27-05-2015, 10:34
December
After a depressing November, December's fixtures looked a lot easier with matches against struggling sides Wolves, Fulham, Blackpool & Wigan.
We started the month away at Blackburn. We took the lead after just three minutes when Lee forced the ball home after the keeper fumbled. Blackburn soon equalised. Loovens missed an easy headed chance but Westwood kept the scores level with a brilliant save in the second half before Dielna (sent on for Nuhiu to preserve the draw) moved forward & fired in a shot that deflected into the roof of the net in injury time. This was a brilliant moment in a sea of mediocrity.
Blackburn 1-2 WEDNESDAY
Next up was a Wolves side that was in terrible form & conceded ten goals in their previous three matches. Sadly our inability to score cost us dear again. We started brightly when May had a shot cleared off the line by Stearman & Drenthe flashed a shot just wide. Gradually Wolves took over with Westwood stopping Graham in a one on one situation, Van La Parra missed an open goal before Leon Clarke tapped home from close range to win it. Hard to imagine now that we were ahead of Wolves in the table before this match.
WEDNESDAY 0-1 Wolves
Next we went to relegation haunted Fulham, who had fallen apart since relegation. This was one of those days where we were magnificent on the terraces but the players didn't match the fans performance.
We started with May on his own up front and Drenthe surprisingly left out. We started pretty well with May having an effort blocked on the line & Maguire being unlucky with a long range effort. However it all changed once Fulham took the lead. A second right on half time & we crumbled. The lack of organisation showed when we started the second half with ten men after we failed to notify the officials that Nuhiu was coming on. There was no fight second half & we were lucky to only lose 4-0 in the end. Despite that, it was an enjoyable away day.
Fulham 4-0 WEDNESDAY
Two games against the bottom two gave us the perfect opportunity to pull clear of the relegation zone. Blackpool were poor on Boxing Day but we only won after May won a penalty & Maguire converted. Blackpool had their chances and Westwood again earned us the win with a late brilliant save. Miller was sent off for two late yellow card offences. This was another dismal display and without the penalty, it would have been another goal less and win less match.
WEDNESDAY 1-0 Blackpool
Next up a cold night in Wigan, a side who were not far behind Blackpool in the hopelessness. This was a terrible match because Wigan were hopeless and we had gone there for a point. Wigan didn't even muster a shot on target in the entire match and 0-0 looked a certainty until McManaman got himself sent off for a terrible foul on Dielna. Then we saw an opportunity to win it. Nuhui headed in Helan's cross and we had the three points. Hard to celebrate because we played terribly in a terrible match but we found even worse opponents who had only ten men.
Wigan 0-1 WEDNESDAY
P5 W3 D0 L2 F4 A6 Pts9
Somehow we had got nine points from 15 without playing well in any matches. If we could just start playing well, we could storm this division.
After a depressing November, December's fixtures looked a lot easier with matches against struggling sides Wolves, Fulham, Blackpool & Wigan.
We started the month away at Blackburn. We took the lead after just three minutes when Lee forced the ball home after the keeper fumbled. Blackburn soon equalised. Loovens missed an easy headed chance but Westwood kept the scores level with a brilliant save in the second half before Dielna (sent on for Nuhiu to preserve the draw) moved forward & fired in a shot that deflected into the roof of the net in injury time. This was a brilliant moment in a sea of mediocrity.
Blackburn 1-2 WEDNESDAY
Next up was a Wolves side that was in terrible form & conceded ten goals in their previous three matches. Sadly our inability to score cost us dear again. We started brightly when May had a shot cleared off the line by Stearman & Drenthe flashed a shot just wide. Gradually Wolves took over with Westwood stopping Graham in a one on one situation, Van La Parra missed an open goal before Leon Clarke tapped home from close range to win it. Hard to imagine now that we were ahead of Wolves in the table before this match.
WEDNESDAY 0-1 Wolves
Next we went to relegation haunted Fulham, who had fallen apart since relegation. This was one of those days where we were magnificent on the terraces but the players didn't match the fans performance.
We started with May on his own up front and Drenthe surprisingly left out. We started pretty well with May having an effort blocked on the line & Maguire being unlucky with a long range effort. However it all changed once Fulham took the lead. A second right on half time & we crumbled. The lack of organisation showed when we started the second half with ten men after we failed to notify the officials that Nuhiu was coming on. There was no fight second half & we were lucky to only lose 4-0 in the end. Despite that, it was an enjoyable away day.
Fulham 4-0 WEDNESDAY
Two games against the bottom two gave us the perfect opportunity to pull clear of the relegation zone. Blackpool were poor on Boxing Day but we only won after May won a penalty & Maguire converted. Blackpool had their chances and Westwood again earned us the win with a late brilliant save. Miller was sent off for two late yellow card offences. This was another dismal display and without the penalty, it would have been another goal less and win less match.
WEDNESDAY 1-0 Blackpool
Next up a cold night in Wigan, a side who were not far behind Blackpool in the hopelessness. This was a terrible match because Wigan were hopeless and we had gone there for a point. Wigan didn't even muster a shot on target in the entire match and 0-0 looked a certainty until McManaman got himself sent off for a terrible foul on Dielna. Then we saw an opportunity to win it. Nuhui headed in Helan's cross and we had the three points. Hard to celebrate because we played terribly in a terrible match but we found even worse opponents who had only ten men.
Wigan 0-1 WEDNESDAY
P5 W3 D0 L2 F4 A6 Pts9
Somehow we had got nine points from 15 without playing well in any matches. If we could just start playing well, we could storm this division.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.