Stoppage time goal is really annoying

Every time the game is about to end and I'm leading one, the AI will use 424 and the 2d screen will keep showing and it's really really easy to score. I tried every tip I could find but it still is not working, my players usually make stupid mistake, pass the ball to opponent then got owned. Plz reduce the chance of stoppage time goal in FM 09.

I've got a tactic designed just for when the AI goes to 4-2-4.. and it works 90% of the time, I hold on.

I do think, however, that there is an excess of 4-2-4 goals. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to do, as in real life if you're chasing a game and you want to desperately score, you throw extra men forward.. but teams don't score as often as this in real life in the last minutes, it does happen regularly, but not this much.

A prime example of this, i've taken by Dagenham and Redbridge side to the Championship so far (quite a story i've got going too!) and in the third round of the FA Cup, i'm home to a side not even in League Two or above, i'm 1-0 up (there keeper is playing a blinder) and they go 4-2-4. Okay, this one time, since this team is at least three divisions below me, i'll just leave my tactics as are.

I lose 2-1.

It's my tactics, blah blah, I know WHY I went wrong, before anybody says it.

However, a team three divisions below shouldn't be able to (and it will be a regular thing on this game) score two goals in injury time just because they're playing four up front with two midfielders.

Yes, the idea works in practise, but I had a full strength side out (as in, my defenders are 'decent premier league' quality at worst). So yes it works in practise, but not every Dog and Duck team should be able to go 4-2-4 and score two goals past an international class defence.

Yes, when I was losing a goal usually it will just end very quickly, I think SI shall let AI and player have the same chance to score at stoppage time.

There's long been a debate over whether or not the AI "cheats" (personally I think all computer games cheat. They have since the days of the Atari), but it certainly looks suspicious to have 5 minutes of injury time highlights when the CPU is down a goal and have none when you're down a goal and chasing an equaliser.

something that dont help how lots of ET goals are conceded is where, when you are leading 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and key highlights are selected, the game switches to full highlights from 88 minutes onwards, but when the AI team is winning 1-0 etc, there is no such dramatic ending and the game just runs through with no highlights.

What I have a problem with is that when they play a 4-2-4 if my player gets the ball in midfield one of the two midfielders for the AI will 90% be able to rush back and get the ball.

Yes, they only have 2 Midfielders but they can easily get the ball and pass it to their strikers.

Yes, they only have 2 Midfielders but they can easily get the ball and pass it to their strikers.

i agree that there is probably a few to many goals in stoppage time but still the best way to stop it (imo) is put 4 defenders (purely defending and man marking) with a dm who has a barrow and then 2 aditional mid fielder. I find it works and i really dont concede that many goals in stoppage time, however it is certainly more than would happen irl.

also i agree with the poster above who said that the highlights for the ai (when they are chasing the game) seem to go much longer than when you are chasing the game

It doesn't happen that often to me, I just change my tactics to slow and short passing and more defensive. One thing annoyed me in a few games though. I change tactics just before the 80th minute, and it takes so long to come into effect that the AI actually succeeds in scoring before they change. usually manager just shout from their area to direct most changes, so a small tweak for this to be so would be welcome.....

It's easy to counter. You can't be looking hard enough. Just finished a season where I conceded only 2 last minute goals to this tactic. And one of those was because I was making a cuppa at the time.

Does it work if the player does it?

Psychological tbh... In my game I have scored more last minute equalisers/winners than the AI. Perhaps it is because my tactics are fairly cautious anyway. If the opposing team goes 4-2-4 I find simply switching off forward runs on my fullbacks is sufficient, and sometimes I even manage to get another goal on the break.

yes hitting them on the break is feasable. However, one thing I have noticed is that the stoppage time frequently goes to 5 or 6 minutes in the second half and then the ref never whistles until nearly 50+ seconds have gone by over the time he announced. Anyone experiencing this? (oh and it relates because that is usually when the opposition would score...)

Yes you can counter it, and I find the best counter is to attack and really humiliate them.

Yes we can use a 4-2-4 tactic in a similar fashion, I use a 4-3-3 and came back from 3-0 down against Liverpool at Anfield to draw 3-3.

Yes, I often see the stoppage time go way over what has been announced and it is very annoying because it often goes to 6 or 7 mins at the end of the match. It has worked in my favour on a few occasions though.

Does it work if the player does it?

I have a 3-4-3 all out attack that is very effective at getting me last minute goals. Not as effective as a non-countered AI 424, but still pretty good.

Has anyone tried deleting the AI 4-2-4 tactic?

i can't complain too much about the stoppage time goals, yesterday the winning goal of the fa cup was scored at 121:16, so i'm happy atm. roll on next season and i'll be back moaning about it tho

yes hitting them on the break is feasable. However, one thing I have noticed is that the stoppage time frequently goes to 5 or 6 minutes in the second half and then the ref never whistles until nearly 50+ seconds have gone by over the time he announced. Anyone experiencing this? (oh and it relates because that is usually when the opposition would score...)

IRL and in the game, "5 minutes added time" doesn't mean "exactly 300 seconds added time", it means "at least 300 seconds added time". So running over by less than a minute is understandable.

I had a game yesterday where there were supposed to be 4 minutes of added time - ended up as 9 minutes due to a bad injury

I've got a tactic designed just for when the AI goes to 4-2-4.. and it works 90% of the time, I hold on.

I do think, however, that there is an excess of 4-2-4 goals. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to do, as in real life if you're chasing a game and you want to desperately score, you throw extra men forward.. but teams don't score as often as this in real life in the last minutes, it does happen regularly, but not this much.

A prime example of this, i've taken by Dagenham and Redbridge side to the Championship so far (quite a story i've got going too!) and in the third round of the FA Cup, i'm home to a side not even in League Two or above, i'm 1-0 up (there keeper is playing a blinder) and they go 4-2-4. Okay, this one time, since this team is at least three divisions below me, i'll just leave my tactics as are.

I lose 2-1.

It's my tactics, blah blah, I know WHY I went wrong, before anybody says it.

However, a team three divisions below shouldn't be able to (and it will be a regular thing on this game) score two goals in injury time just because they're playing four up front with two midfielders.

Yes, the idea works in practise, but I had a full strength side out (as in, my defenders are 'decent premier league' quality at worst). So yes it works in practise, but not every Dog and Duck team should be able to go 4-2-4 and score two goals past an international class defence.

You'd think against a lower division team that your midfield would completely dominate them, with them being the lower league side. In saying that though, I do have a shockingly bad cup record against non-league sides. I tend to play 4-1-4-1 most of the time and just hold my full-backs back (stop forward runs, running with the ball and crossing) when the opposition go 4-2-4. With my defensive midfielder holding up the ball and using the 4 men in front of him I tend to stifle the opposition and more often than not, steal a second goal. If I'm looking really vunerable, I'll pull a midfielder and go 5-1-3-1.

No tactic is infallible though. You will win and lose some regardless. In which case you load it up and play again :-p

IRL and in the game, "5 minutes added time" doesn't mean "exactly 300 seconds added time", it means "at least 300 seconds added time". So running over by less than a minute is understandable.

under a minute is udnerstandable, but I have seen the game say 3 mins of added time and then play 6 or 7 on a few occasions, which is a bit of a git. Not as regular as some people liek to make out though.

under a minute is udnerstandable, but I have seen the game say 3 mins of added time and then play 6 or 7 on a few occasions, which is a bit of a git. Not as regular as some people liek to make out though.

Injury time is defined by who is chasing a goal, 5 minutes means 5 minutes exactly if noone is going for a goal (you are losing by one goal and DON'T go to a very attacking formation {the A.I will ALWAYS go attacking if losing by one goal}), if either side is going for a goal it could end up being 8 minutes (depending on the context of the game and tactical changes). IMO this is a weakness of the ME.

Slightly off topic: I had a game recently with 10 minutes injury time, there were no injuries and only a few fouls in the half (2nd half), the game ended on 100 minutes exactly with nothing happening after the 90th minute (literally nothing the midfield just kept exchanging the ball), I found this odd.

how's this for a LATE goal...

my u18's are immense- and thanks to this goal, are still on course for thier fourth consecutive u18 cup win!

You know you can just replace the 4-2-4.tac file with another tactic (rename it 4-2-4.tac) before you start a new game and once you start that game AI wont be able to 4-2-4 instead they'll use whatever you replaced it with.

You know you can just replace the 4-2-4.tac file with another tactic (rename it 4-2-4.tac) before you start a new game and once you start that game AI wont be able to 4-2-4 instead they'll use whatever you replaced it with.

thats bringing cheating to a whole new level.

Makes the game much more enjoyable IMO, when you replace it with a attacking 4-3-3 where the AI still challenges you when the switch to it but not with superpowered strikers.