Chapman, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Craig - - - - - - - - ---- - Dodds, Paul 8 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Duffy, Chris 23 (1) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.50 - Duncan, James - - - - - - - - ---- - Durkin, Neil 5 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.67 - Evans, Lee - - - - - - - - ---- - Farid, Shuvo 4 (3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.43 - Fennelly, Clark 4 (6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 21 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.76 - German, Dave 18 2 0 1 (1) 2 0 0 0 6.67 - Gordon, Chris 4 (6) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 7.20 - Gordon, Malcolm - - - - - - - - ---- - Howard, Jonathan 24 7 0 0 0 0 0 3 7.13 - Jones, James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Kavanagh, Gary 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.00 - Kelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Kirkwood, Glen 22 5 0 0 2 0 0 1 7.27 - Law, Gareth 2 (7) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.67 - Lissa, Ciarame - - - - - - - - ---- - Lynch, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - McMahon, Jack - - - - - - - - ---- - Moran, Sean 5 (12) 4 0 1 (1) 1 2 0 1 6.76 - Powell, Neil - - - - - - - - ---- - Reilly, Jim 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.56 - Richardson, Richard - - - - - - - - ---- - Rowe, Robert - - - - - - - - ---- - Sadler, Adam - - - - - - - - ---- - Shaw, Bob - - - - - - - - ---- - Smart, Barry - - - - - - - - ---- - Smith, Fraser 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Smith, Mark - - - - - - - - ---- - Speight, Richard - - - - - - - - ---- - Stannard, Wayne - - - - - - - - ---- - Taylor, Brian 13 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 6.15 - Todd, Mark 2 (8) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.60 - Truman, Danny - - - - - - - - ---- - Wade, Glen 22 6 0 0 0 2 1 0 6.45 ************************************************** ********************************************** English Conference - Saturday 28th December 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Barnet 21 8 3 0 18 7 6 3 1 19 10 48 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Rochdale 21 9 0 1 20 6 5 3 3 17 10 45 3rd Woking 21 5 3 2 19 15 6 5 0 24 15 41 4th AXFC 21 8 0 3 18 11 3 4 3 10 9 37 5th Dag & Red 21 5 2 3 16 12 6 1 4 20 16 36 6th Scarborough 22 6 2 3 11 7 4 4 3 10 8 36 7th Chester 23 8 1 3 28 13 3 2 6 17 27 36 8th Canvey Island 22 3 5 3 22 18 6 2 3 20 14 34 9th Farnborough 22 6 3 2 16 8 2 5 4 18 23 32 10th Telford 22 6 4 2 14 9 3 0 7 11 17 31 11th Burton Albion 23 5 3 3 18 17 4 1 7 19 22 31 12th Stevenage 21 4 3 4 19 18 4 3 3 21 23 30 13th Morecambe 22 4 3 4 9 10 4 3 4 14 16 30 14th Hereford 22 5 2 4 15 17 3 3 5 11 15 29 15th Exeter 23 4 4 3 20 17 3 3 6 17 20 28 16th Northwich Vics 22 3 4 4 15 15 2 4 5 9 11 23 17th Accrington 22 3 3 5 13 16 2 4 5 9 17 22 18th Tamworth 22 2 5 4 7 12 2 4 5 9 19 21 19th Halifax 22 3 2 6 17 25 3 0 8 12 16 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20th Gravesend 22 2 4 5 15 18 2 3 6 10 14 19 21st Southport 23 3 2 7 17 24 2 2 7 11 21 19 22nd Halesowen 22 2 1 7 12 21 3 0 9 8 16 16 </pre>

retired_karamelkel

That Wednesday evening was played in below freezing conditions, but the pitch was nice and dry. All the regulars, including the new ones got the start. We were at Gavesend’s Stonebridge Park. Nearly 3300 figured that watching a soccer game in person was a nice way to celebrate the New Year.

We got a ton of chances but we fell woefully short of good shots. We kept attacking, but again, nothing was doing. We did force Gavesend to focus on defense to the detriment of their offense, but that was it. We did manage to finally score at the 31 mark. Asser broke down two defenders and blasted it in to make the score 1-0 AXFC. The second half was a repeat of the first as we continued to spray shots around the park. Asser again broke down the defense on 68 to give us the 2-0 lead. At that point I subbed in Todd for Duffy and Bradley for Speight. We went into shutdown mode and ran out the clock. It was a nice way to start the New Year off. Our next game was on Saturday afternoon on January 4th at home against Morecambe.

The board met and said they were still delighted with my performance.

Saturday afternoon arrived swiftly. Yankee Stadium was filled with nearly freezing rain, but at least the pitch was in good shape. Only two starters, Apilinga and Moran, did not make the cut for this game. Their spots were filled Mark Smith and Gary Lynch respectively. Both fill-ins had had nice seasons at the reserve level and both deserved first team looks over the second half. Just over 2200 fans turned up for the first home game of the year.

We got things going in a hurry as two players got the first goals of their pro careers. Speight, our phenom, set his feet and leaped; headed in a corner from Mark Smith on 4, giving AXFC the 1-0 lead. His fellow rookie Gary Lynch got into the act eleven minutes later when he was the beneficiary of another Smith corner to make the score 2-0. We tailed off reap idly after that mad Morecambe took control. However they were unable to do much and we retained our two goal lead into the half. Morecambe continued their dominance, shooting 9-16 for the game, but Browne was just on another level, making save after save, including a couple of spectacular variety. Our chances seemed to dim when Speight limped off just three minutes into the half, but the defense held steady. Monson did pull one back for Morecambe on 63 when he slipped the ball in to make it 2-1. Browne’s transcendental performance carried us through to the win. Our winning streak put us in third place. We would next face Woking at their park on Wednesday evening at their place.

Speight would be out two weeks with strained knee ligaments. Just after the game, we received word that we had made another Bosman signing, this one 33 yr old Scot Michael Teasdale from Caley Thistle. He would join us on July 1.

The Wednesday evening match at Woking was quickly upon us. We would be playing while it was sleeting and below freezing, but at least the pitch would be dry. Howard replaced Speight in the lineup for what would presumably be his last game in an AXFC uniform. Otherwise, the regulars got the start. Nearly 1500 crowded the Kingfield Sports Ground despite the crappy weather.
The first half really belonged to Woking’s forward Foyewa, who scored goals on 7 and 27 to give the home side the quick 2-0 lead. The first was a loose ball shot and the second off a Banger cross from the right. Except for the quick strikes, the half was fought at midfield as neither side really had many chances in the foul sleet. We made good on our one try at the half-hour. Moran headed in an Apilinga lob to put us back within one 2-1. The rest of the half ground by in a haze of ice, as neither team was able to warm up. At the half, I subbed out Reilly for Durkin. Both of my central defenders were struggling badly and neither, unless they picked up it in the second half, would get the start next game. The second half was merely a time-waster. We were unable to do anything with the ball as Woking focused entirely well on defense and kept us away to preserve their 2-1 win. We would go right to a weekend afternoon game at fellow Londoner’s Canvey Island.

On January 9, when the US leagues were able to make transfers again, Howard left for Hershey Pennsylvania for 110,000 pounds. That brought down our debt to just less than 150K in the red. Gareth Law was called back up to fill the first team roster spot. He would also start games in Speight’s absence.

Canvey Island was dry and cold when we arrived there on Saturday afternoon. Several changes were made in the starting lineup. Dodds and Taylor got the nod in center defense, Fraser and Mark Smith replaced Asser and Apilinga respectively and Lynch at AMC. These backups were integrated into the lineup mostly out of fitness concerns. Nearly 1400 fans came out and saw an exhibition of good goalkeeping.

Both teams came out shooting and shooting well. Play flowed up the pitch seamlessly for both teams. Both keepers had to scramble to make good saves. AXFC got on the board twenty minutes in when Kavanagh launched a deep cross to the far post to a sitting Lynch. Lynch rose into the air and hammered it home via his melon to give us the 1-0 lead. Canvey were unable tie the game, though not for lack of trying. Canvey got on the ball 13 minutes into the second half when Weatherston smashed in a shot to tie the game at 1-1. A minute after play resumed again, Law smoked his shot in to give AXFC the lead again at 2-1. But ten minutes later, Dinning drilled another shot past Browne to even the game up 2-2. That was the final as the last 25 minutes passed without incident. Everyone seemed satisfied with the draw. Our next game would be on the following Saturday against Chippenham in the FA Trophy contest.

During the next week, I attempted to sign a couple of veterans who had been released by their clubs. I felt my first team was entirely too young and I wanted to bring more veterans to mentor the youngsters. On Thursday, 26 and 28 yr old Irishmen Goodwin and Fanning joined AXFC on free transfers from Waterford United. Goodwin would be a regular, partnering Fuff in central defense. Dodds would drop to the reserves, where he would see more playing time. Fanning joined the first team squad at forward where he would backup the regulars. Law would drop to the reserves, where he would get more playing time.
Saturday afternoon in Chippenham turned out to be remarkably close to a spring day. It was warm, windy and raining, but the pitch was in good shape. Except for Speight, who was still recovering from his injury all the regulars were set to go. Fanning took Speight’s slot in the lineup. Nearly 800 people came out and saw a very boring first half.

AXFC came out firing blanks. We couldn’t have hit the E on an eye chart if we tried. Chippenham wasn’t playing all that well either and the two teams stalled out at midfield for most of the half. Moran was playing his worst game of the year and I subbed him at the break. Lynch would take his spot in the second half. Oughton and McGregor scored for Chippenham in the second half to give the home side the 2-0 victory. I didn’t care that they had won. As it meant we were done with extraneous competitions for the year. Our next match was January 22 at home against Scarborough.

The brutal Wednesday evening and the game that had to be played arrived much too quick for my liking. The sleet was nasty and the cold was intense. All the regulars but Speight got the nod for the game. Fanning took over Speight’s forward spot for the match. If the nearly 2800 fans expected a shootout, they were disappointed.

retired_steffani

heh, as a LLaMa i don't agree with Editors *burn* but it's still a good interesting read kutgw