Last time out we covered our preparations for the new season in a new league.
If you missed that episode you can catch up here. With that being said, lets jump straight into some action. Starting with the Cups campaigns.
Domestic Cups
Lets start with the Isuzu FA Trophy, its a short adventure this season as we fall in the third qualifying round to AFC Telford
A big team at this level we pushed them all the way in an absolute classic, unfortunately it wasn't to be.
The FA Cup is the pinnacle of cup competitions and one I look forward to every year! A Cup run in this competition is great for the finances and reputation. We will be giving it our all.
We had a great run in the qualifying rounds with wins against a mixture of lower league teams and teams in a higher division. Matlock and South Shields being in the Vanarma National League North!
For the first time in the clubs history we find ourselves in the First round proper, and our reward....
We welcome League One Fleetwood town to Trungle Parc! What a day for the club.
Our FA Cup dream ends in the first round. In front of a record breaking 1618 crowd we really tested our league opponents.
We took the lead in the first half and looked comfortable, unfortunately fitness became an issue and in the end we were just over powered. Super proud of the effort!
The disappointment of our exit was eased slightly as the finances from our extended run in the FA Cup. A nice chunk added to the bank account.
Southern League Premier South
August, September & October
After the fun of the cups lets see how we got our campaign in the league started.
As perennial underdogs this season we are going to have to fight for every point.
We had a brilliant first month, although we lost our first game we went on a 6 game unbeaten run. These are periods of the season we are really going to rely on.
I was worried after releasing our top goal scorer last season but its great to see us scoring from all over the field.
November & December
The winter months are upon us and we need to cement our good start over the next 7 games.
Another good run of results to start us off but we dropped off a tad towards the end of December. Lets see how we fare in the league table at the half way stage.
Halfway Table
Well we are definitely exceeding expectations sitting in 10th. A hug step into solidifying our position in this league.
Youth Intake Preview
The youth intake preview is in, Does not appear to be spectacular. Lets hope we can produce a couple of future prospects.
January, February & March
With the budget being tight, we dipped into the loan market to add some real quality to the middle of the park.
Mitch Beardmore joins on loan from Exeter. Very excited about this one, will hopefully dictate the play from the centre of the pitch .
This is the only deal we completed.
Its another decent showing. Form like this isn't going to win us any titles, however its 100% going to keep us in this league.
Evander Grubb and Gus Lukuni are leading the line perfectly, both having career seasons.
Youth Intake
Lets check out the new recruits coming through the youth system.
Its an OK intake with only one elite talent. Lets check out Paul Moss.
I'm going to be honest, its not the most spectacular of examples of "Elite"
I will keep an eye on his development next season but I'm not holding out much hope.
April & May
We have reached the last two months of season and with our place in this league confirmed for next season already its a case of finishing as high as we possibly can.
If you had offered me that at the beginning of the season then i would have snapped your hand off.
Its a strong end to the season with Evander Grubb really finding a rich vein of form in the last few months and has really impressed this season.
Final League Table
The Final league table is great viewing! Closer to the playoffs than the relegation zone. Its a real building block for next year.
Thanks for reading our full Season 2 review. We will be back with a Season 3 preperation episode soon.
As always, I will leave you with the Season Review slides.
Cheers
Panda
