TheJonsterMonster Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Introduction It's 20th September 2022. Jonster Monster has been made redundant from his job working in a brush factory in his hometown, Grantham, in the East Midlands of England. He makes it home and as he opens his front door he realises he has nothing in his life to look forward to. He switches on his computer and brings up job websites. What jobs are available when all he has ever done is make brushes? And the occasional dustpan. Staring up at his wall he sees the squad picture of the brush factory football team which will presumably disband. Making brushes all day paid the bills but the football team gave him some purpose. Having suffered a broken leg 12 months ago, he had mostly been coaching the brush factory team in the previous season, helping the manager out with putting out training cones and carrying the water bottles to and from the dressing room on match days. He has no coaching qualifications and has only ever played Sunday League football for the brush factory. He fills in a few questionnaires about skills but there don't appear to be any other brush factories hiring in the area. His hands fall over the keyboard. Could a career as a football manager really exist? Would any clubs be willing to take on somebody with no coaching badges or experience further than encouraging brush factory workers to run about a bit more? He has nothing to lose. This is the story of "Wall of Shame to Hall of Fame". Can a football fan with no qualifications make it to the top of the worldwide hall of fame? Finding all the available football manager jobs, he sends in his optimistic application, making no bones about the fact the only qualification he has is that he's an avid football fan, enjoying attractive attacking football. To his surprise he's offered several interviews. He attends interviews at Stafford Town, Hillingdon Borough, Albion Sports, Graham Street Prims, and Newbury Forest on 21st September, and then Basingstoke Town, Rocester, and Willington on 23rd September. St. Andrews and Molesey are next on 24th September. Monster attends all of the interviews remotely and keeps his answers similar, not making any promises apart from agreeing to work with existing staff, and agreeing with the proposed budgets offered. He keeps applying for other roles, explaining he's keeping his options open. He never knew all of these clubs were so keen to hire football enthusiasts with no qualifications! At 8:47 on Sunday 25th September, Monster is awoken by his phone vibrating. An email from Hillingdon Borough. They're offering him a job. They want him to be their new manager. At 8:59 another email comes through, this time from Albion Sports. He compares the offers. Hillingdon are offering him a wage. Surely that must be some sort of mistake? £140 p/w? Albion Sports aren't as forthcoming - they can't afford to offer him a wage and the wage budget is more than half of what Hillingdon Borough have available. Monster looks around his poky flat and weighs up his options. North to Bradford? Or south to just inside the M25, not all that far from Heathrow Airport? It's south. Has to be south. He can't move to Bradford for free. At least he'll be earning something with Hillingdon. Packing his favourite brush along with his best suit and a change of clothes, Jonster Monster replies to the email from Gareth Eaton, Chairperson of Hillingdon Borough to accept their job offer. He heads off in his car to make the journey down to the Middlesex Stadium to see the club for the first time. Gareth Eaton greets Monster with a handy welcome pack which explains that there are limited facilities and there's a preference for defensively solid and counter-attacking football, which makes Monster wonder if he's taken the right job. The only trophy they've won was the Southern League Cup in 2008. They finished 2nd in the Combined Counties League Division 1 last season to earn promotion to the Combined Counties League Premier Division North this time around. They're currently rock bottom with 2 points after 11 games, 5 points from safety. Monster looks around the stadium, starting to dream of the first goal that'll be scored there under his stewardship, the roar of the fans behind him in the dugout. The fact there's a dugout is exciting, let alone a stadium with 250 seats and lots of standing room. The chairperson calls him back into the clubhouse and they thrash out exactly who will be doing what role. Monster demands that the vacant staff spots go out to advert; he's going to need as many staff in place as he can get. With 6 days until the Thatcham match, Monster is asked to set the training plan for the coming week. He likes teams that run, so he has some endurance training and ball distribution exercises planned for Tuesday. Thursday is lighter, doing some teamwork and team bonding. Monster knows he'll need to get the team working together in order to escape relegation. And with that, Jonster Monster heads home on a two hour drive. Not a commute he fancies regularly. When he gets home, he starts looking at Premier Inn prices. It may have to be a hotel for a while. Luckily there's one in Ruislip, a 5-minute drive away from the ground. 27/09/2022 - First day of training As Monster pulls up at the training ground on Tuesday morning, the first thing he notices is that the atmosphere around the club is very poor. Monster introduces himself and tells them that he expects them to work hard and they'll finish wherever they finish. The players seem relatively happy but he then introduces the training regime. The players aren't all that thrilled at coming in for training with a new manager they've never heard of, and according to Google, was working in a brush factory last week. They won their last game in FA Vase qualifying on penalties but they've only scored 5 goals all season so far. To then be greeted by a manager who doesn't hold any qualifications at all, doesn't seem to impress them. Tales of the brush factory team's run to the semi finals of the local cup also doesn't seem to inspire them. To then be told that they'll be running most of the morning, only seems to make matters worse. In terms of the squad, Monster has a look at the U23s and U18s as well as the first team. The squad seems relatively well-balanced, perfect for his preferred 4-1-3-2 formation with the trio all playing in attacking midfield. Monster then has to conduct his first press conference. Richard Upton, the club's press officer, introduces Monster to Anthony Page from BBC London 94.9. Monster tries to remain open and honest throughout, not making any guarantees, but makes reference to hard work several times. The club's press officer tells him the press conference went well. It's the first press conference Monster has ever held. How many would he get to cover over the course of his career? Or will he be offered a brush (that he probably made) and told to sweep the office on his way out? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 October 2022 01/10/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Thatcham Town (H) The pre-match build up revealed Thatcham were on a nine-match unbeaten run, having been relegated from Tier 8 the previous season. With the help of Mark Teggart, the fitness coach, Monster picked a line up featuring a leading player from the youth team up front. Key man Reece Stray started in the shadow striker role. It's 6 changes in total from their last game under Matty Soper. Monster told all the players to forget about the past and to focus on moving forwards, pumping his fists, and telling them he believed in them all. They seemed up for the contest, putting 3 shots on target in the opening 7 minutes. However, from there, it all started to go wrong. A through ball let the Thatcham right winger through and he couldn't miss from a few yards out, clipping the ball past Thompson in goal. 2 minutes later and Hillingdon Borough were down to 10 men when Kain Wayne picked up his second booking. Monster looked up to the heavens. It would take a lot to get back into the game from here. Bob Irwin was sacrificed up front and replaced by Alexander Sowden. After 27 minutes, David Sargent scored the first goal of the Monster era. Some incisive passing on the edge of the area released the left winger whose shot sailed into the top corner, kissing the underside of the crossbar and bouncing down over the line. The sort of goal Monster could only have dreamt of a week ago. Monster was starting to look forward to his half time team talk when Sowden headed in Plant's corner. They'd turned it around and scored twice in a game for the first time this season! However, the lead didn't last long. Sowden became the villain as he clipped Thurston in the box and Parr stepped up to smash past Thompson from the penalty spot. The second half wasn't much of a spectacle - Monster's boys seemed to play within themselves, giving away free kick after free kick and collecting numerous yellow cards. David O'Keeffe, the other centre back, came off injured after 65 minutes too. But Hillingdon Borough held on, coming away with a creditable 2-2 draw against far stronger opposition. They had more shots than Thatcham and gave Monster plenty to build on to pick up their 3rd point of the season, although they'll be missing their first choice centre backs for the next game. 109 fans turned out for Monster's first game. 08/10/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Tooting & Mitcham United (A) Next up was a top v bottom clash. Monster had a meeting with Director of Football Uthman Odutayo during the week to see if there were any recommended players available on free transfers. Odutayo rang around his contacts and produced a list of players that were available on a free transfer. Monster promptly offered all of them trials, most of them accepting the offer to check out the club for 4 weeks. With room in the wage budget, Monster saw no issue with bringing new faces to the club, hoping to find some players as determined to succeed as him. In terms of the match, it couldn't get much more difficult against the free-scoring league leaders. Having a better handle on the abilities of the players after another week of training, Monster made several changes. Chamberlain, McGrandles, Sowden, Patrick, Briggs, and Ellis started this game. In the 8th minute, there was some pushing in the area as a freekick came in and Hillingdon Borough were awarded a penalty. Up stepped youth prospect Ciaran Callaghan and hit his spotkick to the keeper's right, the net bulging as Callaghan scored his first goal of the season. 1-0 up at the league leaders! A few minutes later, Briggs had the ball in the back of the net with a shot from inside the area but he was ruled to have been offside in the build-up. After 28 minutes, Tooting & Mitcham United levelled the scores when Alex Cameron scored with a remarkable scissor kick volley from 15 yards, the ball flying past Chamberlain. 1-1 at half time. After half time, Hillingdon Borough found another gear. Plant's ball forward from the back fell into Stray's path and the shadow striker kept his composure to slot past the keeper from 12 yards. 3 minutes later and it was 3-1. From a throw-in on the right, the ball was worked across the box to where inverted wingback Plant was all on his own and he clipped a shot into the far post. Keeping hold of the ball as best they could, Monster's side managed to see out the game and pick up their first win of the season. Nobody was expecting it to come against the top side in the league. It pulled Hillingdon Borough level on points with AFC Windsor but still in 20th place on goal difference. Reece Stray was named Player of the Match after his goal and 8 key passes. Monster may have a hard job keeping hold of Stray - the Hertford Town boss was in the stands to watch the midfielder in action. The fans afterwards on social media were effusive in their praise for the midfielder's performance in allowing his side to dominate. 15/10/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Holyport (H) After winning against the odds against a side fancied for promotion, Monster's side were favourites in their next game against 18th-placed Holyport. After a steady start to the match in the pouring rain in West London, Sargent's header went close in the 22nd minute, clipping the crossbar on its way over. Reece Stray gave the home side the lead just before half time with a low shot from 22 yards out. Picking it up outside the box, he had space to turn and fire home right-footed to get the goal Hillingdon Borough deserved based on their first half display. Hillingdon kept pushing second half but couldn't fashion any clear cut chances. Ellis went close with a header in the 87th minute but from the goal kick, Edmunds released substitute Stewart down the right, and his shot flew past Chamberlain at the near post to draw Holyport level. It was somewhat against the run of play but Hillingdon couldn't find a last-gasp winner, even when Holyport went down to 10 men for the final few minutes. The game ended 1-1. Monster afterwards wasn't too harsh on his players but it did feel like an opportunity missed. Still, unbeaten after the first 3 games, 5 points gained, and new players potentially on their way in - there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The shoots of recovery were definitely on display at the Middlesex Stadium in this match. 22/10/2022 - FA Vase 1st Round v Bedlington Terriers (H) Hillingdon welcomed Bedlington Terriers to the Middlesex Stadium in the first round of the FA Vase. New faces had started to appear at the club. A new chief scout had been appointed. Joel Gooden, a young left winger who had impressed on trial, signed a deal to give Sargent some competition on the left wing as well as provide cover at left back. Robbie Smith, 26 years old, also signed a deal until the end of the season to provide competition on either wing, a signing that the fans were buzzing about. On the training ground, training performances were starting to improve. During Monster's first week, the average rating had been lower than 5.00. Now the lowest in the squad was a 5.4 with a squad average of 6.49. The game was a proper cup tie, but it needed penalties to separate the two sides after a 1-1 draw. Hillingdon once again conceded a late goal meaning Monster's team are yet to keep a clean sheet since his arrival. Robbie Smith didn't play well on the right, but Joel Gooden did okay at left back. Key man Stray scored the winning penalty. 29/10/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Burnham (H) Monster arrived at the Middlesex Stadium to the news that Walton Casuals had made a bid for Reece Stray. By far and away the best player in the side, he would be a struggle to replace but clearly deserves to play at a higher level (Walton are a tier 7 side). However, Monster also had new on-loan goalkeeper Marlon Bryan available and he slotted straight into the team. Having not kept a clean sheet so far, could a change of keeper make the difference? Bryan was in on loan for the rest of the season from Frome Town. Burnham started the weekend 12th in the league with Hillingdon still bottom but a recent uptick in form had the home side as marginal favourites. Robbie Smith took a spot up front to see if that would help score goals and improve on his poor debut showing. Hillingdon opened the scoring after 26 minutes when right back Slone smashed into the top corner with his left foot from inside the area. Burnham equalised almost straight from kick off, a long ball forward finding Byrne who tucked it past Bryan. Still no clean sheet for Hillingdon. 1-1 at the break. Monster told the players that they could still win this, and they started the half on the front foot. From an early corner, McGrandles was bundled over in the area and Cian Callaghan stepped up to score his 2nd penalty of the season, high into the middle of the net. Burnham had a goal ruled out for offside, but Monster sent on a couple of subs with the team beginning to tire. After 73 minutes, after some neat play building up the pitch, Callaghan flicked the ball on to Briggs whose cross was turned in by substitute Boylan-O'Carroll for his 1st goal of the season. Despite some late pressure, Hillingdon held firm, and they picked up their first home win under Monster (both cup fixtures at home had been won on penalties). Windsor drew but Hillingdon went above them with the win and only a point away from 18th place. October 2022 Summary Monster's first month in charge had proved relatively successful. Coming into a side without a win all season, Monster's team had picked up 2 wins in the league and 2 draws as well as progressing to the next round of the FA Vase. However, star man Stray's potential transfer could prove to be an issue. If he went, who would come in to replace him? The answer may lie in the triallists, Monster continuing to offer trials to anyone with a pair of football boots available. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 4, 2022 Author Share Posted May 4, 2022 November 2022 05/11/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Egham Town (A) Another mid-table team were up next. Egham were favourites and were unbeaten in 4 matches. Stray was still at the club but centre back O'Keeffe had also been offered a contract elsewhere. Monster had also been busy, offering contracts to a couple of the triallists in the hope they would come in and make the side stronger. In the 14th minute, some neat build-up play saw Stray play Callaghan in, and the striker smashed it right-footed past the keeper from 16 yards. A minute later, Callaghan returned the favour, playing Stray through, and the shadow striker finished the move confidently, tucking it away into the far corner. After the hour mark, Hillingdon made it 3-0 when Callaghan's close control allowed him to keep the ball on the edge of the area and knock it to Smith, playing as a right winger today, whose shot found the top corner from the edge of the box. The wait for a clean sheet went on, though; Alexander headed in a corner after 82 minutes to capitalise on some pressure the home side had been building. However, the comeback never came and Hillingdon ran out 3-1 winners. Stray was instrumental again, picking up the player-of-the-match award thanks to a goal and an assist, Callaghan perhaps unlucky not to receive it after his goal and 2 assists. On returning to the dressing room, Monster was thrilled to see they had pulled out of the relegation zone, a huge boost for the players after looking dead and buried a month ago. Up to 18th and clawing back the goal difference, mid-table suddenly seemed closer. 08/11/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Virginia Water (H) A first clean sheet! A game with two late goals to put the icing on the cake. The team went into the game buoyed by the news that Reece Stray had signed a new deal, albeit another pay-per-play deal and it seemed to galvanise the defence into keeping their first clean sheet. 12/11/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Woodley United (A) The win against Virginia Water had taken Hillingdon above Woodley, and Hillingdon used that to their advantage, running out 4-2 winners. All goals came in the second half, Stray playing well to grab 2 of them. Next up were 2 games in different cups so Monster had an opportunity to rotate. 15/11/2022 - Combined Counties League Cup First Round v Wallingford Town (A) Monster made a few rotational changes for the match, the games now coming thick and fast. It didn't hold back a resurgent Hillingdon Borough who ended up 7-3 winners in an end-to-end game. Scott Ellis notched yet another freekick, his third of the month. 19/11/2022 - FA Vase 2nd Round v Kempston Rovers (H) It had taken a lot of games but Monster's luck ran out in this one. Stray, normally the heartbeat of the side, turned in a rubbish performance, and Hillingdon fell to a 1-0 defeat. A first taste of defeat for Monster when the side perhaps should have done better, registering a 2.96 XG but unable to find the back of the net. 25/11/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v CB Hounslow United (H) Thankfully only the one game this week but it was against the side top of the league in flying form. Hillingdon also lost this game 1-0. Monster had brought several strikers in on trial so may well end up with a new strike force at some point rather than relying on youth players. The goal came in the 73rd minute but Hounslow always looked in control of the game. Two consecutive 1-0 defeats at home, and Monster was facing his first tricky spell in charge, dropping to 16th in the league. 28/11/2022 - Combined Counties League Cup Second Round v Woodley United (A) Having won at Woodley 4-2 a few weeks ago, Monster was hopeful that would inspire the players to get back to winning ways. 3-1 up with an hour gone, and it looked likely but Hillingdon capitulated in the last 10 minutes to end up losing 4-3. Monster afterwards attended the press conference with a grim expression. 3 defeats on the bounce. Out of 2 cups within a short space of time. Another bid had come in for Stray. Training performances had slipped. Monster drove home from Woodley that night deep in thought as to what he could do with a crunch match against the side below them in the table coming up at the weekend. November 2022 Summary A month that started brilliantly before luck ran out resulting in a dent in morale and 2 cup exits. However, Hillingdon had escaped the relegation zone. The honeymoon period was truly over and Monster now knew what it meant to only be as good as his last game. Could he turn it around in December and stop the run of defeats? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 5, 2022 Author Share Posted May 5, 2022 December 2022 03/12/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Tadley Calleva (A) Tadley were a place below Hillingdon at the start of play. Monster kept faith with a similar team but his patience with certain performers was starting to run thin. Getting something out of this game was crucial. Hillingdon managed a 1-0 win thanks to Callaghan's early penalty. Another clean sheet. 3 points. A lack of clinical finishing was a shame but Monster's change to playing a possession-based game achieved the result, going against the board's directive to play direct football. Would that be something he could survive? Monster was hoping to convince the board that results could be achieved without needing to resort to long lumps from the back. 10/12/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Abbey Rangers (H) Disaster. Stray left the club midweek for Ware, a team top of their league in Tier 8. Since he had signed a new pay-as-you-play deal, he hadn't quite been the same superstar, coinciding with the team's dip in form. Monster would surely have to bring in someone to replace him, though. Trying to bring players in for the last few weeks had been difficult; some players citing the league position, others demanding money far outside of the club's budget. New right winger Marcus Bagger made his debut, allowing Robbie Smith to play the Stray role behind the two strikers. After a first half against the ropes, Hillingdon took the lead when Sargent nodded in Slone's back post cross. It was 2-0 when McGrandles' header came back off the bar and hit Callaghan standing on the goal line. They all count, right? A 2-0 win, another clean sheet, and 2 wins in a row boosted Hillingdon into 13th in the league, their highest position of the season. 8 points clear of the relegation zone now too. Monster was starting to feel better about life again. Now to find a Stray replacement and to bulk the squad out in a couple of areas. 17/12/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Spelthorne (A) A new striker joined the club in the last week and Monster picked him from the start. Welcome Lewis Horn-Haynes. Spelthorne were the opponents, sitting 5th in the league, in the play-off spots. However, Hillingdon took them apart in the first 20 minutes, rattling in 3 goals with no reply. Horn-Haynes, standing 154cm tall, scored a header on his debut. Don't think many of the fans predicted he'd score a header at any point, let alone for his debut goal. He also set up Callaghan to tap in. Smith, in the Stray role still, opened the scoring with a half volley. Hillingdon moved up to 11th. 3 clean sheets in a row too, although Spelthorne may have been unlucky not to have scored at all with a 2.09 XG. Bryan in goal for Hillingdon made his best performance since his arrival to keep them at bay. 31/12/2022 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v AFC Hayes (A) Some more transfer business had seen complaining fringe players depart while Monster brought in some players of his own. Leigh Ennis, a young attacking midfielder, joined the ranks, along with Rob Ludlam, a centre back. A mild first half with little goalmouth action came to life early in the second when a speculative effort from Dobrev slipped through Bryan's hands and dropped into the net. McGrandles equalised from a corner but it was Hayes who took the lead again when a speculative 30-yard effort flew past Bryan. Hayes had a man sent off and Horn-Hayes used his small stature to slip in past his marker and equalise with time running out. Neither side could find a winner and it finished 2-2. December 2022 Summary Overall, a positive month that saw the recovery from the disastrous end to November, picking up 3 wins and a draw. Star man Stray left the club but Monster couldn't begrudge him leaving for a team looking destined for Tier 7. Monster also picked up the Manager of the Month award for December. However, the board were still disappointed with the lack of direct football, despite being pleased with the results on the pitch. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 7, 2022 Author Share Posted May 7, 2022 January 2023 A short month in prospect with only 3 games scheduled. With no cup competitions to look forward to, only league games left, Monster's first aim in the new year was to add some new faces to the side by looking for youngsters with potential but with certain attributes. Tall centre backs were approached as well as midfielders who could pass and attackers who were quick. Three tall centre backs were offered contracts for £20 p/w, Monster clearly feeling the defence was the weakest part of the team, and signing youngsters allowed quantity at a far cheaper price. 10/01/2023 - Friendly v Marlow United (H) With so many triallists in, Monster decided to arrange a friendly. It ended 2-1, which although a win, wasn't convincing at times. Markus Bagger bagged a goal from the bench late on to win it. 14/01/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v AFC Croydon Athletic (H) A mid-table clash between 12th and 13th on a cool but windy afternoon in West London. The game played out like a mid-table clash too. Callaghan gave Hillingdon the lead just before half time with a neat header from a Slone cross. Monster was apoplectic when Croydon won a penalty early in the 2nd half, Ifoni looking like he had taken a dive to deceive the referee. Hollis stepped up to score from the spot. Monster pushed his side on. They thought they had their reward late on when Sargent was pushed over in the area but Callaghan's penalty was easily saved by the keeper. The game finished 1-1. Another game where Hillingdon should have won, but at least it wasn't a defeat. 21/01/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Wokingham & Emmbrook (A) This promised to be a test of their mettle against one of the sides chasing their playoffs. If Hillingdon wanted to aim for the playoffs, beating sides above them would be key to lessen the gap. This was barely a contest, Hillingdon running out comfortable 3-1 winners. 5ft striker Horn-Haynes continued to use his ability to sneak in below the eyeline of defenders, scoring twice in this game running on to through balls. McGrandles scored the other. Wokingham & Emmbrook had equalised but the pressure eventually told, keeping the ball proving to be a useful strategy. Hillingdon stay 11th but are back within a win of potentially moving up places again, 8 points outside the playoffs with 13 games to go. 28/01/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Reading City (H) Reading City in 5th were the next opponents for the final match of January. Could Hillingdon take more points off a side above them? Still no starts for the 3 defenders Monster brought in but perhaps they're destined to be players for the future. Hillingdon took the lead after 9 minutes when Robbie Smith, maligned by board and fans alike for being less than a bargain at £45 p/w, swept home at the back post following Horn-Haynes' generous square ball across the box. Horn-Haynes made it 2-0 shortly after half time, taking Smith's long pass under control and slotting into the far corner. New signing Ennis, playing the shadow striker role, scored a fantastic goal from outside the area with the game nearly at an end to make it 3-0. A comprehensive result for the home side which moves them up to 10th and within 6 points of the play-offs. January 2023 Summary A decent month overall and Hillingdon now sit in their highest position of the season in 10th. Ennis' goal in the last match was voted 3rd in the goal of the month competition. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 February 2023 04/02/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Windsor (A) With their opposition rooted to the bottom of the table, Hillingdon rocked up hoping for an easy 3 points. That may have been their downfall. Even when Windsor were reduced to 9 men, it still took a 76th minute penalty for Hillingdon to scrape a draw, 1-1. Clinical finishing is hurting this side and something Monster must note for the summer transfer window if Hillingdon are to progress. The draws are coming against sides lower than them in the league, when keeping hold of the ball might be causing some issues. However, to look at the bright side, the unbeaten run continues and Monster has only lost once in the league since arriving in September. 11/02/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Southall (H) Southall in 8th have had a decent season and harboured hopes of reaching the playoffs. Monster sent out his strongest possible team, hoping they would bounce back from the disappointment at failing to grab all 3 points the previous weekend. They didn't. A 2-0 defeat seemed harsh based on the stats but the wheels seem to have started to buckle in February so far. Still in 10th, it's by no means a disaster, but Monster has work to do. Nobody played well, no stand-out performances, and Monster looked pensive afterwards knowing there were two games against sides in the playoff spots to finish the month. 19/02/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Westside (A) In an attempt to make himself feel better, Monster asked the board during the week if it would be possible for him to start his coaching badges. The board agreed a couple of days later to fund a National C licence for him so Monster was in a good mood on arriving at the ground for the Sunday afternoon kickoff. Westside were in 5th, the spot Monster was secretly aiming for, and he was hoping for a response to kickstart February. It was exactly what he received. Everyone played well in a crushing 4-0 win, pulling Hillingdon into 9th and now within 7 points of the playoffs. Could Monster's impossible dream come true? He had only hoped to finish as high as possible when he took the job, which was mostly about avoiding relegation. Now, the playoffs were in sight. 25/02/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Edgware (H) Another test this time against the side in 2nd. Monster was hoping the bounce from the last performance would help them in this game. Callaghan was suspended so Ellis deputised up front and Slone returned at the back. Leigh Ennis scored in the 41st minute to give Hillingdon the lead, slightly against the run of play. Edgware went in at half time level, though, thanks to a goal in stoppage time. It wasn't a classic, both sides with contrasting styles of play seeming to cancel each other out. February 2023 Summary A mixed bag of a month with 2 draws, 1 defeat, and 1 win. 8th in the table, though, and still within a few points of a playoff spot, means Monster's side still have plenty to play for with 8 games remaining. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadManager Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Liking the story approach, and writing in the third person about Monster's journey certainly adds to that. Also, that's a food set of results from the position the club was in on arrival. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 10 hours ago, BadManager said: Liking the story approach, and writing in the third person about Monster's journey certainly adds to that. Also, that's a food set of results from the position the club was in on arrival. Thank you - it's something I've been wanting to try for ages. I'd written out a whole season for my Victor San Marino save but that was proving difficult to find a story angle 20 seasons in. This has been a lot of fun to put together. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 March 2023 04/03/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Thatcham Town (A) And so back to the fixture that started Monster's managerial career. It was a 2-2 draw on his debut when Hillingdon were in 20th but they were now above Thatcham in the league. In a crazy game, Ennis opened the scoring after 4 minutes when Sargent played him in and the shadow striker took his time in placing his shot into the far corner. Callaghan then tapped in after Smith's shot was saved after 12 minutes. Ramon scored for the home side with a brilliant freekick before Sargent restored the 2 goal lead with a back post volley. Ramon scored from another freekick which looped in over Bryan from the corner of the box. Ennis scored a cracker of his own with an effort from 22 yards which looped into the top corner. The 2nd half was a more solemn affair but Callaghan grabbed his 2nd of the game with a stoppage time penalty, dispatched into the top corner to make the score 5-2. An emphatic victory to continue the march up the table. Still in 8th but the gap has narrowed to 5 points with 7 games to go. Could Hillingdon sneak in? 11/03/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Tooting & Mitcham United (H) 8th v 3rd. Hillingdon had earned their first win of the season against the high-flying Tooting & Mitcham side back in October - could they complete a double? Of course they could. A 1-0 win, which once again should have been more, thanks to a 66th minute Callaghan strike from 3 yards out. Hillingdon remained in 8th but the gap to 5th was now down to 2 points. Hillingdon won't play any of the sides above them for the rest of the season, so they would be relying on the other teams dropping points. 18/03/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Holyport (A) Monster sent his side out with a more attacking mindset than normal in this match to try and press home their desire to win. It put Hillingdon off to the perfect start as Callaghan raced through to capitalise on some indecisive goalkeeping to poke home from the edge of the area. The defence had all stopped but the striker persisted and nipped in ahead of Carter to give Hillingdon the lead. After that, few clear cut chances were created. Hillingdon always had the ascendancy but a 1-0 lead is rarely comfortable. Ennis had a shot in 2nd half stoppage time come back off the post when he perhaps should have done better but in the end, Hillingdon ran out 1-0 winners for the 2nd week in a row. On reaching the dressing room, Hillingdon saw they were 5th in the table as it stood, although Westside could jump above them with a win against Windsor in the Sunday game. 19/03/2023 - Westside drew! Hillingdon had their destiny in their own hands! 25/03/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Egham Town (H) Now in a playoff spot, Hillingdon went into this game knowing they needed a win to keep their dream alive. A real tussle between the two sides saw them exchange chances without ever seizing control. Ellis scored with a freekick before half time but Egham responded immediately, although Bryan should have done better with the header at the far post. Neither side really created much outside of the goals, although both sides saw efforts come back off the crossbar. A frustrating 1-1 draw at home, which dropped Hillingdon out of the playoff spots again. March 2023 Summary It started so well but the draw in the final game felt much like a defeat. Monster knows he has to pick the side up for a final push before the transfer business sets in. There are rumours of lots of triallists due to come in over the summer so Monster can find players with certain characteristics he's looking for but will have to work with the squad he has right now. Monster finished 2nd in the Manager of the Month award after 3 wins and a draw. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 April 2023 01/04/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Burnham (A) Burnham down in 10th were the next opponents. Monster went with a higher tempo for this game to try and combat the formidable pressing style of the opponents. It started well too, Callaghan was played through the middle and confidently knocked the ball home for his 14th goal of the season. Burnham had a decent spell of pressure for the rest of the half but couldn't find the breakthrough. Hillingdon extended their lead in 2nd half stoppage time, Ellis turning home Callaghan's cross. Burnham did squeeze a goal back before the end, Johns left all on his own to wander through and poke past Bryan. The result catapulted Hillingdon up into 5th again but there was hardly any room to breathe with 4th-9th separated by 4 points. Sargent was ruled out for 3-4 weeks with a back strain meaning he could have played his final game for the club. 08/04/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Woodley United (H) Woodley went into the game bottom of the league and seemingly headed for the drop. In fact, losing this game would see them relegated. Monster wanted revenge on them after they knocked Hillingdon out of the cup earlier in the season, so relegating them would be perfect while also keeping their own playoff hopes alive. Clearly, revenge was on their minds as the home side raced into a 4-0 lead and then barely threatened after that. Callaghan scored a penalty after 3 minutes, Ennis tapped in after the keeper parried O'Keeffe's header, McGrandles scored from a corner and Gooden, playing left wing today with Sargent missing, swept in from Callaghan's cross. Woodley pulled one back before half time but couldn't mount any comeback in the second half. Revenge mission complete, Hillingdon also rose to 4th in the league. 15/04/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Virginia Water (A) Needing points to fight off a Windsor revival, Virginia Water in 18th were still in a relegation scrap. Horn-Haynes gave Hillingdon the lead in the 1st minute, played through by Callaghan's knockdown and scoring with a powerful finish from just inside the area. He doubled the lead to prove his goalscoring drought was over when he intercepted a pass out from the back, running through and using his left foot to smash Hillingdon into a 2-0 lead. After half time, Horn-Haynes played his strike partner through and Hillingdon looked to be out of sight as Callaghan finished coolly to make it 3-0. Louis Leach had other ideas, though, coming off the bench to bag a brace for Virginia Water but it wasn't enough. 3-2 to Hillingdon and Virginia Waters dropped into the bottom two. Hillingdon stayed in 4th only needing a point on the final day to guarantee a playoff spot, a quite remarkable turn around from where they were when unknown manager Monster stepped through the gates at the Middlesex Stadium in late-September last year. 23/04/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North v Tadley Calleva (H) The final game of the league season saw Hillingdon take on a side now safe from relegation. The visitors took the lead with a low strike from 25 yards, their first effort of the game following a throw in on the right hand side. Hillingdon equalised after 26 minutes when back-up left back Reuben Plant popped on the edge of the area to score left-footed after a loose ball fell to him. After half time, Leigh Ennis scored from a freekick driven in low by Smith, finding the far post with a left-footed effort. 2 minutes later, Callaghan's penalty smacked off the bar and he couldn't get to the rebound. Tadley then equalised shortly after, Mbele grabbing his 2nd of the game when played through a static Hillingdon defence. With time running out, Monster threw on substitutes but before the changes could take place, Horn-Haynes' strike thundered off the bar from 20 yards and fell to Smith to tap in from a few yards out. Hillingdon finished the season in 4th place on 63 points. Monster had picked up 61 of those as manager and turned his side into a veritable force in the league, finishing as 3rd top-scorers overall. A remarkable achievement after only scoring 4 goals after 11 games. After a 4th-placed finish, they would take on 3rd place Tooting & Mitcham away for a spot in the playoff final and a chance at Tier 8 football next season. 29/04/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North Playoff Semi Final v Tooting & Mitcham United (A) Any Hillingdon Borough fan who had stated when Jonster Monster arrived at the Middlesex Stadium last year that he could turn things around to the point they would be playing this fixture would have been laughed out of the clubhouse. However, Monster had clearly instilled some belief in the players and they launched themselves out of the traps with a goal after 1 minute, Gooden curling a left-footed freekick around the wall and into the net. Ennis scored again 3 minutes later, his powerful shot from the edge of the box bursting through the keeper's hands. Tooting & Mitcham pulled one back midway through the 1st half, McGinley's looping header dropping over Bryan and in at the far post. After half-time, Horn-Haynes pounced on a loose ball in the box to make it 3-1 after the keeper had parried O'Keeffe's header from a corner. Callaghan made it 4-1 a few moments later, scoring a diving header from 8 yards. Tooting & Mitcham didn't give up, though. McMillan seized on a loose clearance to volley home from all of 30 yards to fray a few nerves on the Hillingdon bench but Monster's boys held on and progressed to take on Edgware Town in the final. April 2023 Summary A perfect April with 5 wins propelling Hillingdon into the Playoff Final. No clean sheets but plenty of goals, and the Hillingdon Borough players had clearly taken to the idea of Monsterball. Monster took the Manager of the Month award to the delight of Director of Football Uthman Odutayo. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 11, 2022 Author Share Posted May 11, 2022 May 2023 02/05/2023 - Combined Counties League Premier Division North Playoff Final v Edgware Town (A) A playoff final. Potentially Tier 8 football next season. Edgware had had a good season, finishing 2nd in the league. Hillingdon had never beaten them, drawing once and losing once. Could they beat the odds and end up being promoted having been bottom of the table on 1st October 2022? 190 Hillingdon Borough fans made the trip to Kingsbury to find out. The first half was a cagey affair, neither side particularly creating any gilt-edged chances. In the 2nd half, as Hillingdon tired, Edgware took control and created the better of the chances. Still no breakthrough at the end of 90 minutes and Hillingdon looked dead on their feet. Monster tried to rally the troops to make it through extra time but they were so tired, they could barely make it off the pitch. The game drifted to penalties. Monster told his players to relax and pick their spots. Edgware decided to take the 1st kick and Hillingdon chose to take penalties in front of their own fans. Simpson stepped up first for Edgware and blazed his penalty over. Callaghan, the regular penalty-taker for Hillingdon, scored his to the keeper's right. Dundas found the bottom corner for Edgware's next penalty, as did Ludlam for Hillingdon. Boateng was next for Edgware but his penalty was a comfortable height for Bryan and the on-loan keeper kept it out. Ellis then made it 3-1 from the spot, tucking his penalty away with aplomb, Frampton nowhere near it. Up stepped O'Donovan. He had to score to keep Edgware in it. He took aim. Monster took a deep breath. The substitute stepped up... and missed! Bryan watched it sail over the crossbar into the Hillingdon fans. There was a moment of disbelief before the euphoria kicked in. Promoted. Back to the 8th tier for the first time since 2014/15. From bottom of the league to playoff final winners with a former brush-factory employee in charge. 2022/23 Season Review The season ended with the end of season party. Everybody was in party spirits, even if transfers have started to come through for some of the players who were looking for first team football. A chance to say goodbye to them. Only Callaghan has a contract for the following season (so far). Monster tells them all that the season will never be forgotten but there's not much chance of them being able to step up to the next level. Contracts will expire. Triallists will come in. But now was the time to celebrate. Reviewing some of the teams best matches this season, the 7-3 victory over Wallingford Town in the League Cup was voted the best. Some of the reserve players made a real impact in that game. The match to remember was Monster's first in charge, the 2-2 draw with Thatcham Town. It could be argued it was the moment that changed everything for the club. Scott Ellis' first goal in the Wallingford game was voted as goal of the season - a trademark freekick from the young forward. Cian Callaghan was the top scorer with 17 goals. Robbie Smith, maligned at times by the fans for having a high wage, made the most assists with 9. Joel Gooden, the left back, had the highest average rating with 7.27. Financially, the club were sound, and the board announced a wage budget of £2k p/w for next season. Monster promptly offered some of the younger players contracts. The team of the year was the side that won the playoff final, having been the regular side that finished the season. It finished off an unbelievable season. As Monster hung up his suit at home a few hours later, he wondered if it had all been a dream. And also if he needed a new suit, having been dowsed in champagne in celebrations. A glorious first season with a formation and playing style that had taken the league by storm. However, having been predicted to finish 19th and being promoted, Monster knew a big overhaul would be needed. The wall of shame outside the brush factory seemed a long time ago now. He was well and truly a football manager. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 12, 2022 Author Share Posted May 12, 2022 Pre-season 2023 Despite not fulfilling the board's desire to play defensive, counter-attacking, direct football, Monster's deal was extended for a further year with a pay rise to £150 p/w. He also completed his National C qualification but the board cited financial difficulties as the reason for not being able to fund the National B qualification. The Middlesex Stadium became a revolving door of triallists in the summer, Monster offering any youngsters who promised potential to come and try out as well as any free transfer recommendations. Monster's policy appeared to be for determined players with some good physical elements: height for defence and speed for attack. He also publicly stated he was after a squad of 22 players and he would rely on the youth team to make up any gaps that cropped up throughout the season. Players came in on trial demanding ridiculous appearance fees which Monster turned down. He wasn't going to the bankrupt the club. He would give youth a chance rather than pay for an expensive player demanding how to run the club and who to recruit. The summer also gave Monster a chance to see what staff he wanted to bring in to transform the club. Toby Owen became Director of Football, a huge upgrade in knowledge compared to Odutayo, and Monster tapped him up for all his knowledge of the free transfer market. Aside from that, Monster kept faith in the staff members that wanted to be there and had been part of last season's success. The pre-season fixtures were relatively successful winning 4 and drawing once. Monster tried to bed in a few alternative tactics as well, in case the 4-1-3-2 didn't work out or he couldn't find a 2nd striker to play up front with Callaghan. In came: striker/left winger Toby Andrews, centre back Rio Plant, shadow striker Jack Ward, left winger Aaron Devine, striker Iwan Bevan, and midfielder Scott Wheeler. The only notable out came 3 days before the 1st fixture - regular striker Lewis Horn-Haynes agreeing terms to play at Felixstowe & Walton United. Monster had tried to find a goalkeeper but wasn't able to find anyone in time who fitted the club's profile and was better than the youngsters already at the club. August 2023 12/08/2023 - FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round v Torridgeside (H) This was Monster's first ever taste of the FA Cup with Hillingdon having been knocked out at this stage last season before his arrival. A home game too, and a chance for the fans to meet some of the new arrivals. Martin, Plant, Wheeler, Casey, and Ward started for their debuts, as well as Anyanwu in goal having come through the club's academy system. The opposition were two tiers below and Hillingdon were strong favourites. 487 fans turned out at the Middlesex Stadium, the highest of Monster's tenure, and they were rewarded with 2 goals in the first 25 minutes. Sargent's cross from the left was nodded in at the back post by debutant Casey, sneaking in front of his marker to plant a header into the net. 3 minutes later, Ward made it 2-0, his marker getting completely under the ball, and allowing the debutant striker to bear down on goal and tuck it away. Torridgeside pulled one back after half time, a looping cross from the left finished at the back post by Holohan. There were two late red cards for second yellows. Wheeler went first for a red card on his debut but it didn't matter too much when Thomas was also dismissed a short while later. A 2-1 win for Monster's first FA Cup game and they drew Winchester City in the next round. 19/08/2023 - Isthmian League South Central Division v Staines Town (A) How would Monster's new-look team fare against the side predicted to be challenging at the top of the table? Hillingdon were the favourites to be relegated and were given a tough start with 3 away games to kick the league off in August. They conceded 2 goals in quick succession in this game. First a penalty, then a long ball forward with their striker seizing on some hesitancy in the defence to tuck home the 2nd. Callaghan scored a fantastic strike from the edge of the box just before the break to grab his 1st of the season. Staines were then down to 10 men when Okonkwo picked up his second booking. Casey scored his first league goal of the season with a lovely run and finish to draw Hillingdon level. It stung Staines into action and they regained the lead when they played a big ball over the top and found Taylor-Crossdale to stroke past Anyanwu. Staines went down to 9 men when Okoli received a straight red card but Hillingdon couldn't find an equaliser, even with a 2-man advantage. A rude awakening for Hillingdon, and work still for Monster to do. 23/08/2023 - ILSCD v Ashford Town (Middx) (A) Another away trip, this time to the side who were humiliated by CB Hounslow on the opening day of the season. Monster decided keeping the ball wasn't the most effective method, mostly because the pitches in this division were much larger. He also dropped a striker into midfield to make it a 4-2-3-1. A cagey 1st half lead to Hillingdon peppering the goal in the 2nd. Casey scored his 3rd goal in 3 games, cutting in from the corner of the box to unleash a shot which crashed in off the bar. Hillingdon doubled their lead when Ennis turned in Hutchcox's flicked header from a corner. The Hillmen saw the game out, with young keeper Munday keeping a clean sheet on his debut, to collect their first 3 points of the season. 26/08/2023 - FA Cup Preliminary Round v Winchester City (A) Monster's 2nd game in the FA Cup came away at another Tier 8 side, this time Winchester City. Monster kept faith with his 4-2-3-1, but used the possession-based mentality. It worked a treat as Hillingdon ran out 4-0 winners, left-winger Devine scoring a hattrick. Wheeler's cross from the right from deep allowed Devine to sneak in. His shot came back off the post but his momentum kept him running and he tucked away the rebound. Geddes headed in Ward's corner after 32 minutes to make it 2-0 before half time. In the 67th minute, Anyanwu's clearance was flicked on by Callaghan and Devine ran through to smash in his 2nd of the afternoon. 4 minutes later, as Monster was plotting changes, Devine scored his hattrick. Ennis played him through and the winger made no mistake from 8 yards, slotting in at the near post. A wonderful win and the opportunity to go on a cup run in the prestigious competition will certainly help the club finances. Hillingdon will play Faversham Town or Hendon in the 1st Qualifying Round. 30/08/2023 - ILSCD v Harrow Borough (A) A third consecutive away league game in a row and Hillingdon had to head to the side top of the fledgling table. Hillingdon dominated the match, but could only manage a 1-1 draw, the two sides exchanging penalties. With an XG of over 4, Monster will wonder how they didn't win, but an away draw isn't a bad result by any means for the side expected to finish bottom. August 2023 Summary What a start to life in Tier 8. 1 win, 1 draw, and that defeat on the opening day leaving Hillingdon Borough in 10th, a position they would be happy with come the end of the season. Two wins in the FA Cup as well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 September 2023 02/09/2023 - ILSCD v Walton & Hersham (H) The first home league game of the season saw Hillingdon take on a Walton & Hersham side sitting in 4th. With two fixtures a week at the moment with the FA Cup run, Monster had to rotate. Youngster Tony Johnson started in midfield, showing faith with the academy prospects when needed. Markus Bagger opened the scoring after 8 minutes with a cushioned volley into the far corner from Sargent's cross. In the 40th minute, Ennis made it 2-0, played through by Martin's through ball and lashing home from within the area. Tony Johnson scored with a penalty after 48 minutes to make it 3-0, but Walton & Hersham pulled one back when Twinn's shot crept in after clipping the post. Sargent made it 4-1 with a left-footed effort from the left side of the box, dipping in at the far post, having run on to Ennis's pass. Kelly picked up a 2nd yellow card after 79 minutes but Walton & Hersham pulled another goal back a couple of minutes later, Roberts with a low shot from the edge of the area, Anyanwu unsighted. Atangana was sent off for another 2nd yellow card and Sargent scored his 2nd of the game, running on to Johnson's pass and lashing it home. 06/09/2023 - ILSCD v Croydon (A) Hillingdon should possibly have won this game based on the XG, but it finished 1-1. Callaghan opened the scoring with a close-range finish from Ward's square pass across the 6-yard box. Kalu equalised almost immediately with a 20-yard blockbuster which flew past Munday. That was it. Anybody needing a bathroom break for those 2 minutes would have missed all of the action. A boring 1-1 draw with both teams keeping all 11 men on the pitch. 09/09/2023 - FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round v Hendon (A) Having dominated the last game, Hillingdon were dominated in this game but managed to run out 2-0 winners, scoring 2 quick goals in the 1st half, their first 2 shots on target. Bagger scored a back post header after 15 minutes and Andrews scored his 1st goal for the club 2 minutes later, running through to tuck it away. Anyanwu between the sticks made several outstanding saves (11 in total) and was named Player of the Match, a testament to Monster's faith in the youngster. Hillingdon will play a plum tie against St. Albans City of the National League South in the next round. 12/09/2023 - ILSCD v Sutton Common Rovers (H) Sutton were 18th as the game began, while Hillingdon were in 8th. Monster had to make changes after the Hendon game but it was still a decent side put out. Noah Casey scored the only goal of the game after 37 minutes, converting Sargent's low cross from the left at the back post. Playing the 4-2-3-1 seems to have made clean sheets more possible - the whole defence averaged above a 7.4 in this game. Hillingdon once again dominated the game in the stats but only had the 1 goal to show for it. A striker was in on trial but has offers from several clubs. Food for thought for Monster as to how to get a better goalscoring return from his strikeforce. 16/09/2023 - ILSCD v Hartley Wintney (A) Today's opponents hadn't had the greatest start to the season and Monster was hopeful of causing further misery. The striker on trial had signed for Merthyr Town, so it was the existing strikeforce still in place. Hillingdon started the game well, taking the lead after 21 minutes when centre back for the day Harry Nicholson stepped up to curl a beautiful freekick over the wall and into the top left corner for his first ever Hillingdon goal. Substitute Joel Gooden made it 2-0 before the break when a neat passing move saw the wingback break into the box and tuck home. However, two substitutions were required before half time as Devine and Martin were both taken off injured having suffered innocuous knocks. Monster told the players he was pleased and to keep going in the second half. Hartley Wintney pulled one back with a freekick of their own when Severs blasted home from a similar spot to Nicholson's effort. They equalised when Eshun tucked home from just inside the area on 67 minutes. They hadn't really been in the game, and Sargent had missed a sitter just before. Monster wasn't pleased and hauled Jack Ward off, sending on Clapham. With time running out, Callaghan picked the ball up about 25 yards out, controlling Casey's pass with his left foot and then launching a right-footed screamer into the top corner. Surely the winner! But no, Hartley Wintney responded yet again, Stacey knocking in from close range to pull the match level. Another point gained but it felt to Monster like 2 points lost. Hillingdon had been the better side but were still missing that clinical striker who could put chances away. 6 matches unbeaten, though - Monster couldn't be too downhearted. Devine and Martin would be missing for several weeks each, which could potentially stretch the squad to its maximum. 23/09/2023 - FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round v St. Albans City (A) This was Monster's first opportunity to send his side out against a team at a higher level, coming up against Tier 6 side St. Albans City in the FA Cup. The scouts had come back to say St. Albans would be a side who have a lot of the ball and so it proved. Monster set up his side to try and retain the ball but the difference in class showed throughout. It did take until the 73rd minute for St. Albans to find the breakthrough but nobody could argue it wasn't deserved. Monster was philosophical after the game, telling the press conference that success was never on the cards and the club has to aspire to be at St. Albans' level in the future. An FA Cup exit but a decent run for The Hillmen to make it this far. 26/09/2023 - ILSCD v Merstham (H) Hillingdon's opponents had made a good start to the season, sitting in 3rd at the start of play. With Merstham's gegenpressing style, Monster made sure to tell the team to play at their quickest tempo; dallying on the ball could lead to losing possession. He also reverted back to the 4-1-3-2 formation in the hope it could inspire the strikers to start scoring, Ward partnering Callaghan up front. Merstham were down to 10 men in the 21st minute but took their lead when Henry nodded in from the edge of the 6-yard box. Ward equalised with a fantastic low strike from outside the box, the ball clipping the post to nestle into the back of the net. Hillingdon had been on top and deserved to go in level. Slone went off injured, though, on the stroke of half time with Bagger having to come on play right back. Merstham took the lead again after half time when Walters scored a freekick. Plant nodded in a corner just after the hour mark to make it 2-2 and Casey converted Ward's crossfield pass, an effort the Merstham keeper allowed to sneak under him at the near post. Hillingdon couldn't hold on, though. Merstham equalised shortly after when Cook headed in a cross from the right, despite the close attendance of several players. Neither side could find a winner and so it ended 3-3. Slone's injury would keep him out for a few weeks, another twisted ankle, leaving Monster with no right backs to call on for the next match. 30/09/2023 - FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round v Ashford Town (Middx) (H) A familiar foe, having played them away a few weeks ago. Monster's team saw Nicholson slot in at right back, and also the inverted wingbacks change to full backs to offer a little more width rather than cutting in the whole time. What unfolded was a remarkable game of football. Ward opened the scoring in the 5th minute, looping his shot from the edge of the area over Izquierdo. Callaghan had a goal ruled out a few moments later for straying offside but Ashford equalised when a lung-busting run from Coles down the right hand side led to a brilliant cross turned in at the back post by Ihionvien. Plant should have done better, somehow getting underneath the ball, giving the striker an easy chance to finish. Clapham, playing in a deeper midfield role in this game, launched a ball forward from the centre circle on to Ward's toe. The shadow striker tried to create an angle but had to pull the ball back in the end to Sargent, who cushioned a volley into the top right corner. Hutchcox scored in the 25th minute to make it 3-1, nodding in Casey's whipped corner from the left. Ward scored again before half time when Nicholson's cross from the right was nodded away but straight to the feet of the shadow striker, who took a couple of touches before unleashing a thunderbolt, not too dissimilar to Callaghan's effort in the last game. 4-1 at the break and Monster told his side to play without pressure for the second half. It seemed to be working until Monster made a couple of changes. Almost immediately, a long throughball aimed for Coles should have been cut out by Hutchcox, but his slide tackle only knocked it through for the striker to square for Deakin unmarked at the back post to prod home. 4-2. Game on. Clapham in his deeper role played a gorgeous pass into Casey's path in the 84th minute, and the right winger couldn't miss from inside the area, his shot clipping in off the post. 5 minutes later, a lovely one-two between Dawes and Sargent on the left saw the winger smack the ball across goal to the opposite winger, Casey needing two bites of the cherry to tuck the ball in. 6-2 now. Ashford managed another consolation before the end, Anyanwu somehow letting a tame effort from 30 yards squirm under him but the damage had already been done. 6-3 the final score at the Middlesex Stadium against a side above them in the league, and Hillingdon progressed to the next round. Ward was the player of the match after his two goals but the hunt for the strikers to score goes on. September 2023 Summary A busy September found Hillingdon sitting in 10th in the league after 2 wins and 3 draws. A narrow FA Cup defeat to a side 2 tiers above them wasn't too distracting, and a barnstorming game in the FA Trophy saw them through to the next round. Noah Casey was named Young Player of the Month in the league after 2 goals and 2 assists in his 4 games. Monster's side are still finding their feet in the league, but with an extremely young side that was always to be expected. Only one player in the FA Trophy game was over the age of 20. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 October 2023 07/10/2023 - ILSCD v Basingstoke Town (A) Basingstoke were 16th in the league, not having had the greatest of starts having been tipped to be mid-table. Monster set his side up to maintain possession and rotated the strikers so Bevan started up front with Callaghan in a pressing forward role. A new striker had signed on a work experience loan from Dagenham & Redbridge, much to the consternation of the fans who couldn't understand why a youth player from another team had been brought in. Seamus Madine didn't start, though, and wasn't even on the bench. It didn't seem to have any effect in the first half when Froggatt curled in a freekick and Bowen added a second a few minutes later with a sumptuous effort from the edge of the area which flew past Anyanwu into the top corner. Monster told the team to keep believing in themselves and it seemed to have an impact, Casey pulling one back shortly after half time when he nodded in at the back post from Gooden's deep cross. Bevan equalised after 57 minutes when Martin's through ball sent the striker clear and he finished neatly from a few yards out. The turn-around was complete when Sargent was tripped in the area and Callaghan sent the spot kick low to the keeper's right in the 67th minute. Basingstoke had a few chances towards the end, but Hillingdon were awarded another penalty when Sessegnon handled a cross and Callaghan stepped up again to smash the penalty into the top right corner. A 4-2 victory. 3 goals from strikers, albeit 2 were penalties. Ward didn't have a good game, having shone in the previous few, but Monster couldn't help but be pleased with the outcome, catapulting his side into 7th. 14/10/2023 - FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round v Eastbourne Town (A) Another tricky cup tie away to Isthmian League South East Division side, Eastbourne Town, currently 2nd in their division. Eastbourne took the lead after 4 minutes when Attwood wandered through and finished confidently past Anyanwu. They extended their lead before half time when El-Moyhalbel's shot from 25 yards trickled in. Ward grabbed a goal back before the break when Sargent's cross wasn't dealt with by the Eastbourne defence, allowing the ball to bounce for the striker to sweep home from inside the 6-yard box. Monster's patience was starting to wear thin, having come in to the dressing room at half time having conceded 2 goals in the first half for the 2nd consecutive game. Goal machine Casey equalised in the 47th minute, played through by Ward and the winger ran through to smash Hillingdon level. It all started to unravel when Ward came off injured in the 83rd minute and Plant picked up a 2nd yellow card in stoppage time, to leave the Hillmen facing extra time with only 9 men. In the end, the game was decided by penalties, Eastbourne prevailing 11-10 after Hutchcox and Martin missed their 2nd penalties. Monster couldn't fault the effort. So close and yet so far. Only the Isthmian League Cup now remains. 17/10/2023 - ILSCD v Westfield (H) A mid-table clash was next only a few days later against a high-pressing Westfield side. The pressing didn't work in the first 12 minutes, though, as Hillingdon raced into a 3-0 lead. Callaghan scored another penalty after 9 minutes when Casey was sent tumbling in the area, despatching this one low to the keeper's left. Ennis scored an incredible goal 2 minutes later. Playing in the shadow striker role, he picked up a loose header inside his own half and stormed forward before looping the ball over the visiting keeper. A fantastic run and finish to double the lead. Sargent made it 3-0 a minute later when he ran on to Callaghan's through ball and slammed the ball in at the near post. Ennis had a 2nd goal before half time when he leathered Callaghan's knockdown into the net from 22 yards on the half volley. Westfield were shell-shocked but did scrape a goal before half time when Andrew's shot beat Anyanwu at the near post from the edge of the area. The first half probably couldn't have gone any better. Westfield were much improved after half time, dominating the 2nd 45 minutes with wave after wave of relentless pressure against a tiring Hillingdon side. Substitute Kader scored twice near the end but Hillingdon managed to hold on to escape 4-3. Sargent went off in stoppage time with yet another twisted ankle - the 3rd in the last few weeks. The resulted catapulted Hillingdon up to 5th after 10 games. Monster refused to become too excited when asked about a playoff push, though, citing it was far too early in the season and there was still a lot of football to be played. The brush factory team had had a promotion bounce before. It doesn't always lead to continuous success and with the way they had defended recently, a dip could only be a game away. 21/10/2023 - ILSCD v Beaconsfield Town (H) A 2nd consecutive home game against a mid-table side saw Hillingdon take on Beaconsfield. Monster reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 system he had trialled earlier in the season in an attempt to keep a clean sheet against a side that play fluid counter-attacking football. Andrews, useless as a striker so far, started on the left wing and key man Casey was left out due to low fitness, so Bagger started on the right. Bevan started up front after moaning he hadn't been playing enough, Monster kind enough to let him sink or swim. After 9 minutes, Andrews nodded in Martin's back-post cross to give Hillingdon the lead. Bevan then scored after 35 minutes to double the lead. Chasing after Martin's chipped through ball, he managed to poke home from close range to reward Monster's decision to start him. The game became an attritional battle after half time, not helped by Clapham picking up 2 yellow cards in the space of 15 minutes. However, Hillingdon repelled anything Beaconsfield could throw at them and Monster's faith in Anyanwu was rewarded with a first clean sheet since the win over Sutton Common Rovers on 12th September. Monster made the decision after the game to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation moving forwards, only adjusting the side's tempo to counteract the opposition. 25/10/2023 - Isthmian League Cup 1st Round v Hartley Wintney (A) A 3-3 draw was the result between the two sides just over a month ago on the same ground but could Monster's 4-2-3-1 give his side an advantage this time around? Hartley Wintney were heavy favourites for the tie despite being below Hillingdon in the league table. Monster took a cautious approach and it seemed to pay off. Toby Andrews continued his renaissance as a left winger, knocking home from Johnson's ball across the box after 11 minutes and Callaghan doubled the lead early in the second half with a goal from open play, taking the ball into the box and finishing via the right-hand post. Hartley Wintney were rarely a threat and it appeared to be an accomplished performance with the settled formation to complete consecutive 2-0 wins. 28/10/2023 - ILSCD v Ascot United (A) Ascot began the game 19th in the table, having lost their last 3 matches but were still pre-match favourites. Monster had to rotate again with the side struggling for fitness after the mid-week cup game. A match against a side in the relegation zone seemed ideal but Monster toned the mentality down to cautious again with many of the back-ups starting. In a cagey first half, Ascot took the lead when a cross from the left wing was nodded home with a flicked header past Anyanwu by Edwards. Monster wasn't impressed with the efforts on display and Hillingdon were much improved after the break. Bevan was shoved over in the box while contesting a Bagger free kick and the striker, in for the tired Callaghan, stepped up to score low to the keeper's left. Hillingdon continued to put the goal under pressure, and Ascot eventually cracked in injury time, Casey's whipped cross from the right nodded home by Bevan. Monster had criticised Bevan's training performance leading up to the game and the striker clearly wanted to prove a point. A 2-1 win and no mid-week fixture to look forward to was the perfect end to a busy October. October 2023 Summary 4 league wins out of 4. The FA Trophy defeat was the only blot on the copybook. The 4-2-3-1 formation seemed to be working best with the players available. Hillingdon finish the month 3rd in the league and only 2 points off the top. A great month in charge but the board were still unhappy with the lack of direct football on display. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) November 2023 04/11/2023 - ILSCD v Hanwell Town (H) Hanwell were without a win in their last 5 games and were 11th in the table. Monster named Martin at centre back alongside Plant, Slone dropping in at right back. Callaghan was back up front. This game was decided by 3 goals from free kicks. Hillingdon scored twice in the first half thanks to centre back headers from Gooden free kicks swung in from wide on the right. Martin scored after 8 minutes and Plant doubled the lead after 32. Hanwell always carried a threat and set up a nervy finish when Paul scored a header of his own to make it 2-1. The match was fairly even but Hillingdon had more chances. Rio Plant was named player of the match after a solid defensive performance plus his goal. 5 straight league wins for the Hillmen and it took them to the top of the league with other results going their way, resulting in huge cheers from the clubhouse when they saw the league table updated afterwards. 11/11/2023 - ILSCD v Chalfont St. Peter (A) A game against the side rock bottom of the league seemed like the perfect game to break the club winning run record. Having won 5 league games on the spin, a win today would give them a record 6th win. Monster kept faith with most of the team that won against Hanwell, Andrews replacing Devine on the left wing. Callaghan scored within the 1st 30 seconds of the game, hammering home from outside the area having picked up Johnson's takedown. Chalfont St. Peter equalised when Casey lost the ball on the halfway line and a direct ball down the centre of the Hillingdon defence allowed Francis to run through and score. The bottom side were awarded a penalty before the half hour mark when Plant pushed McDonnell over in the area contesting a cross, and Wright managed to find the corner. Monster wasn't pleased. Chalfont St. Peter had played much better than expected with no sign of being intimidated and creating the far better chances. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Hillingdon were awarded a penalty when a deep cross from the right saw Salt shove Callaghan over in the area. The young Irishman stepped up and sent Roberts the wrong way to equalise. With time running out, Callaghan was on hand to nod home a winner on 86 minutes when Martin's looping cross from the right landed on the forward's head. A bizarre game where Hillingdon weren't at their best but still managed to scrape the 3 points together, largely thanks to Callaghan's hattrick, taking him joint top of the league goalscoring charts. 18/11/2023 - ILSCD v Chipstead (H) 1st v 2nd. A top of the table clash where the winner would be guaranteed top spot. Chipstead play quick tempo football, and Monster knew he would have to set his team up to match that. In what turned out to be a cagey first half, Chipstead took the lead when Anderson rose highest at the back post to nod in a corner from the right. Hillingdon barely managed to get forward and Monster was critical of them at half time, tweaking the tactic to play a little more direct and tucking the fullbacks in to add numbers into the attacks. Maybe the board were on to something. Ward was back after his injury and made an impact within 10 minutes of the restart, running with the ball to near the corner flag and firing a cross in which bounced kindly for Devine to sweep home at the back post. Gooden gave Hillingdon the lead after 73 minutes, playing tucked much further inside, allowing him to smash home left footed from the edge of the box. In the 77th minute, Plant was adjudged to have pushed somebody over in the area but Holland could only hit the post from 12 yards. Gooden's goal looked to be the winner until a throw-in on the right was played back to Holmes who had been left unmarked, and his cross sailed over everybody to the back post for Miller-Neave to nod in from 6 yards out. Heartbreak for Hillingdon. They hadn't been the best team but Chipstead had rarely threatened. From kick-off, Clapham played a long ball forward that Callaghan couldn't latch on to, the ball running through to Shaw. His long kick downfield was missed by Hutchcox allowing substitute Dandy to race through and give Chipstead the lead. Monster couldn't believe it. However, his side were able to respond, winning a corner past the allotted time, and Hutchcox made amends by flicking the ball across goal for Callaghan to nod home from a couple of yards out. 3-3 it finished, Hillingdon staying top for now. Ward with 2 assists took the player of the match award - great to have him back in the side. Casey had a poor game on the right, meaning Bagger may start the next match. Scott Wheeler was also not at his best in midfield, his form also recently having tailed off. 21/11/2023 - Isthmian League Cup 2nd Round v Cray Valley Paper Mills (A) A return to cup action and Hillingdon travelled to Badgers Sport Ground in London to take on the side top of Isthmian League South East Division. Monster had to make changes, particularly in defence to keep his players fresh and those changes meant the side were more cautious in their approach. Asa Hutchcox scored after 23 minutes, flicking his header into the top corner from Dawes' corner. Cray Valley Paper Mills were level after half time when Martin failed to track Auvinen's run and the left winger ran through to tuck it past Anyanwu at his near post. Hillingdon couldn't get near the goal until late on, a late burst seeing them snatch 2 late goals. Hutchcox grabbed his 2nd with another header; Dawes' freekick was met by Johnson and Hutchcox was there to knock the ball home. Scott Wheeler, playing in a box-to-box midfield role to try to get the best out of him after some poor recent form, was credited with the 3rd goal when Geddes' shot was blocked by a defender and rebounded into the net off Wheeler's shins. A convincing win. Eventually. 25/11/2023 - ILSCD v Bedfont Sports (H) Back to the rigours of the league, Hillingdon took on Bedfont Sports, struggling near the bottom. The plague of twisted ankles seemed to have ended and Monster was able to name a strong team. Bedfont were fans of counter attacks so Monster wanted to put the pressure on early and the team responded, notching 4 times in the opening 20 minutes. Martin's run into the box saw him square it to Callaghan after 3 minutes, and the leading goalscorer made it 12 league goals for the season from close range. Martin grabbed another assist 2 minutes later, his pass across the box converted by Andrews at the back post this time, who has seemed far more effective as a winger than he ever did as a forward. Casey made it 3-0 after 15 minutes, running on to Ward's through ball to take it round Pierson and slide it into an empty net from an acute angle. Madine scored his first goal since arriving on loan when he tucked home Martin's free kick which had come back off the crossbar. With the game seemingly over, Hillingdon switched off, and Bedfont seized their chance. Nzembela managed to escape Gooden's clutches on the right as the game neared half time, playing a great ball over the top for Turkson to race through and smash past Anyanwu. After the flurry of 1st half goals, nothing really happened in the 2nd half until the 80th minute. With Hillingdon beginning to tire, Lemon was unmarked at the back post and was able to fire home to make it 4-2. The nerves began jangling when Plant was adjudged to have pushed Collins as a corner was floated in. Anyanwu saved Chidyausiku's penalty but the rebound fell kindly for the taker and he smashed home to make it 4-3. Hillingdon managed to hold on to make it 15 matches unbeaten - the 1st day loss to Staines, who had moved up to 2nd in the table, their only defeat so far. Martin was the player of the match with his 2 assists and the only player not to average above a 7.0 was Wheeler. Another 3 goals conceded at home was a worrying sight for Monster, though. The 4-2-3-1 doesn't seem to have helped rack up any clean sheets in the past few weeks. November 2023 Review An excellent month which saw Monster named as Manager of the Month with 4 wins and a draw. Still room for improvement with the defence looking shaky. Having reviewed the data, Anyanwu may need to be replaced if the team fail to score more than the opposition for a sustained period of time. Beating another side top of their league at the same level away from home was a satisfying outcome in the League Cup. A new signing will be available in December with Lukasz Gostomski arriving on a free transfer to provide competition for the midfield places. Edited May 15, 2022 by TheJonsterMonster 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 December 2023 02/12/2023 - ILSCD v CB Hounslow (A) The champions in the same division as Hillingdon last season started the day in 4th. With life in Tier 8 treating both teams well, Monster dropped the tempo to measure up to the control possession philosophy CB Hounslow tended to favour. Gostomski went straight in as the deep-lying playmaker with Wheeler shifting into the box-to-box midfielder role. After 13 minutes, Andrews was shown a straight red card after an appalling challenge from behind on the halfway line, which left Monster questioning the mentality of a player who hasn't exactly set the world alight after his summer arrival. After that, Hillingdon went into their shell, although still had the better of the match. Both sides exchanged headed chances but Wheeler's effort from the edge of the area which was tipped around the post was the closest either side came. It finished 0-0, which after going down to 10 men against a side known for keeping the ball, was a satisfactory result. Anyanwu was named player of the match and it was a rare clean sheet to boot. 05/12/2023 - Isthmian League Cup 3rd Round v Canvey Island (H) Coming up against a mid-table side in a different eague, Monster saw the opportunity to experiment and rotated the side. Canvey clearly set their stall out to defend and play for penalties. Hillingdon tried to find a breakthrough but found the Canvey Island keeper in inspired form. A 2nd consecutive 0-0 draw but as it was in the cup, the match went to penalties. In the end, centre back Ruggiero was the hero, scoring the winning penalty but Anyanwu was also instrumental, saving 3 penalties in the 5-4 win. 09/12/2023 - ILSCD v Carshalton Athletic (H) Could Hillingdon score a goal in this game having drawn blanks in their last 2? Monster tweaked a couple of tactical features - playing wider and changing Callaghan's role up front to be a poacher, his preferred role. It didn't start well, though, for Hillingdon when Toure's long ball out from the back sailed over the defence for Muwonge to run on to and smash past Anyanwu from just inside the area. However, Hillingdon did hit back before the break, Devine latching on to a perfect through pass from Callaghan to give himself some room before finishing in the bottom corner. Josh Martin scored before the break with a blockbuster from the edge of the area to make it 2-1. 2 minutes after the break, Callaghan made it 3-1 with a cushioned finish from Casey's low cross. It completed a brilliant game for the forward who was named player of the match with 2 assists as well as the goal. Carshalton did have the better of the chances in the 2nd half but only had 2 shots in target in the end. Another game down and the only side to have beaten Hillingdon so far this season were Staines Town, the next opponents. 16/12/2023 - ILSCD v Staines Town (H) 1st v 2nd. Staines the only side so far to beat Hillingdon in the league. Monster was out for revenge. Staines were heavily fancied but Monster put faith in his team. Staines were reduced to 10 men after only 3 minutes following Ahmetaj's reckless two-footed lunge. Hillingdon promptly took control of the game, peppering the Staines goal. However, they couldn't find a breakthrough and the sucker punch came 2 minutes before the end when Tibble's long kick downfield was misjudged by Hutchcox and Hajgato slipped the ball past Anyanwu to complete a perfect smash-and-grab. Staines completed the double over Hillingdon but Monster's team remained top of the league on goal difference despite their first defeat in 17 games. 23/12/2023 - ILSCD v Chertsey Town (A) Chertsey were the only side Hillingdon hadn't faced so far and were in mid-table going into the game. Monster wanted to at least score some goals in this game, debating whether to go back to the 4-1-3-2 which had proved fruitful earlier in the season but with Callaghan suspended, he decided it was worth a shot. They started well, Devine giving Hillingdon the lead with the first proper chance of the game. Some tidy passing across the pitch saw them work it out to Clapham, whose cross from deep landed on the head of Devine at the far post, his header looping over the keeper and into the net. The left winger doubled the lead on 20 minutes when Gooden's effort was spilled by Hare and Devine followed it in to blast home. Hillingdon always had Chertsey at arms' length and they made it 3-0 shortly after half time when Ward pounced 10 yards out to convert Devine's low ball in from the left. Monster tweaked things to make sure possession was maintained and Chertsey were never able to find a way through. Devine's brace and assist saw him take the player of the match award and Hillingdon were delighted to find their lead at the top going into the Christmas period had extended to 2 points, Staines drawing at home to Ashford. 30/12/2023 - ILSCD v Ashford Town (Middx) (H) Ashford were in and around the playoff spots and Monster was interested in seeing how their goalkeeper, Izquierdo, would play, having sent scouts to watch him as the keeper for the division's media dream eleven. Monster reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 for this match, preferring the numbers in midfield against a side that like to park the bus. Hillingdon were caught out early in the game, Ihionvien racing through to score past Anyanwu after 10 minutes. Monster responded by encouraging the players to work the ball into the box more as well as directing play down the flanks. Hillingdon equalised in the 30th minute following the breakdown from a corner. Gostomski was able to retrieve the ball and aim a cross to the back post where Callaghan was lurking to guide his header back across goal, beyond the despairing reach of Izquierdo. Monster wasn't impressed with how his players had performed during the first half and was looking for them to kick on in the second. They fashioned plenty of chances but Ashford shut up shop even further when Hill was dismissed after 56 minutes for a second yellow card. The game petered out into a 1-1 draw despite Hillingdon dominating the match stats. The manager's response was to step up his search for another forward. Summer signing Bevan had recently had a meltdown in Monster's office over his lack of playing time as well as feeling he was being picked on for continuous poor training performances, prompting the former brush-factory worker to tell the young forward to find himself a transfer. His departure would certainly leave the side short up front, with Callaghan the only leading striking option. December 2023 Review A mixed month with the first league defeat since August as well as a couple of frustrating draws. However, Hillingdon still sit at the top of the league with a 3 point lead going into the new year. Monster hoped he could find a striker capable of firing them towards Tier 7 but for the most part, the summer signings had bedded in and looked to be combining well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 17, 2022 Author Share Posted May 17, 2022 January 2024 02/01/2024 - new transfer Monster had a spring in his step as he watched the car pull up at the Middlesex Stadium and out stepped Bradley Ihionvien, the young Ashford Town player who had scored against the side twice this season, in the last game as well as the cup fixture earlier in the season. He signed a deal to become the club's highest paid player and Monster was thrilled to have his man. Josh Martin was entrusted to welcome the young forward to the club. 07/01/2024 - ILSCD v Sutton Common Rovers (A) The buzz around the club concerned whether Ihionvien would make his debut. Surely a game against Sutton Common Rovers in 15th would be the perfect opportunity. Monster reverted back to the 4-1-3-2 formation and Ihionvien was installed up front alongside Callaghan. The two forwards combined in the 13th minute; Callaghan's deep freekick was turned into the net by the new signing for a debut goal. Sutton Common rarely threatened but went in at half time level when Gooden flattened one of their players as a corner was swung in, and Mpenga equalised from the penalty spot. Hillingdon threw everything at Sutton Common in the 2nd half and earned their reward when Hutchcox connected with an Andrews corner and the ball dropped in at the far post. Hutchcox had another head come back off the bar a few minutes later but Callaghan wasn't able to turn it in. Sutton Common did their best to put some late pressure on, going close with a couple of efforts towards the end, but the Hillingdon defence held firm to come away with a 2-1 win. 13/01/2024 - ILSCD v Harrow Borough (H) A complete write off. A horrible game where nothing went right. Monster lost his temper at half time when the side came in having given away 3 goals. A penalty, a player unmarked from a freekick, and an overload on the right saw Harrow Borough score with 3 of their first 4 chances. Andrews went off injured after 5 minutes. Gostomski was sent off for a wild challenge when the team were already 3-0 down. Hutchcox went off injured in the 2nd half too. Glorious golden chances to get back into the match were wasted. The 2nd half saw an improvement with 10 men but still they couldn't find a way through. Monster's fury at full time had turned into silent, seething rage. He hadn't ever felt this low during his spell in charge so far. It was the heaviest defeat on his watch and he let the players know that if they were to ever be in with a realistic chance of promotion, performances like this one would have to become a thing of the past. 21/01/2024 - ILSCD v Walton & Hersham (A) Could the team respond? Could they bounce back and prove last week was a one-off? Hillingdon put 5 past Walton & Hersham in their last meeting. Monster was hoping for something similar to banish the pathetic efforts of the previous week. Casey opened the scoring after 10 minutes, hooking in a corner that was allowed to bounce in the area. Devine then doubled the lead, converting Ward's pullback from 8 yards. A free kick from wide on the left was converted by Roberts for Walton & Hersham to pull a goal back before half time but Devine added his 2nd goal within a couple of minutes, stroking home right footed from the edge of the area after the team had constructed a neat passing move. The game looked to be done and dusted but on 86 minutes, Fiddes volleyed home at the back post to set up another nervous finish. Anyanwu and co. held firm allowing Hillingdon to take the 3 points and move back to the top of the league. Ward claimed a hattrick of assists and was rightfully awarded the player of the match award. 24/01/2024 - Isthmian League Cup 4th Round v Needham Market (A) The league cup adventure continued away at Bloomfields against the side 10th in the Isthmian League North Division. Monster promised to rotate the side again, only Martin and Ihionvien retaining their places. Even Anyanwu was rested, youth keeper Dickie Munday coming in. Needham Market had the early momentum but it was Hillingdon who took the lead after 34 minutes; Bagger's cross from the right found Sargent at the back post, and his header looped in over the goalkeeper. Monster encouraged the team to keep going and Leigh Ennis, in the shadow striker role, turned in Sargent's low cross from the left to double Hillingdon's lead after 64 minutes. In the 69th minute, Ingram tripped Martin on the edge of the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Declan O'Neill, in as the deep-lying playmaker for the day, stepped up and fired it low to the keeper's right. Hillingdon scored again before the end, Ennis with the through ball for Ihionvien to run on and fire low and left-footed. The rotated side had dominated the stats and made light work of a game that was supposed to have been far trickier than it turned out. The defeat against Harrow Borough already seemed like a dim and distant memory. 27/01/2024 - ILSCD v Croydon (H) Back to league action and Monster's team were up against 13th placed Croydon who feature a catenaccio style of play. Monster decided to maintain possession as a result. In a tepid opening 45 minutes, Noah Casey sprang the offside trap, running on to Ihionvien's flick-on and dinking the ball over the keeper. Hillingdon doubled their lead 2 minutes after the break when a goalmouth scramble ensued from a free kick. Plant's header was palmed out by Gill, Callaghan's effort was blocked but Ihionvien was on hand to poke the ball home. Monster wanted the team to kick on and rack up a convincing scoreline but it was Croydon who scored next, Oyeniran released on a counter attack to lash the ball past Anyanwu from the edge of the area. Suddenly the game was in the balance, despite having a huge lead in XG terms. Steve Hill, deputising at the back with Hutchcox out injured, was caught hopelessly out of position and Bryan sneaked in to smash home an equaliser. Monster watched on in disbelief. 2 goals from nothing and it was looking to be 2 points lost. The goal that settled the game has to go down as one of the worst goals ever conceded. Gooden had the ball wide on the left and drilled over an optimistic cross beyond the reach of everyone in the middle. However, Buffonge turned into a buffoon, somehow managing to clear the ball first against the post and then the rebound deflected into the net off his forehead. Poor Croydon couldn't recover and Hillingdon escaped with a deserved victory based on the stats but looked much worse after 83 minutes before Buffonge's comedy clearance off his own face. January 2024 Review It's official. It's a title race. Hillingdon recovered well from the Harrow Borough disappointment and remain top of the league on goal difference, although Staines will look to capitalise on any other dropped points. New signing Ihionvien seems to have settled in well and the team have reached the quarter finals of the league cup. All in all, a positive January. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 18, 2022 Author Share Posted May 18, 2022 February 2024 03/02/2024 - ILSCD v Merstham (A) 3rd v 1st. Merstham were having an excellent season, although chasing Staines and Hillingdon above them. Monster set the team up to maintain possession again, hoping to beat Merstham at their own game. It didn't work in the first half, Hillingdon returning to the dressing room 2-0 down. Two balls down the middle did the damage, both finding Kawa to tuck the chances away. After 54 minutes, Sargent scored from Ihionvien's knockdown, a left-footed volley floating in at the far post. Merstham responded when they hit Hillingdon on the break. Woollard-Innocent's long ball over the top allowed Kawa to run through and score his hattrick of composed finishes. After 68 minutes, some good work down the left allowed Gooden and Sargent to combine to play in Ward who stroked home from 6 yards out. Hillingdon equalised on the counter attack in the 80th minute. Andrews, on as a substitute, created enough of a distraction from Ihionvien's crossfield pass to allow Sargent in, and the winger's effort was powerful enough to beat Hammond, who with a stronger hand would have kept it out. In the 87th minute, Sargent burst into the box on the left hand side and was sent tumbling by a loose challenge by Lloyd. Sargent picked himself to take the penalty, desperate for a hattrick. Could Hillingdon take an unlikely victory away at the 3rd placed team in the league? Sargent scuffed his penalty but it trickled in, low to the keeper's left. Hillingdon saw the game out and were buoyant in the dressing room afterwards until they saw Staines had taken top spot on goal difference. 10/02/2024 - ILSCD v Hartley Wintney (H) After seeing Staines take top spot on goal difference, Monster saw the perfect opportunity to score some goals against 17th placed Hartley Wintney, struggling in the relegation mire. Casey was shoved over in the area contesting a cross from the left in the 2nd minute and Callaghan stepped up to fire into the bottom left corner. In the 34th minute, Gooden swung in a cross from the right towards the back post following the breakdown from a free kick and Ihionvien continued his impressive start by planting a header past Pitman. Monster wanted more of the same after half time but it took until the 75th minute to score again, Sargent played in by a fantastic pass by Ward and the left winger continued his red hot form with a low shot into the bottom right corner. In the 80th minute it was 4-0. Some neat passing on the edge of the Hartley Wintney area saw Ward exchange passes with Slone and the wingback played in Casey who took a touch before launching the ball into the top left corner with a powerful finish. Exactly what Monster had ordered. A convincing win that demonstrated Hillingdon's title credentials and this week it was Staines' turn to be disappointed as Hillingdon returned to the top on goal difference. Gostomski was named player of the match following an imperious display spraying the ball around the park. 17/02/2024 - ILSCD v Westfield (A) One of the trickier games left on paper, Westfield had slipped down the league after a good start, starting the day in 8th place. Plenty of pace up front, Monster knew they had the potential to trouble his Hillingdon side. Hillingdon took the lead in the 33rd minute with Sargent continuing his purple form with a first-time finish from Casey's low cross from the right. Westfield equalised after 70 minutes when a throw-in routine from the left was worked across the box, Butler heading it back into the mixer for Simpson to tuck away at the near post. Westfield had the better chances, but a draw was probably a fair result overall. Staines did win, though, their 7th straight win in the league; Hillingdon have slipped 2 points behind them with 10 games left. 24/02/2024 - ILSCD v Basingstoke Town (H) 2nd v 8th. Monster was counting down the games, heartened by Staines having arguably the trickier run in and this was one of Hillingdon's trickier ones left. A tepid first half ended with Bowen heading in Dhillon's corner to give the visitors the lead. Monster demanded an improved performance after half time and was rewarded with an early penalty, the referee spotting something taking place at a corner. Callaghan hit the penalty low to the keeper's right and grabbed the equaliser. Both sides had chances but a clearance by Slone at the back was knocked on by Callaghan and Ihionvien was able to run through and clip the ball into the far corner with his left foot. Not a convincing win but a win all the same and Staines drew away at Chertsey meaning Hillingdon took the lead in the title race yet again. 28/02/2024 - Isthmian League Cup Quarter Final v Phoenix Sports (A) Having rotated for previous rounds, Monster clearly wanted cup progression with hardly any changes made for this match against 15th in the South East Division. Encouraging the team to keep going with their run, he also didn't up the tempo against a high-pressing gegenpressing outfit, a clear change in philosophy. Monsterball swang into full effect in the opening stages of the game, killing off the game with two quickfire strikes from Jack Ward. The first effort was guided in from the edge of the area with the outside of his right foot. The second saw Ward pick the ball up 30 yards out from Ihionvien's knockdown and stride forward to break into the area and finish low past the keeper. Scutt pulled one back in the dying embers of the game to make it a nervous final few seconds but it was a consolation; Hillingdon were through to the semi final, Ward taking the plaudits. February 2024 Review Another consistent month with only 2 points dropped away at Westfield. David Sargent was named player of the month in the league after some fantastic recent performances. Monster thought back to the end of the previous February where the side were battling for a playoff spot and how that season turned out. Could glory happen again? Embroiled in a fierce battle with Staines, a far superior side in terms of stature and player quality, but Monster has built a team based on teamwork and work rate, and made them difficult to beat. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 19, 2022 Author Share Posted May 19, 2022 (edited) March 2024 02/03/2024 - ILSCD v Beaconsfield Town (A) Hillingdon travelled to Beaconsfield for the first game of March, one of the lowest-ranked teams left to play. Monster went with a strong team, although some were obviously weary following the cup exploits. Plant was one of those and it may have played a part as he gave away a penalty after 23 minutes, competing for a ball in the area after Munday had made a save, tripping the onrushing striker in the process. McCook stepped up but hit his penalty at a comfortable height for Munday to parry and then the goalkeeper smothered the rebound. 0-0 at the break. After half time, Hillingdon came alive. In the 50th minute, Sargent's good run created some space for Ihionvien to run into, and he was able to take the ball on and slide the ball past the keeper at the near post. 8 minutes later, Ihionvien made it 2-0 with a thumping header from a deep Dawes free kick wide on the right. Dawes, deputising at left back with Gooden suspended, went off injured shortly after. Hillingdon made it 3-0 after 73 minutes with a penalty of their own when Plant was pushed over by Grimes contesting a corner. Callaghan did his thing from the spot, low to the keeper's right, for his 17th league goal of the season, and the game was effectively over. Hillingdon stayed top courtesy of goal difference with Staines also winning their game. 09/03/2024 - ILSCD v Ascot United (H) Having been involved in a relegation battle for most of the season, Ascot were in decent form without a defeat in the league since the end of January. It was another of those games on paper that Monster had identified as a must-win. Devine had been into the manager's office during the week complaining of not being given any recent opportunities and was given a start in this game. Hillingdon struck first with Callaghan's bullet header in the 18th minute. Gooden, restored after suspension, was played into the left channel by Devine, and the left back's cross was on a plate for Callaghan to nod in. Kakegawa equalised 3 minutes later, having been played in by his strike partner, Edwards, clipping a gorgeous finish off the far post from a narrow angle. Neither side created much for the rest of the half and it was level at half time. Hillingdon pressed hard for the advantage in the 2nd half, and eventually that pressure told when Wheeler, on for a lacklustre Ward, nodded in at the back post from Gostomski's free kick from the left. Staines also won 2-1 away at Walton & Hersham, so there was no change at the top of the table. 12/03/2024 - Isthmian League Cup Semi Final v Herne Bay (H) A cup semi final with the winner going through to face an Isthmian Premier Division side. Herne Bay were fighting for safety, 19th in the South East Division. However, Monster wasn't going to take them lightly having knocked out 3 Premier Division sides on route to this stage, despite being hammered 4-0 a few days ago in their last league match. With a settled tactic, and a settled style of play that has found them top of their league, Monster didn't want to change anything. If this way was going to lead to success, then so be it. Sure, it didn't have the high tempo football he longed to produce, but he recognised there was also no point in knackering the players in order to play a style of football that doesn't guarantee any different results. Keeping the ball seemed to have worked recently. Monster refused to give anything away in the press conference and told the players to let their performances on the pitch do the talking. In the 2nd minute, following the breakdown from a freekick, Plant's header found Ihionvien with space to run into and Callaghan ahead of him. With most of their players running back, one defender went to press while the other one lingered. Parter nipped the ball off Ihionvien's toe but knocked the ball straight to Ward who lasered his pass through to an onside Callaghan with plenty of grass to run into. He took it around the keeper and knocked it home for the perfect start. The rest of the half was played at a more insipid pace, neither side creating anything particularly noteworthy. Monster demanded more from his players and they duly responded. Sargent's weaving run down the left and subsequent cross found Callaghan at the back post who nodded back into the middle for Ward to prod home to make it 2-0 after 52 minutes. Gostomski's 74th minute corner was headed clear and retrieved by Sargent who returned the ball to the deep-lying playmaker. Gostomski's whipped cross to the far post was headed in by substitute Andrews and it was looking like a long way back for Herne Bay. Sargent added further salt into the already gaping wounds with two late goals. The first, a stunning piledriver off the left-hand post from the edge of the box with his left foot, and the second a neat finish from six yards with his right. 5-0 marked Hillingdon's biggest win of the season and took them to their first ever Isthmian League Cup final. Monster had taken a side rooted to the bottom of their Tier 9 division and transformed them into a top Tier 8 side and into a cup final against Tier 7 opposition in only 18 months. As he made it home again after the match, his eyes cast up to the brush factory's football team picture still there on his shelf. He had never reached a cup final with them. Now he would be leading his side out at The People's Pension Stadium in Crawley on 22nd May 2024 to take on Lewes. 16/03/2024 - ILSCD v Hanwell Town (A) A potentially key weekend in the battle for the league title. While Hillingdon were playing away at 12th placed Hanwell Town, Staines were battling against 4th placed Merstham. Monster had to rotate a couple of players due to fitness concerns, Casey and Sargent, for instance, Bagger and Devine coming in. After 7 minutes, a chipped pass from Ward across the pitch found Bagger in the box, and his pull back was turned in by Callaghan at the near post. 2 minutes later it was 2-0 when Gostomski's header was nodded in at the near post by Plant. Hillingdon found a 3rd goal before half time when Gostomski's searching pass from in front of the dugouts played in Callaghan, who found his 2nd of the game, side-footing it past the keeper from 14 yards. The 2nd half played out with little incident. The damage had been done. The pocket of Hillingdon fans (who outnumbered the Hanwell fans) began cheering as the players walked off the pitch. Monster went over to them and was informed Merstham had scored a last gasp equaliser. Staines had dropped points. Hillingdon were 2 points clear at the top of the table. Their destiny was in their own hands. 23/03/2024 - ILSCD v Chalfont St. Peter (H) Two of their next 3 games would be played against teams in the bottom 2. Monster reminded the players about the time they had gone to bottom of the table Windsor in early February last season, expecting an easy win, and had barely scraped a draw against 9 men. Callaghan, Slone, Bagger, Sargent, Gooden, and Ennis had all played that day. Casey got Hillingdon off to the perfect start after 7 minutes when he was played through by Ihionvien and scored for the first time since scoring against Hartley Wintney in February. The 2nd goal came 2 minutes later with some wonderful Monsterball. A throw-in was worked out to Ward on the corner of the box and he played a looping ball over to Sargent on the far side who had the skill to volley a cross in first time for Ihionvien to head home from 6 yards out. In the 16th minute, Ihionvien made it 3-0, controlling Sargent's knockdown with his right foot and lashing home with his left foot from the edge of the D. Before the half hour mark, Casey also scored his 2nd of the game when Callaghan played him through, and the right winger smashed it in from the edge of the area. Doyle headed home a Spalding freekick from the left to make it 4-1 before the break. There was much endeavour from both sides but no end product until Munday launched a goal kick downfield for Ennis to bring under control and sprint through to score. Chalfont St. Peter could only muster another consolation, Spalding with another cross for Francis to rise above Gooden and head into the top corner. It finished 5-2. An even game based on the stats, and Chalfont St. Peter may well feel hard done, but the damage was done in the first 30 minutes. A record-breaking 7th win in a row, and a loud cheer went up when they saw Staines had dropped another 2 points at Westfield. 4 points clear now with only 5 games to go. Hillingdon also confirmed they would finish at the very least in a playoff spot with this result. 30/03/2024 - ILSCD v Chipstead (A) One of the difficult ties left was this match against 7th placed Chipstead to round off a brilliant March so far. In recent weeks, Dickie Munday had been preferred in goal after coming in and doing well in the cup games and developing excellently in training too. He probably wouldn't be first choice if the team were promoted but he has come in and kept several clean sheets. Could he keep another today? He was involved in a key moment in the match. Normally, Monster set his keeper to distribute to the full backs but Chipstead did a good job with marking them leaving Munday with no choice but to hoof it downfield. Sargent flicked the ball on to Ihionvien who played in his strike partner Callaghan who, on his weaker foot, took a couple of touches before placing the ball into the bottom corner for his 21st league goal of the season. It was the only goal in an otherwise unremarkable game. Munday had his 3rd clean sheet of the month, Hutchcox took home the player of the match award, and Monster's team celebrated wildly in front of the 4 away fans at the end. A dream promotion was edging ever closer. Staines managed to overcome Beaconsfield at home so the gap remained 4 points. 3 wins from their last 4 games would guarantee Hillingdon Borough the unlikeliest of title wins and automatic promotions having been 200-1 to do so at the start of the season. March 2023 Review It was about this time last season, having flirted with the playoffs, that Hillingdon made their move. This season, they need to maintain the already high levels they've set themselves. Top of the league. In a cup final against a higher tier team (although having avoided a higher tier side in every round). Unbeaten since the horrow show that was the 3-0 home defeat to Harrow Borough in January. However, titles aren't won in March. They can be lost, though, and that could well be Staines' fate. Monster won his 3rd Manager of the Month award of the season to cap it all off, but the next 5 games could well define how Monster's tenure at Hillingdon Borough will be remembered. Edited May 19, 2022 by TheJonsterMonster 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 20, 2022 Author Share Posted May 20, 2022 April 2024 06/04/2024 - ILSCD v Bedfont Sports (A) Bedfont Sports were bottom of the league and at risk of being relegated with a defeat in this match. Their recent matches had seen them score plenty of goals but ship even more. Hillingdon took the lead in the 16th minute. They kept Bedfont Sports penned in their own area, Slone switching the play to the back post for Sargent to nod down. Ward's effort was parried by Mills but straight into the path of Ihionvien who couldn't miss from 3 yards out. 5 minutes before half time, Callaghan was shoved in the back contesting a Gooden cross and the striker stepped up to take the penalty. He smashed it low to the keeper's left to make it 2-0. A professional job so far and Monster encouraged the team to keep going. Gooden made it 3-0 with a long-range free kick in the 54th minute, curling home left-footed from 25 yards. Bedfont Sports showed a glimmer of fight before the hour mark, though. Turkson's pass from just inside his own half dissected the Hillingdon defence allowing Woo-Yang to run through and pull one back with a tidy finish into the bottom left corner. In the 84th minute, Kelly gave away another penalty, clipping Andrews, on as a substitute, as he ran into the area. It looked harsh and Bedfont were up in arms about the decision but Asa Hutchcox kept his composure to smash the ball straight down the middle and make it 4-1. Incensed by the penalty decision, Bedfont were fired up. Turkson took advantage of a lucky rebound that sent him clear to reduce the arrears to 4-2 in the 87th minute and the same man scored again in stoppage time, playing a neat one-two with Chidyausiku before beating Munday again at his near post. Bedfont threw everything they had at Hillingdon, desperate to avoid the drop but time eventually ran out and Hillingdon escaped with a 4-3 victory while Bedfont Sports' relegation was confirmed. On reaching the dressing room, trying not to get sucked into the despair and anger of the home side's relegation, the news filtered through that Staines had been beaten. A 2-1 defeat to Hanwell Town meant Hillingdon were 7 points clear with 3 games remaining and needed only 1 win from their remaining games to guarantee the title. 13/04/2024 - ILSCD v CB Hounslow (H) Could Hillingdon win the title at the first attempt? 1 win was all that was required. Monster had a fully fit squad with Plant returning after suspension. CB Hounslow were the side that finished top of Hillingdon's division last season and had been challenging near the top all this season too. In the 10th minute Gostomski's corner was headed against the crossbar by Plant and Ihionvien was on hand to tuck in the rebound. The match was fairly even after that until the 71st minute when Gooden was shown a 2nd yellow card for an innocuous challenge in his own half. Could Hillingdon hold on? Sargent had to deputise at left back and did reasonably well until stoppage time when a ball was played across to Cummings with Sargent caught on his heels. The right winger zoomed past him and smashed the ball triumphantly into the roof of the net past a hapless Munday. It was a kick in the teeth but the focus then became on maintaining a draw. Monster was more than a little relieved at the final whistle as Hillingdon managed to cling on. Staines had won comfortably narrowing the gap to 5 points. Still 1 more win for the title. 20/04/2024 - ILSCD v Carshalton Athletic (A) The last away game of the season, away to another side in the playoff mix. Could Hillingdon seal the title? Gooden was out suspended so Slone came in at left back but apart from that it was the same settled side from the last few matches. Ihionvien had rallied the troops during the week knowing that 1 win was all that was needed. A cagey start was made by both teams until Ward was tackled as he entered the centre circle, the ball running kindly for Carshalton to play through Temple who smashed them in front from 12 yards out. Even after Gooden's red card last week, Martin somehow managed to follow suit this week, cynically bringing down Holmes who had intercepted the ball from him and was making strides down the left wing shortly after half time. 1-0 down and now a man down. It didn't prevent Hillingdon from finding an equaliser, though. Ihionvien played a loose cross back to Slone who cut inside from left back on to his right foot and curled a screamer into the top corner. Now could Hillingdon salvage a draw? Gostomski played a loose pass back to Hutchcox which ran kindly for Temple to run through and notch his brace only a minute later. Hillingdon huffed and puffed but couldn't find a way back. A first defeat since January. Surely they couldn't bottle it from here? What had Staines done? They were away at CB Hounslow. Could Hillingdon's old division mates have done them a favour? The players sloped over to the 30 Hillingdon fans at the end of the match, awaiting the final score to come through. 1-0. To CB Hounslow. Hillingdon had done it! The fans joined the players in the celebrations in the corner of Colston Avenue, scarcely able to believe what they had done. A crazy season in every sense with their former brush-factory employee as their manager. They would be in Tier 7 next season. Hardly imaginable at the start of the season when they were heavily tipped for relegation having scraped into the league via the playoffs. Monster had his first league title. His first piece of managerial silverware. The Isthmian League South Central Division title gave him the first 4 points on his quest to be the greatest manager in football's Hall of Fame. Sir Alex Ferguson is the current holder on 5380 points, although Pep Guardiola would be most likely to extend the points required further having notched up 5146 points already. 27/04/2024 - ILSCD v Chertsey Town (H) A home game to finish off a wonderful season against a Chertsey starting the day in the relegation zone. Having already won the title, Monster was possibly the most relaxed he had been in the dugout. He could enjoy this one match even though Chertsey were fighting for their lives. Hillingdon continued their recent good starts with a goal inside of 5 minutes. Sargent the goalscorer, heading in from a couple of yards out from Slone's cross from deep on the right. There were suspicions of offside but the assistant kept his flag down. Chertsey grabbed an equaliser somewhat out of the blue with their first shot of the game, Tuohy released down the middle, and he had the pace to escape from Hutchcox to slot home past a stranded Munday. Hillingdon had been the better side but it was level at the break. Monster gave them a stern talking to, not wanting last weekend's defeat to sink in with the league cup final still to come. The 2nd half flew by with neither side able to establish control. Monster sent on reinforcements and it was in the 86th minute when a breakthrough finally came to break Chertsey hearts; Hutchcox rose highest to nod in Gostomski's corner. Even though it didn't really matter, Staines also lost, going down 1-0 away at Ashford. It meant Hillingdon won the league by 8 points, making it seem far more comfortable than it had been. April 2024 Review Callaghan finished 2nd in the league goalscorer standings having managed 22 goals over the course of the season; only Redford for CB Hounslow had more with 27. Slone's screamer against Carshalton was voted goal of the month too. Some mixed results but with a league title on the line, the pressure was always likely to strangle the title charge. Fortunately, Staines also faltered, although they prevailed in the playoffs to win promotion too. With the league fixtures all wrapped up, it was all eyes on the upcoming cup final due to take place towards the end of May. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 May 2024 Two friendlies - v Virginia Water and Ilford Not much to report. Mostly to keep football in the players' legs. Hillingdon triumphed 2-1 over Virginia Water and 4-2 over Ilford. 22/05/2024 - Isthmian League Cup Final v Lewes (N) A first ever managerial game at a neutral stadium for Jonster Monster, looking to complete an unthinkable double with his unfancied Hillingdon side. Lewes had finished 12th in the league above so were heavy favourites. As the team wandered around The People's Pension Stadium to get a feel for the pitch, a nice compact stadium, Monster was lost in thought. Could his team go all the way and lift the trophy? It would also be a good opportunity to test the side against a team they would face next season as well. The team talk in the dressing room before the match was calm. Understated. Go and play your football was the message. The 1st half was a cagey affair, neither side creating anything of note. Hillingdon finished the stronger but it was 0-0 at half time. Monster encouraged them all - Lewes hadn't blown them away. There was no reason why they couldn't be lifting the trophy at the end. In the 52nd minute, Lewes won a corner on the right. It was swung in, at catching height for Munday who wasn't under any pressure. Instead he opted to punch the ball out. It fell straight to Cook on the edge of the area who swung a boot at it and launched it through the crowd and past Munday and into the back of the net. It would have to go down as a keeper error. He could have caught it. He knew it too, not daring to look in the direction of the bench. Monster managed to keep his temper under control but some of the players weren't up to scratch. Ward and Sargent were hooked in the 75th minute as they pressed for an equaliser. 6 minutes later, Gooden was played in down the left and swung in a deep cross to the back post for Noah Casey to grab his 16th goal of a remarkable season, nodding it past McKnight to draw Hillingdon level. Lewes responded, shaken by a goal out of nothing. Hillingdon had threatened without creating anything clear cut. They forced several corners but couldn't make them count and the clock ticked down. Penalties. Monster looked at the players in the huddle. They all seemed relatively calm as he confirmed the order. Callaghan, Gostomski, Hutchcox, Plant, and Ihionvien would be the 1st 5 takers. He told them to relax and pick their spots. Lewes chose to take the 1st penalty but it was at the Hillingdon end in front of around 500 fans. Klass stepped up... and missed! His penalty was at a comfortable height for Munday, who dived to his left and pushed it out. Callaghan went straight down the middle, drilling it in low. Stagg scored to make it 1-1, hitting it firmly to Munday's left. Gostomski went the same way but lower, and McKnight couldn't get near it. 2-1 after 2 penalties each. McLeod ran up next for Lewes and hit it high to Munday's right but it clipped the bar via the keeper's fingertips! And stayed out! Hutchcox was up next to see if he could make it 3-1. The big centre back went high to the keeper's left and it nestled into the top of the net. 3-1! Monster and the bench could barely watch. Grant was up next for Lewes and he stroked his penalty home to heap the pressure on to Rio Plant's shoulders. If he scored, Hillingdon would win. Plant jogged up. He scuffed his penalty towards the bottom right corner. McKnight dived the right way. And missed. The ball slipped into the bottom corner! The players made a beeline for their fans and Monster slumped on to his plastic chair on the bench in disbelief. A penalty-shoot-out victory for his 1st ever domestic trophy. The trophy ceremony took place in a blur. Cheering, celebrating, and lots of ticker tape was all Monster could remember the next morning. Spoiler Spoiler 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 2023/24 Season Review A season that defied all of the odds. If there had been any doubts about the former brush-factory worker and his ability to lead a team, hopefully this season proved that last season's heroics weren't a fluke. A double. A scarcely believable double. At the end of season awards ceremony, Monster couldn't stop staring at the two trophies. He was now on to 10 points in the Hall of Fame. A start at least. The playoff win last season hadn't counted for anything. The evening began with looking at the moments to remember. The biggest win was the cup semi-final victory over Herne Bay in March. The moment to remember was the 4-0 away win against Winchester back in August. The goal of the season came in the defeat to Carshalton where they won the league, Slone's screamer into the top corner proving to be entered into the history books. Financially, the board explained that there was some debt still at the club, but they would still fund an increased wage budget and a small transfer budget for next season. Revenues had increased but so had wages. The Best Eleven didn't hold any surprises, being the team that started the cup final, although Anyanwu took the goalkeeper spot ahead of Munday, who had finished the season between the sticks. Club Awards: Fans' Player of the Season: David Sargent - the left winger was a deserved winner. Having been signed up again last summer as a back up to new signing Devine, Sargent took his chance at the start of 2024 and a purple patch of form made him undroppable. Young Player of the Season: Oh, and he's only 19. Signing of the Season: Lukasz Gostomski - signed on a free transfer having been released by Hungerford, the Polish deep-lying playmaker played a critical role in promotion and the cup success, sitting at the base of midfield. Goal of the Season: Tom Slone. Victory party. Enough said. Top Goalscorer: Cian Callaghan (24) - an excellent season for the youngster, who despite not appearing to have all the skills in the world, still turns in a decent performance every week. Most Assists: Jack Ward (15) - the shadow striker played in both of the forwards on a regular basis and took this award. Most Player of the Match Awards: David Sargent (6) - not bad for a player who was a back-up but his purple patch brought him this award. Highest Average Rating: David Sargent (7.4) - once again, mostly down to his purple patch where he put a run of 8s and 9s together, but he popped up with some crucial goals at times too from the left wing. Gostomski did average higher, but Sargent had played more games overall. Records Broken: Cian Callaghan took both top goalscorer and top league goalscorer for his goals in a season (22 league goals, 24 goals overall), giving him the honour of being the top league goalscorer in Hillingdon history too. Aaron Devine's hattrick against Winchester gave him the most goals in a game award. Callaghan did score a hattrick in a league game, away at Chalfont St. Peter in November to take the most goals in a league game award. Jack Ward's assists saw him break the record of number of assists in a season. Joel Gooden's 13 yellow cards and 1 red saw him labelled as the dirtiest player in the team. 16-year-old Dickie Munday became the club's youngest ever player at 16 when he made his debut back in August. As Monster hung up his suit for the summer, the smell of champagne still not washed out from last year, and now with a cup final and a league title's worth of champagne soaked through it too, thoughts turned to what sort of transfers he needed. The idea of building a squad in his image, determined, hard-working, team players, who could run for days, was his initial profile he drew up. But could he attract players of that ilk to Hillingdon for their first taste of Tier 7 football? Or, following his success, would a bigger team start to take notice? His contract was due to expire at the end of June. With training not back on until 8th July, he decided to sleep on it, make a few hand-made brushes for the sake of it to sell for a few extra quid, and see what lay ahead. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 2024/25 Pre-season The fixtures were released and Hillingdon learned they would be in the Southern League Premier Division South (SLPDS). They were also rock bottom of the predictions, 350-1 to win the title. Monster found the released list for the division and offered trials to almost everybody on it. He also had a look at their previous division to see if there were any players that could be lured away based on featuring in the media dream eleven for their league. His focus was on his 4 essential skills: determination, teamwork, work rate, and natural fitness. Secondary skills he looked for were: concentration, decisions, passing, and jumping reach. Being in Tier 7, he wanted an average of 9 across his essentials. New contract and club expectations Monster signed a new contract, agreeing a 1-year extension at £200 p/w. The club also dropped the direct football as part of the club culture, replacing it with playing entertaining football instead. Pre-season fixtures A clean sweep of the friendlies, all against lower-league opposition. A focus on establishing the tactic and building fitness were Monster's priorities. New right winger Matt Stansfield was the star of pre-season, scoring a hattrick in a 6-0 demolition of Park View. Transfers 8 new signings came in over the summer. Right winger Matt Stansfield, centre back Kemar Pagon, striker Owen Robinson, goalkeeper Niall Ward, left winger Jay Byron, attacking midfielder Gabriel Beeney, left back Miguel Thacker, and right back Harvey Woodhouse were the major incoming deals. Squad The squad for the 1st game of the season contained many familiar faces interspersed with the new signings. Monster was happy with the balance, having fairly youthful but talented backups in each position. Staff There were no new staff to note, although an advert for a new scout had so far not found any takers. League Season Preview Hillingdon were joint bottom in the predictions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 August 2024 17/08/2024 - Southern League Premier Division South v Paulton Rovers (A) The opening game of the season took Hillingdon west towards Bristol to face another newly promoted side in Paulton Rovers. Predicted to come 17th in the season preview, Monster sent his side out with a cautious mentality and also narrower than last season, but looking to establish control of the ball as ever. Ward, Pagon, Stansfield, and Robinson made their debuts for the club; the other 7 players were all part of the last campaign. It was a cagey start from both sides, who both wanted to make a good impression in their new division. Hillingdon struck first when a long ball forward towards the Paulton keeper was inexplicably punched back out to the edge of the area where Ward was on hand to nod it back towards goal and find the corner of the net. As the game wore on, Monster's team began to take more control. Stansfield made way for Casey, and the substitute was on hand to nod home Sargent's cross from the centre of the penalty area in the 81st minute. Just before the clock ticked over, Casey picked up the ball inside his own half, jinked past one tackle, burst through another, and made his way into the Paulton area before lashing home right-footed beyond Sainsbury's dive. It was a remarkable goal to round off a complete performance. A 3-0 win on the opening day of the season away from home proved to everyone that Hillingdon might not be the pushovers the media were making them out to be. Casey was the hero, Gooden the worst performer. 21/08/2024 - SLPDS v Chesham United (H) The first home game of the season saw Hillingdon take on Chesham United, predicted to be challenging for promotion this season. Could Monster's team make an impression? Monster went with a balanced approach, encouraging the players to get forward when possible but also to remember they had defensive responsibilities too. White opened the scoring for Chesham after 10 minutes, chipping the ball over Ward from the edge of the area, the new keeper unable to stop it from looping over him and into the net. Hillingdon equalised after 17 minutes when Ihionvien opened his account for the season following a fluid passing move, the ball moving quickly between the team leading to Martin playing the ball through for the striker to finish first time from 14 yards out. Chesham retook the lead a minute later on the counter-attack, overwhelming the back line for Taylor to smash home from the edge of the area. Shortly before half time, Chesham added to their lead. Thompson-Brissett was played through by a free kick from the back and planted the ball home. 3-1 to Chesham at the break. Monster was philosophical. But he still expected better. Jay Byron, in for Sargent on the left wing, made it 2-3 with a clipped finish from Ihionvien's through ball. 2 minutes later, Casey was free at the back post to head home Gooden's looping cross from the left. In the 57th minute, Hillingdon completed the turnaround, Byron picking up Gostomski's pass to run through and stroke home from 10 yards. In the 72nd minute, Callaghan scored his 1st goal of the season with a stooping header from Byron's cross. However, Thompson-Brissett was played through in the 87th minute to make it 5-4 and set a few nerves jangling on the Hillingdon bench. They saw the game out, though, and all things considered, it was a deserved victory. Byron was the player of the match with a brace and an assist. 24/08/2024 - SLPDS v Truro City (A) Another clash against a high-flying side, Monster's side made the 250+ mile trip to Truro. Could they upset another of the big guns? Monster had to rotate due to this being the 3rd game in 8 days. Long scored for Truro after 7 minutes, played straight through the middle to tuck it past Ward. River Allen missed a penalty for the home side too in the first half. It was fairly even, only separated by the single goal. Shortly after half time, Ward's long ball forward found Robinson's run, and the new striker used his pace to get into the box and tap the ball home across the keeper. Clapham was then shown a 2nd yellow card for a trip on Goulty as he ran through. It didn't set Hillingdon back, though. Woodhouse's odd cross/chip from the right somehow went over everybody to find Sargent unmarked, and the left winger tucked it away from a few yards out. That was the turning point of the game, though. Truro turned the screw and ran in 3 goals without reply, making the most of their huge pitch and having the man advantage. It finished 4-2. Would having 11 players for the 90 minutes made a difference? Monster couldn't answer that question but he had a long drive home on the team bus to consider it. 28/08/2024 - SLPDS v Yate Town (H) Another midweek fixture this time against 5th-placed Yate. Monster kept faith in his Monsterball approach and sent the team out to carry on keeping the ball. A long clearance in the 1st minute led to a neat one-two between Brownhill and Daniels, with Brownhill then played through to fire across Ward and in at the far post. Jack Ward equalised on the stroke of half time, goal-hanging from a corner to prod Pagon's header over the line. It stayed level until injury time. Another corner, this time from the right was met by the tall Jamaican whose header across goal was knocked back across by Ihionvien for Stansfield to smash home from a yard out. Hillingdon weren't done, though. Gooden's ball into the channel played through new signing Sam Wilson, another youngster with some potential, who squared it for substitute Stansfield to tap home. 3-1 on the night and it was a deserved victory in the end. 31/08/2024 - SLPDS v Berkhamsted (H) A 5th league game in quick succession saw Hillingdon take on winless Berkhamsted. Monster once again had to rotate, and one of the replacements, Beeney, opened the scoring in the 7th minute, scuffing home from a few yards out after Wilson's header was saved by the keeper from Casey's cross. Ashman equalised for the visitors before half time, nodding home unmarked at the back post from a free kick from the left. Monster riled his side up at the break. He hadn't seen anything so far in this league for them to be scared of. Beeney scored his 2nd of the game from a free kick inside the D after 51 minutes, curling it right-footed around the wall. Sargent added a 3rd with a header at the back post from Casey's cross. 6 minutes later and Wilson scored his 1st goal for the club, tapping in from close range after Ihionvien's header came back off the crossbar. Beeney's brace saw him take the player of the match award. August 2024 Review What a month for Hillingdon. 2nd in the league after 5 games. A healthy dose of goals. Contributions from practically everyone, including all of the new signings. Monster knew they could compete, but how high up could they realistically finish? Noah Casey took the Young Player of the Month award after 3 goals and an assist in 3 games, his run and finish against Paulton Rovers seeing him bag 3rd in the goal of the month competition. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 September 2024 04/09/2024 - SLPDS v Kings Langley (A) It was 3rd v 2nd going into this game, both sides having won 4 and lost 1 of their opening 5 fixtures. Monster wanted more of the same and kept a familiar-looking 11. In a game of few chances, Hillingdon took the lead in the 38th minute when Plant's long ball forward from the halfway line landed in the path of Robinson to turn, shoot, and fire into the top left corner from just inside the box. That was the key moment of the match, and it was a 2nd clean sheet for Ward in the Hillingdon goal. However, Monster had words with Ward and Ihionvien afterwards, both men putting in poor performances. Ihionvien, tipped to be the division's top scorer, now only has 1 goal in 6 games this season. 07/09/2024 - FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round v Beaconsfield Town (A) An away game against a side not too far up the M40 from their previous league saw Hillingdon begin their FA Cup journey for the season. They'd beaten Beaconsfield home and away on the route to the title last season and were hoping for a similar story to progress further in the FA Cup this season. Apart from a 1st choice strikeforce, it was a chance for the 2nd string to make an impression. Midway through the 1st half, Woodhouse was tripped as he broke into the area by Pashaj and Stansfield stepped up to slam the penalty straight down the middle. Hillingdon pressed for more goals but couldn't find the breakthrough again until near the end of the game, Ward on off the bench to run on to Robinson's through ball, create an angle for himself and tuck the ball home at the near post. A professional performance from the Hillingdon boys to see them into the 2nd Qualifying Round, with the hope of a cup run to provide some much needed funding. One of the things noticeable about Beaconsfield were the standard of their youth recruitment facilities, something Monster could only aspire to. Average youth recruitment in Tier 8 made him wonder if the board could stretch to find any funding to improve on the bare minimum facilities Hillingdon had to deal with. The board rejected the request citing the club's perilous financial position as the reason. They also refused a new coaching course for the same reason. All the more reason to try to have a run in the FA Cup. A home tie to Billericay of the Vanarama National League South was the 2nd round draw. 11/09/2024 - SLPDS v Salisbury FC (H) Another midweek home game found Hillingdon coming up against mid-table Salisbury. Everybody rested for Saturday's fixture was back and Monster continued with a positive mentality for home games, as has been the pattern for the last few. Inside the 1st minute, the wonderfully named Woody Angell scored a free kick from the edge of the area, curling it around the wall left-footed to put Salisbury in front. The away team continued to push for further goals, creating the better chances in the 1st half. Monster wasn't impressed with the team's desire and questioned them at half time. Not for the first time this season, there was a 2nd half response. Stansfield, playing up front today with Ihionvien out of form, nodded home Martin's cross at the near post to grab the equaliser. Within 10 minutes, they had the lead, Sargent grabbing the goal, running on to Wilson's pass to clip the ball across the keeper and in at the far post. Wilson grabbed a 3rd before the end, running on to Casey's through ball and firing home left footed from 10 yards out. Salisbury could feel hard done by having had the better of the 1st half but ultimately, Hillingdon ran out winners. 14/09/2024 - SLPDS v Poole Town (A) Poole were languishing near the bottom of the table and were in desperate search of points. Monster had to rotate a few players around again with the FA Cup game looming next weekend. Poole came out looking to play on the counter attack and with their pacy front line caused Hillingdon some problems. Roberts scored the opener for them after 35 minutes with a bullet header into the bottom of the net from a deep cross from the right. Wilson equalised almost immediately when Ihionvien's cushioned volleyed pass from Pagon's long ball from the back played in his strike partner and Wilson was able to slot home. However, Poole took the lead again before half time when Michael was released down the right and smashed home past Ward at his near post. Monster demanded more from the players, trying to encourage them to keep playing their football having hit the crossbar twice in the 1st half. Both sides had chances, Poole continuing to pepper the goal from all angles but it was Robinson who grabbed the equaliser in the dying moments of the game. Ihionvien's desperate search for a goal went on as he had his effort straight at the keeper saved but Robinson had followed up to smash home the rebound from a couple of yards to prompt scenes of celebration on the Hillingdon bench and from the 3 away fans in attendance. 5 games unbeaten now in the league for Hillingdon. Could another unlikely title charge be on the cards? 18/09/2024 - SLPDS v Staines Town (A) As the fellow promoted side from ILSCD last season, Staines had completed a double over Hillingdon last year, and Monster wanted revenge, naming a strong side even with the FA Cup tie against Billericay at the weekend. They had the lead within 2 minutes. Gostomski picked up Plant's square pass to turn and hit a delicious ball through to Ihionvien who scored only his 2nd goal of the season with a left-footed effort from inside the D, the ball sailing into the top corner. Roney equalised with a back-post header from Abbey's corner in the 14th minute. The game changed 2 minutes when Abbey was dismissed for a horrible lunge from behind going straight through the back of Beeney as he broke forward. Staines retreated into their shell as Hillingdon applied the pressure for the final 75 minutes. It took a 90th minute Robinson header to seal the 3 points, the striker getting his head on an inswinging cross from the left by Thacker to find the bottom corner. More last-minute shenanigans from the new signing but his late goals had now earned Hillingdon 4 points in the last 2 games rather than 1. Robinson took the plaudits, but Ihionvien's goal was his 1st in over 10 hours of football. Hopefully it would spark a run of goals with the FA Cup returning at the weekend. 21/09/2024 - FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round v Billericay Town (H) This was the round Hillingdon fell at last season and Monster hoped being in front of a larger home crowd would inspire his team. In the end, 1,129 fans came to watch the match instead of the normal 200-odd. They were treated to a spectacle of Billericay dominance, the National League South side having constant pressure. It remained 0-0 in the 1st half. Shortly after half time where Monster tried to rally the troops, Joel Gooden's speculative effort from the edge of the box bobbled and bounced its way past an unsighted keeper and it nestled into the corner of the net. Monster hoped his team could hold on under relentless pressure and he thought they had done it until Thacker gave away a late penalty, tripping Valentine. Monster's hopes were raised when Carvalho's penalty smacked flush off the post but it fell kindly for Valentine racing in to smash the ball past Ward from close range and break Hillingdon hearts. Still, it meant a replay in midweek, and Monster hoped to work on a few items in the meantime to try and find a way to foil Billericay in that game. 24/09/2024 - FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round Replay v Billericay Town (A) Rather than going out fearing playing higher-tiered opposition, Monster insisted on playing with a positive mentality again. They had come so close in the 1st game if it hadn't been for Thacker's last minute moment of madness, then they could have won that fixture against the odds. What had been notable in the 1st game was the sheer size of Billericay's target forward Hamzad Kargbo and it was he who opened the scoring in this game, not even having to jump to nod in a deep free kick from Munns to give the home side the lead after 11 minutes. Hillingdon found an equaliser 12 minutes later, though. Martin's cross from wide on the right landed on Wilson's head on the edge of the 6 yard box, and the unmarked striker nodded home. 1-1 at the break. After half time, Billericay still had the ascendancy and retook the lead in the 78th minute when Carvalho's free kick on the right was whipped in and missed by everybody to nestle inside the far post. Ward should have done better, seemingly put off by the melee in front of him. Monster thrust his hands into his pockets. Could they find an equaliser? Billericay had been dominant from set pieces all afternoon. As the clock ticked over to the 90th minute, Beeney chipped a free kick forward towards Casey who could only flick it on. The ball fell for Wilson to run on and toe poke it inside the far post for a dramatic equaliser. The match headed for extra time. Monster asked for more of the same from his players. The substitutes would be required to have a part, and little-seen Cian Callaghan, top scorer for the last 2 seasons, gave Hillingdon the lead in the game in the 95th minute. Thacker's cross from the left turned home from 8 yards by the substitute. Not to be outdone, Jack Ward put his recent poor form behind him to score a curling effort from 23 yards in the 103rd minute, finding a pocket of space between the defence, he swivelled and launched an effort into the top right corner. A glorious goal that ended the Billericay challenge and Hillingdon had earned themselves a spot in the 3rd Qualifying Round for the 1st time. Wilson's brace saw him named as the player of the match. After the game, Monster realised the draw had already happened and they would play Tier 8 Melksham Town for a spot in the next round. 28/09/2024 - SLPDS v Bath City (H) Relegated from the Vanarama National League South last season, Bath City were hoping to bounce straight back. Hillingdon, now top of the table thanks to other results going their way, had other ideas. On the back foot once again for most of the game, Hillingdon took the lead in the 72nd minute when Ihionvien took advantage of some calamitous defending to stab the ball into the bottom left corner from the edge of the area, after the keeper had cleared the ball against his own defender. Hillingdon held on for a clean sheet but lost top spot after Truro City's 4-0 win over AFC Totton. September 2024 Review What a September. Some great wins, including the one over higher tier Billericay Town in the FA Cup, has found Monster's team at the upper reaches of the table with his unfancied youngsters. What he seems to have built this season is a more balanced squad, with various players slotting in when required. Robinson was 2nd in the Young Player of the Month award. Monster took the Manager of the Month award. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 25, 2022 Author Share Posted May 25, 2022 October 2024 02/10/2024 - SLPDS v Guernsey (A) With the FA Cup tie coming up, Monster chose to rest some of the players for the trip to 20th-placed Guernsey. Two of the more maligned players, whose performance hadn't been great recently, combined to score the only goal of this game. Byron made it to the byline for Ward to scramble in a shot at the near post, an effort the keeper couldn't keep out and should probably have done better. Consecutive 1-0 wins for Hillingdon boosted their credentials at the top of the league. They only won 1-0 twice last season, and this was their 3rd 1-0 of the season already. A tricky away trip involving a ferry crossing on a Wednesday night, meant the team would be home late. Monster couldn't help but wonder what the FA Cup would have in store for them on Saturday. 05/10/2024 - FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round v Melksham Town (H) Tier 8 Melksham Town were the opponents with a good record of knocking out higher tier teams so far in their journey. Monster didn't want Hillingdon to be added to that list. Cian Callaghan started up front having complained about a lack of game time recently. Melksham kept Hillingdon at bay in the 1st half but as has happened so frequently this season, the half time team talk inspired an improved 2nd half performance. Woodhouse's cross from the right was met at the back post by Ihionvien to nod Hillingdon in front after 55 minutes. Callaghan doubled that lead 10 minutes later, when Beeney's run into the box was halted by a tackle which ran kindly to Callaghan, who lashed home from 12 yards. Hillingdon dominated possession, dominated the stats, and progressed to the 4th Qualifying Round. 06/10/2024 - FA Cup Draw Aldershot Town away. A tricky draw but they're a National League South side, so it could have been far worse. 09/10/2024 - SLPDS v AFC Totton (H) A nice article appeared before the game to say this was Monster's 100th game in management. He had won 70 of his 99 games so far - could he make it 71 today against the side 9th in the table? Pagon gave them hope with a header from a deep Gooden free kick in the 8th minute. Hillingdon doubled their lead after 22 minutes when Ihionvien stole in to tuck away the rebound after Casey's shot had been saved. Kemp reduced the arrears after half time when he rose above Martin at the back post to nod in Waterfield's cross. Stansfield sealed the points in stoppage time with a lovely finish from the edge of the area, curling a shot in off the right-hand post to make it 3-1 and stretch Hillingdon's lead at the top. 12/10/2024 - SLPDS v Walton Casuals (H) Another game in quick succession saw Hillingdon take on bottom-of-the-table Walton Casuals. Monster did hope to notch up a few goals but a win would do. Walton Casuals took a surprise lead in this game when Corie Andrews broke through on the left wing to smash home from 8 yards, beating Ward at his near post. Hillingdon weren't behind for long. Ihionvien pulled them level with a tap in at the back post from Ward's excellent pull-back. He scored again 3 minutes later to give Hillingdon the lead. Woodhouse played Stansfield in down the right and the winger's cross was turned in at the near post, Ihionvien clipping the ball across the keeper. In the 70th minute, Stansfield scored himself. Ihionvien with some great work down the left flank pulled the ball back to Byron who squared it to Stansfield who smashed the ball home from 10 yards. Hillingdon created a few chances but found the keeper in unerring form. Still, another 3 points and the unbeaten run continues. 15/10/2024 - SLPDS v Slough Town (H) A 3rd home game in a row and Monster wanted another 3 points against the side many predicted to be challenging for the title rather than languishing in mid-table. It was a competitive game and remained a stalemate until the 71st minute when Okoli's tame volley from the edge of the area somehow sneaked past Ward at his near post. Stung, Hillingdon responded immediately, going uncharacteristically route-one. Martin's long ball forward was flicked on by Robinson to Ihionvien who ran through to slam home the equaliser. 10 minutes later, as a corner from the left came in, Elliott handballed and Hillingdon were given a penalty. Up stepped Jay Byron, who scuffed his penalty but still managed to find the back of the net. Another deserved win based on the stats, and the settled nature of the tactic, plus everyone humming the same tune seems to have created a juggernaut. Could anyone stop them? 19/10/2024 - FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round v Aldershot Town (A) Arguably Monster's biggest game as a manager, against a side who were in League 2 a little over a decade ago, saw Hillingdon rock up at Aldershot, less than an hour away on the bus. Monster kept faith with what he felt was his strongest team, although Gostomski had to miss out due to picking up a yellow card against Slough. Could they shock another Tier 6 side? Aldershot were known for playing in a similar style to Hillingdon and fashioned the 1st chance of the game, Pereira played through on the left but could only pass the ball at Ward in goal. Hillingdon took the lead with a route one approach. Plant's long ball out from the back was missed by O'Connell allowing Callaghan to sneak past him and stab home from 10 yards. 4 minutes later it was a similar story but Ihionvien benefitted this time, Jordan completely misjudging Ward's long kick downfield and allowing the Hillingdon striker to stride through and finish into the bottom left corner. Harris pulled one back almost immediately, a low drive from 22 yards kissing the right-hand post on the way in. 2-1 at the break, those two mistakes costing Aldershot dearly having been the far better side. Early in the 2nd half, Aldershot drew themselves level, Edser with a brilliant run and finish, although Ward may wish he had covered his near post better. Game on! Anyone could win this. Hillingdon regained the lead after 79 minutes when Stansfield curled home a free kick from all of 25 yards. It soared over the wall to nestle into the top corner. Could Hillingdon hang on? They not only held on, but increased their lead. A loose pass across the field was cut out by Wilson who played Ihionvien through, and the striker smashed home with his weaker right foot from near the penalty spot. Hillingdon were dreaming. A spot in the 1st round proper was theirs for the taking. Aldershot had other ideas, though, and pulled a goal back immediately. Piling bodies forward, Clayton was released down the left and his low cross was turned in by O'Connell. Monster could barely watch from the bench as time ticked down but the referee blew his whistle and Hillingdon Borough celebrated wildly with the 63 away fans behind Ward's goal. It was an unlikely result based on the stats, Monster knowing he would have wondered what could have been if roles had been reversed. As the team bus bounced back to Hillingdon, all the talk was on who they would face in the next round. Away at a League 1 side with a huge stadium would do wonders for the club coffers, or lower league opposition at home would also be preferred to earn more prize money. 20/10/2024 - FA Cup 1st Round Draw Hillingdon had to wait an awful long time to be drawn but ended up with Hartlepool United of League 2 in a home tie. The Middlesex Stadium would hopefully be packed for a thrilling game and as the confirmed lowest ranked side left (3 other Tier 7 sides had replays to get through), there was a chance of being on the TV. 23/10/2024 - SLPDS v Aylesbury United (A) A league game came a few days later and it was against a side in the relegation scrap. Monster was without several 1st choice players due to suspension, injuries, and general exertions after their recent exploits. Aylesbury were known for their direct counter attacking style and used it to great effect on their long but narrow pitch. In the 29th minute, Callaghan's looping cross to the back post was nodded home by Casey, his header sailing over the despairing reach of the keeper. Aylesbury were level before half time thanks to Clarke's towering header from an Adams cross from the left. The game swang back and forth with both sides creating chances but it was Aylesbury who took the lead in the 67th minute, another left-wing cross, this time headed in by McNerney at the back post. Hillingdon equalised in exactly the same fashion, Thacker's ball from the left nodded in by Callaghan in the 76th minute from 6 yards out. Aylesbury thought they had won it when Otegbeye nodded in MacArthur's corner from the right but Ihionvien had the last laugh, scoring the 1st goal of the game that wasn't a header with a scissor-kick half volley from Callaghan's knockdown which Bennion couldn't keep out. 3-3. A breathless game which kept Hillingdon clear at the top and extended the unbeaten league run to 12 matches, although Gostomski was then ruled out for the next few weeks with a twisted ankle. 26/10/2024 - SLPDS v Merthyr Town (A) A 3rd away game in a row found Hillingdon travelling to Wales to take on Merthyr Town, pushing for a playoff spot in 6th. Very little action happened in this game as both sides seemed to cancel each other out. Merthyr did win a penalty when Bridgeman was pushed over by Hutchcox contesting a cross from the right but Cusani's penalty clipped the crossbar on the way over. Ward was player of the match in goal after another confident display but performances were mixed over the rest of the pitch. 29/10/2024 - SLPDS v Royston Town (H) Royston Town in 12th were the next side up and Monster was hoping for a win to end the drawing run. It didn't happen. Ihionvien needed a break after playing every match recently and he seemed to be sorely missed as Hillingdon appeared toothless to make it 2 0-0 draws in a row. October 2024 Review What a month. Through to the 1st Round of the FA Cup but 3 league draws in a row to finish the month put a slight dampener on things with the tie against Hartlepool United beginning to loom on the horizon. Ihionvien was named young player of the month and finally seems to have settled at this level. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 November 2024 02/11/2024 - FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round v Canvey Island (H) Away from the league seemed like the perfect opportunity to rediscover their goalscoring touch against Isthmian League North Division side Canvey Island, who had taken a Tier 8 Hillingdon to penalties in the Isthmian League Cup last season in a 0-0 draw. However, Canvey Island scored with their 1st chance of the game, Gibson running into the right channel and then pulling it back for Fitzer to find the top corner from just inside the box. Canvey Island made it 2-0 in the 37th minute, taking advantage of Martin's loose pass, Baker intercepting and launching it forward for Gibson to run on to and fire past Ward. Monster was furious with his side at half time and sent water bottles flying. It seemed to wake Hillingdon up. Ward's through ball went straight into Callaghan's path and the striker tucked it away within 5 minutes of the restart. With players beginning to tire, Monster rotated the pack, sending on Casey and Woodhouse, and turning the fullbacks into inverted wingbacks to encourage them further up the field. Within 7 minutes of the changes, Byron crossed to the back post where Casey was lurking to nod in the equaliser. Monster demanded more from the team, sensing the opportunity to take the game after Canvey Island had retreated into their shells in the 2nd half. In the 87th minute with both inverted wingbacks pushed right up into the box, Martin crossed the ball over to Byron, whose knockdown ran into the path of Woodhouse, playing at left back after Thacker had been hauled off, and his left-footed effort sailed past the keeper for an unlikely winner. Ihionvien had a chance to make it 4-2 but lashed high and wide after being played clean through. A 3-2 victory ensured progress into the next round to Monster's relief. Byron made 2 assists to take the player of the match honours. Could they now translate this into the league? 06/11/2024 - SLPDS v Hitchin Town (A) A tricky away game on paper, away to a side chasing the playoffs. Hitchin also had a narrow pitch so Monster adapted the team to not focus on playing down the flanks quite as much. In the 3rd minute, Ihionvien struck with a tap in from Casey's header back across goal. Hitchin equalised before half time with a tap in themselves. A long ball over the top found its way through to Conlon, who was able to poke it past Ward to level the scores. Shortly after half time, a bout of head tennis took place, allowing Sargent to nod the ball through for Ihionvien to run through and despatch to the far corner for a 2-1 lead. Hitchin equalised shortly after, Hutchcox playing a blind pass back to Ward from near the corner flag which was intercepted by Conlon to finish from close range. Hillingdon retook the lead in the 67th minute when Sargent's raking ball found Gooden overlapping, and his cross was perfect for Ihionvien to nod home into the bottom right corner from the middle of the area for a first hattrick in Hillingdon colours. 3 minutes later, Hitchin equalised from the penalty spot when Martin stopped Malcolm in his tracks and Seager's penalty had too much on it for Ward to keep out. Hillingdon took the lead yet again in the 77th minute when Callaghan's knockdown was turned in at close range by Ihionvien for his 4th of the game. Callaghan had moved out to the left wing and made it 5-3 in the 82nd minute, nodding in Casey's whipped cross from the right. The scoring wasn't finished, though, thanks to Ihionvien scoring his 5th when a neat passage of passing between Thacker and Callaghan released Ihionvien in the left channel and he took it round Horlock to slot in. 6-3 it finished, a remarkable scoreline based on the XG of the 2 teams. Ihionvien was, unsurprisingly, the player of the match after 5 goals, and his partnership with Callaghan seems to have reignited the striker after a slow start to the season. 09/11/2024 - FA Cup 1st Round v Hartlepool United (H) A wonderful achievement for Hillingdon to face off against League 2 opposition, 54 places above them in the footballing pyramid. No matter what else happens this season, this game would live long in the memory as a chance to compete against a fully professional side. Monster was restricted in his team selection due to fitness issues; 1st choice centre back Rio Plant had to miss out due to his recent exertions, and even Ihionvien was struggling. However, Monster didn't want to put any pressure on them to do well, only to enjoy themselves. That was made difficult by the start they made, though, when on the counter attack, the physical prowess of a professional side saw Hartlepool counter from a Hillingdon corner and Griffiths was able to race through and smash the ball past Ward. It became worse 4 minutes later when Richards was played through by Griffiths for another counter and Pagon in doing his defensive duty and trying to force Richards out wide, managed to trip the forward in the area. Richards stepped up and somehow managed to hit both the crossbar and the post with the same effort, the ball bouncing away to safety. That stroke of luck seemed to give Hillingdon some belief and after 14 minutes, Ihionvien controlled a long ball out from Ward and play through Byron, playing as the shadow striker today, who lashed the ball hard and low from 22 yards to spark wild celebrations around the packed Middlesex Stadium for a record crowd of 1,505. 4 minutes later, a free kick on the left was whipped in by Stansfield and Ihionvien was unmarked at the back post to nod it across goal and into the far corner. There were faces of disbelief on the Hartlepool bench as well as on the Hillingdon one. Hartlepool then set about pummelling the Hillingdon goal but found the defence in resolute mood. It became worse towards the end when Rawson was dismissed for a 2nd yellow card, cynically tripping Callaghan as he ran on to a through ball. Nerves were frazzled by the end but Hillingdon clung on to a famous victory, their positive mentality having served them well in all of their giant killings so far. Another cupset to join the growing list too. The prize money from the win saw the club reach a positive balance for the first time since October 2022, during Monster's 1st month in charge. For the 1st time ever, Monster also had 3 journalists at his post-match press conference and another FA Cup draw to look forward to as well. 10/11/2024 - FA Cup 2nd Round Draw The 3rd last tie to be drawn, Hillingdon discovered they would play away at Milton Keynes Dons, currently 4th in League 1. Their 1st Round tie had been played in front of nearly 9,000 people, so a similar crowd would do wonders for Hillingdon's bank balance. Monster's next job would be to make sure everybody concentrated on the league and ignore the huge game on the horizon. 12/11/2024 - SLPDS v Cirencester Town (H) Would there be a hangover from the heroics of Saturday? There was some rotation but Monster hoped to keep some momentum going. In the 2nd minute, Casey broke free down the right and his cross was nodded in at the near post by Sam Wilson. In the 55th minute, Hillingdon doubled their lead when Byron was played through by Thacker, and the winger was able to finish from just inside the area with a low drive into the far corner. Cirencester then grew into the game and managed to grab a goal back in the 69th minute when Owusu's shot came back off the post and rebounded into the net off Ward, the keeper having dived to attempt to save the original shot. Hillingdon saw the game out and maintained their lead at the top of the table. No hangover and another chance to rotate with the FA Trophy coming up at the weekend. 16/11/2024 - FA Trophy 1st Round v Salisbury FC (H) Not quite as glamorous as the FA Cup, but the non-league equivalent saw Hillingdon come up against the side 7th in the same league. The outcome was the same as it was in September. Sargent was on the scoresheet last time out and he opened the scoring in this match too, Ihionvien's ball forward, knocked on by Callaghan, and Sargent ran through to poke Hillingdon in front after 14 minutes. Manton equalised before half time with a wonderful free kick - over the wall and into the bottom corner from 25 yards. Shortly after half time, Sargent gave Hillingdon the lead again, finding a yard of space at the back post to nod Martin's cross back across goal and in at the far post. With time running out, Angell clattered Ihionvien in the area and Callaghan stepped up to slam home the penalty into the bottom left corner of the net. A 3-1 win and the Hillmen keep marching on. 19/11/2024 - Southern League Cup 2nd Round v Royston Town (H) Not the defence of the Isthmian League Cup that they won against all the odds last season but the first step on another cup journey, this time at home to Royston Town from their own division, yet again. Monster promised to rotate at his pre-match press conference and wanted a better performance than the one in the 0-0 draw a few weeks ago. Inverted wingbacks appeared here to stay rather than a tactical tweak, and one of them, Thacker, 2 minutes in, used his licence to roam to play a lofted ball over the top for Ihionvien to take the ball in his stride and finish confidently from the edge of the area. 5 minutes later Jack Ward made it 2-0 with a neat close-range finish from Byron's low cross from the left. After 22 minutes, Ward repaid the favour, playing a great ball through the lines to find Byron tucking in, and he launched a shot in at the far post. Callaghan got in on the act in the 32nd minute to make it 4-0, nodding home Thacker's cross from the left from inside the 6-yard box. After the break, Royston pulled one back, Merrifield taking advantage of some slack tackling, the ball breaking to him on the edge of the D, and his shot flew past Ward into the far corner of the net. Wilson, on as a substitute, took advantage of Ward's lovely through ball and cut inside on his right foot to make it 5-1 on the night. A complete performance with 5 different scorers. Jack Ward was the player of the match after a sublime performance with two precision assists and a goal too. 23/11/2024 - SLPDS v Paulton Rovers (H) A remarkable run of home matches continued with a game against the side they played on the 1st day of the season only just over 3 months ago. Casey had been the hero that day, and opened the scoring here too, Jack Ward spreading the play to the right to find Martin, whose low cross was smashed in by the right winger. Ward was instrumental in the build up to the 2nd goal 3 minutes later, a neat turn and spread of play out to the left this time found Gooden, who tapped it forward into Sargent's path, who tried a first-time effort from all of 22 yards which flew past the keeper and into the bottom of the net. Gostomski, back in the side after his injury, took a corner from the left which was met by Plant at the near post, his header looping over the static Paulton defence and dropping in at the far post. 3-0 at the break and Monster hoped they could keep it tight for a 1st clean sheet in ages. Paulton did try to put some pressure on but Gostomski did further damage with another corner 5 minutes into the 2nd half. Pagon's header came back off the far post and Callaghan was on hand to prod home from an inch out. A 4-0 win, a clean sheet, and Monster was delighted afterwards. The team seemed to be humming along in harmony with each other and he wanted to make the most of it with a full week of training with there being no midweek game for them. 30/11/2024 - FA Trophy 2nd Round v Frome Town (H) Yet another home game for the Hillingdon fans, and another chance to take on lower league opposition. Frome Town was the home of loanee keeper Marlon Bryan, who had kept goal for Hillingdon during Monster's 1st season in charge. It was also the 1st of 2 cup meetings in quick succession with the 2 sides meeting again in the Southern League Cup in midweek. The match didn't start brilliantly for Hillingdon as Bishop-Priestnall's through ball from near the halfway line found Barclay in yards of space, and the forward ran through to clip the ball past Ward into the far corner. Hillingdon proceeded to dominate the match but didn't get on the scoreboard until a few minutes before half time when the referee spotted a push on Ihionvien as Gostomski floated a free kick in. Callaghan stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to find the bottom left corner to draw Hillingdon level. The winner came just after the hour mark when Ward's through ball found Wilson running in from the right wing, and the substitute lifted the ball over the keeper from the edge of the D. Frome had decided to unsettle Hillingdon's rhythm as much as possible, committing several fouls, but the referee grew wise and issued 2nd yellow cards to 2 Frome players before the end. It wasn't a pretty performance by any means, but Hillingdon were through to the next round and Frome would be missing players through suspension for the next meeting on Tuesday night. November 2024 Review A perfect November with 8 wins out of 8, albeit 7 of those games were played at home. Progress in 3 different cup competitions and 3 wins in the league proved that Monster's unfancied team may have a fighting chance of silverware again this season, when they were predicted to struggle. The FA Cup exploits would live long in the memory with the tie against Milton Keynes Dons still to come. Monster was named Manager of the Month, while Ihionvien picked up Young Player of the Month, with Callaghan 2nd. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share Posted May 27, 2022 December 2024 03/12/2024 - Southern League Cup 3rd Round v Frome Town (H) A few days later, same opposition, different competition, same outcome. With the Milton Keynes tie due to take place on Saturday, Monster rotated the side. Frome once again took the lead with a goal with half time approaching. Futcher was played through and although his shot came back off the post, he took advantage of some horrific defending between Hutchcox and Ward to stab home the rebound when he shouldn't have been able to get there. With time running out, Stansfield intercepted a cross-field pass and played Beeney through, who found the bottom corner with a low strike from the edge of the area. With extra time looming, Sargent scored the winner with a 1st time shot from the edge of the area. Stansfield's corner ricocheted out to Sargent on the edge of the box and without taking a touch launched it into the top corner as nobody came to close him down. Once again, 2-1, through to the next round and oh how Monster would take that result on Saturday. 07/12/2024 - FA Cup 2nd Round v Milton Keynes Dons (A) 94 places separated the 2 sides. 1st in the Southern League Premier Division South against 2nd in Sky Bet League 1. No contest. Even the performance analyst wished the team luck in his report. As the minibus pulled up at Stadium MK a lot of players stared up in awe at a 30,000 seater stadium. It may be the only opportunity many of them would have to play at a ground of this size, although there had been a news story to say that only 5,200 tickets had been sold. The fans may not have another opportunity to see their team at a ground of that size again. With 10 minutes gone, Kachunga's low cross from the right was met by Twine but Gostomski was paying too much attention to him, pulling the attacking midfielder down in the box. Twine stepped up to send Ward the wrong way and give Milton Keynes the lead. 1-0 at half time, although Milton Keynes Dons doubled their lead straight after half time when Kachunga was played through in the right channel, and Ward will have been disappointed not to keep the winger's effort out, the ball dribbling in at the far post. Twine added his 2nd of the game just before the hour mark with a free kick from the edge of the area, curling the ball around the wall and into the net. There was no shame in a 3-0 defeat and Monster told the players to concentrate on the other 2 cups. It had been a great adventure but the FA Cup run was now over. The run had given Hillingdon a positive bank balance for the 1st time in several years and would keep them afloat for the foreseeable. 14/12/2024 - SLPDS v Chesham United (A) Could Hillingdon put the disappointment of last weekend behind them? A win at the 1st opportunity would always help with that. This was a routine win for Hillingdon, a 1-0 victory thanks to an early-second-half header from centre back Pagon, meeting Gostomski's corner at the near post. A win to keep their title quest on track with half of the league season gone, a 4-point gap to 2nd, and a game in hand too. 17/12/2024 - SLPDS v Tiverton Town (H) Coming up against a side battling relegation was another chance for Monster to rotate and he did to great effect, the replacement players all giving him something to think about. Owen Robinson and Sam Wilson started up front and both played their part in an entertaining end-to-end game. Hillingdon made a fast start and were 2-0 up inside 13 minutes, Robinson scoring both to break his long-suffering barren spell. The 1st was a long punt downfield by Ward in goal, completely missed by the defence and Robinson was able to run through, create an angle against the keeper and, keeping his balance, slotting the ball into the bottom corner. The 2nd was a little more measured, finding the same corner having been played through by some neat one-touch football. 2-0 at the break and Tiverton came out after the break with more purpose, determined to show what they were capable of. Unfortunately, for them, that meant being caught on the break twice in quick succession. Playing a suicidal high line allowed Wilson to break through and score from a narrow angle to make it 3-0 and Woodhouse scored a rare goal, following up Beeney's strike from the edge of the area to tuck the ball home after the keeper had parried the ball away. Tiverton did eventually grab 2 late goals, Lam scoring twice from within the 6-yard box in stoppage time but the damage had been done and Monster's rotated side gained another 3 points. Robinson was player of the match after his brace and showed a glimpse of what he was capable of to give Monster some thinking to do with Ihionvien having looked out of sorts recently. 21/12/2024 - FA Trophy 3rd Round v Staines Town (H) In the final game before Christmas it was another grudge match for Monster against the side that had done the double over Hillingdon last season, although it hadn't stopped them winning the title. Staines were surviving in the table, 14th at the start of play. Simpson opened the scoring for the away side after 4 minutes, played onside by Pagon, and used his pace to take it round Ward and tap into the net. Hillingdon equalised in the 15th minute. Gostomski corner. Plant header. Jack Ward with the close-range finish. In the 27th minute, Ihionvien struck with a near-post header from Byron's clipped cross to give Hillingdon the lead. Staines equalised in the 33rd minute, Simpson with a wonder strike from outside the box that flew over Ward and into the net. It remained 2-2 until the 72nd minute when Ihionvien was played through by a neat flick from Ward and his shot spilled through Parke's hands and over the line. Stansfield added a 4th goal in the 75th minute, played in by Martin's neat through ball and firing into the far corner across the keeper. Simpson pulled a goal back with a thunderous effort into the top corner from a Brangman pull-back almost immediately. Straight after that, Pagon slammed a header in at the near post, the ball kissing the crossbar on the way in to make it 4 goals within 5 minutes. Brangman added to the list of wonder strikes in the game in the 88th minute, another shot from outside the area that Ward could only watch sail past him. 5-4. It had been a crazy game. In the 93rd minute, Ihionvien added his own contender for goal of the game with a long-ranger of his own, smashing it home left-footed from all of 25 yards. A crazy game that Monster defined as an old-fashioned cup tie. Ihionvien was named player of the match with a 10.0 rating after his hattrick which took him to 21 goals for the season before Christmas. Having joined the club nearly a year ago, Monster was thrilled at putting his faith in him and the response in doing so. It made Monster consider whether he could find other lower-league bargains after Ihionvien had come from Ashford on a free transfer. Centre back and defensive midfield were the main areas in the team that looked a little light. 28/12/2024 - SLPDS v Yate Town (A) The post-Christmas game came against 13th in the table. The next few games were all in the league and Monster wanted to try and maintain their lead at the top. If they were still top at the end of January, then it would be full steam ahead on another title push to see if they could reach Tier 6. Yate started the brighter of the 2 teams but it was Hillingdon who found the breakthrough. Robinson, preferred to Callaghan up front after his recent decent performances, played the ball through for Ihionvien's run, and the star man smashed Hillingdon in front from the edge of the box. Just before half time, Hillingdon doubled their lead thanks to an own goal. Stansfield broke into the box on the right and his low cross was turned into his own net by Bower under no pressure whatsoever. The 2nd half went much the way of the 1st. Yate created the better chances but Hillingdon kept the ball better and in the 86th minute, a counter attack saw Ihionvien play Ward through and the diminutive shadow striker dinked the ball over the keeper to make it 3-0. Yate Town scored with a counter attack of their own in the 90th minute when Daniels charged down the right before booming a cross over to the far post where an unmarked Tumelty nodded home from close range to grab a goal they deserved. The 3 points belonged to Hillingdon, though, and it made the gap between them and Truro 8 points with a game in hand. 31/12/2024 - SLPDS v Dorchester Town (A) The final team to come up against in the league, a fixture that had been rearranged several times due to cup exploits, saw Hillingdon travel to Dorchester Town who had suffered a dip in form recently and now found themselves in 6th. Whatever happened, it was the final game of a stellar year at Hillingdon Borough after their league title, cup win, and FA Cup run. The next 3 matches were all against sides in the top 6 - a tricky run if there ever was one. This game was a bit of a damp squib, marred by a card-happy referee. Hillingdon finished with 9 men after Woodhouse and Gostomski were both dismissed in the 2nd half and they had already lost Ihionvien to a knock in the 1st. Both sides did manage chances but Monster was relieved to escape with a draw when everything seemed to be conspiring against them. The news from the physio team wasn't good, however. Ihionvien would miss at least all of January with a twisted ankle. December 2024 Review Not a perfect month but still a good one. The loss of Ihionvien may cause some issues, though. The long league unbeaten run continues and with suspensions and injuries starting to climb, the squad players would have a golden opportunity to prove themselves in the coming weeks. The club are back on a decent financial footing and still making progress. If another couple of months of decent results are possible then it could be a 3rd successive promotion for the team. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 January 2025 04/01/2025 - SLPDS v Kings Langley (H) Kings Langley were the form team in the league coming into this on a great winning run. Ihionvien and Gostomski were missing but a new centre back had joined on a free transfer having been released by Hereford. Welcome Lewis Fensome. He immediately took his place in the back 4. The game was relatively tame. Beeney scored a direct free kick in the 21st minute, the ball clipping the post on its way in. Kings Langley drew level in the 76th minute when Amu rose above everyone in the box to nod in Bowen's cross. With time running out, Hillingdon piled men forward and Byron, running out wide towards the corner flag to look for some space to dig out a cross was tripped from behind by Thompson. The referee pointed to the spot to the incredulity of the ground. Byron picked himself up to tuck the ball into the bottom left corner and Hillingdon saw the game out. A deserved win overall, thanks to 2 set pieces, which would no doubt please the board. 07/01/2025 - SLPDS v Truro City (H) The return game against the only league side to have beaten them so far this season had been pencilled in for a while. A win would take Monster's team 12 points clear, although that would prove to be much more difficult missing their star striker. Or would it? The game earlier in the season was an entertaining 6-goal thriller. Both sides were in decent form and Monster reminded everyone of what had happened in Truro in August, having taken the lead and then shipped goals for fun after Clapham had been sent off. After a quiet start where the 2 sides looked like they were warming into the contest, Hillingdon scored a scrappy goal. Ward's free kick found Plant at the back post. The centre back's header came back off the crossbar, rebounded off the back of a Truro player, bounced off a defender's heels and then turned in by Gostomski's shins for his first ever Hillingdon goal. In the 25th minute, a free kick just inside the Truro half was taken by Plant, passed into the feet of Jack Ward who was afforded time and space to turn and pick out a pass for Wilson to run through and slot it past Osborn. Hillingdon made it 3-0 before half time when Ward's free kick from a central area came back off the crossbar and Gostomski reacted first to tap in from a little further out than his first goal. Monster thought he was dreaming and told the players to keep going. Truro had barely created anything. Noah Casey made it 4-0 with the first attack of the second half, picking the ball up about 40 yards from goal and allowed to run to the edge of the box and fire past Osborn, who would have hoped to have done better, the ball sailing through his hands at his near post. Truro did pull a goal back in the 51st minute when half-time substitute Rose was released down the right and he crossed for a suspiciously offside-looking Goulty to make it 4-1 from the edge of the 6-yard box. In the 69th minute, Casey was adjudged to have pushed Stafford at a corner, although all Monster could see from the bench was a Hillingdon player flat in the penalty area. River Allen smashed his penalty down the middle and a few nerves started jangling. They couldn't throw it away from having been 4-0 up. Surely? Sargent did his best to ensure that didn't happen when he made it 5-2. Hutchcox launched a ball over the top for Robinson to run on to, and as his shot was blocked the rebound fell for Sargent to take a couple of touches and despatch the ball into the far corner. Truro pulled another goal back in the 88th minute when Rose smacked in from 6 yards out following some good work from Smolka down the left. Robinson thought he'd made it 6-3 in stoppage time but was adjudged to have been offside when the ball was played into him. It didn't stop him from smacking his shot in off the crossbar. Wilson did manage to make it 6-3, though as the clock ticked over into the 95th minute. Robinson's shot under pressure was spilled by Osborn, and his strike partner, Wilson, was on hand to pass the ball into the unguarded net. It had been a remarkable game on a Tuesday night in West London, and Monster practically bounced into the home dressing room. 12 points clear. They had destroyed their closest rivals without their best player. Now to keep their feet on the floor for the rest of the season. 11/01/2025 - SLPDS v Berkhamsted (A) Could Hillingdon follow up the more difficult games with a routine win against a side in the relegation zone? Monster demanded them to pick up from where they left off, not wanting any complacency to creep in. In front of the smallest crowd they'd played in front of this season (56), Hillingdon struggled to find a breakthrough until just before half time when Wilson was flattened in the area as he ran through, right back Russell collecting a second yellow and having to leave the field. Stansfield stepped up to slot the penalty into the bottom right corner and Hillingdon went in 1-0 up. Monster wanted to see more from them. They'd dominated the ball and needed to continue that against 10 men. Hutchcox eased those concerns within 5 minutes of the restart, nodding home at the back post from a Gostomski free kick. The 10 men responded, though, as Okechukwu wriggled free on the edge of the area before hammering a shot past Ward on 68 minutes. Gostomski had the final say, easing the pressure in the final 10 minutes when he scored a daisy cutter from all of 30 yards, collecting Martin's pass to take a touch and launch his shot through the crowd and past a flailing keeper. A routine win it was, in the end, although Berkhamsted were in the game before the red card. 15/01/2025 - SLPDS v Walton Casuals (A) Rooted to the bottom of the league. Without a win all season. Surely this would be another simple 3 points for Hillingdon? Monster had an eye on the FA Trophy game due to take place at the weekend but it was still a decent side that took to the pitch. It was timid start by both teams but Hillingdon took the lead in the 29th minute with a breakaway goal. Wilson picked the ball up inside his own half and drove at the Walton Casuals defence. He was tackled but the ball ran through for Ward to take the ball on and tuck the ball inside the far post. Casey doubled the lead 5 minutes later when Hutchcox's header found him on the edge of the box, and the winger curled a beauty into the top corner. Stansfield added 2 further goals either side of half time with 2 free kicks from similar positions; in the left channel he curled them over the wall and into the top left corner with the keeper flailing at thin air. Walton Casuals did score twice before the end; the first a poor piece of play from Pagon as he dwelt on the ball before Mongoy stole the ball off him and toe poked the ball past Ward, the second from an indirect free kick, Wiltshire forcing the ball over the line from close range. It finished 4-2 and meant with two-thirds of the season gone, Hillingdon were sitting 15 points clear at the top (with Truro having a game in hand). 18/01/2025 - FA Trophy 4th Round v Boreham Wood (A) Another high profile fixture but without the glamour of the FA Cup saw Hillingdon take on Boreham Wood of the National League. Monster couldn't help but admire the facilities of a club the size of Boreham Wood. But Hillingdon knew they had nothing to fear. They did concede a 15th minute penalty when Gooden tripped Bull inside the area as the forward was preparing to take a shot. Ward dived the right way but couldn't keep out Duffus's effort. Wilson grabbed an equaliser within 10 minutes - Plant's lofted ball over the top fell into the striker's path and he poked the ball past the onrushing keeper. Monster encouraged the team at the break but the Boreham Wood manager must have lit a fire under his team as they started the second half like a team possessed. Bull scored a delightful chip from just inside the area after 15 seconds of the half and Kagan Bas made it 3-1 with a clipped finish from inside the box, the ball having been played into his feet by rampaging right-back Poole. Taylor was harshly dismissed for Boreham Wood in the 50th minute, the referee gesturing he had seen a two-footed tackle on Stansfield, and sent Taylor to the dressing room. Could Hillingdon make the extra man count? In the 70th minute, Matthews tripped Stansfield just inside the box to give Monster some hope. However, Stansfield blazed the spot kick wide. Sargent did spark some hope of a miraculous comeback with his turn and shot into the top corner in the first minute of injury time but it was too little too late for the Tier 7 side. Nobody could deny Boreham Wood deserved to progress based on the match stats and 3-2 maybe flattered Hillingdon slightly. The focus would turn to the Southern League Cup as the only remaining cup competition now. 19/01/2025 - Board meeting Monster had put forward a request to complete his National B Licence but the board refused and called him in for a board meeting. They cited that they didn't want him to start attracting attention from other clubs. Despite Monster's protestations, the board refused to engage any further. Having said they couldn't afford it earlier in the season and refusing to discuss it until now with the finances being out of the red, Monster wondered if he needed to start looking elsewhere to realise his ambitions. Maybe at the end of the season. With the managers of the other top teams in the same division all having at least their Continental B Licence, trying to get a job any higher than Tier 7 may prove to be a struggle without doing some more coaching qualifications. A couple of days later, just to rub it in, Technical Director Shaddy Gittins (no, seriously, that's his name) announced that the goalkeeping coach Brett Hopkinson would be beginning to study for his Continental C Licence. Monster was not amused. 21/01/2025 - Southern League Cup 4th Round v Melksham Town (H) A reunion from one of the teams faced on the FA Cup run earlier in the season found Hillingdon welcome Melksham Town to the Middlesex Stadium. Monster swapped out the players who weren't at a decent level of fitness and was rewarded with a confident display. In a fairly quiet opening half hour, Robinson opened the scoring with a powerful effort at the end of a fine run, Casey's through ball playing him into the right channel. Casey had a free kick in a central position just after the hour mark and the chipped ball found Wilson, who hooked it in on the half volley. In the 76th minute, Hutchcox was sent sprawling in the area contesting a corner but Byron's effort was tipped around the post by McClachlan. Wilson made everyone forget about the miss a few minutes later, however, with a well struck effort from the edge of the area into the roof of the net. A dominant display took Hillingdon through to the quarter final. 25/01/2025 - SLPDS v Salisbury Town (A) Away to the side in 6th, and with Ihionvien on the verge of being back, and also a new striker set to sign, Monster tried to forget about the board's behaviour and continue on his quest to win another double. The game was devoid of many chances, and despite Salisbury going down to 10 men with roughly half an hour remaining, Hillingdon still couldn't find the breakthrough. 0-0 was the result which continued the league unbeaten run. January 2025 Review A decent month, progressing in one cup competition but going out of the other, and maintaining the lead at the top of the table. The win against Truro will surely be one of the games of the season. Gostomski won young player of the month. The Monster train was full steam ahead for Tier 6 at this stage. However, the board's behaviour was starting to run thin with Monster. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 29, 2022 Author Share Posted May 29, 2022 February 2025 01/02/2025 - SLPDS v Poole Town (H) 12 points clear and a relatively tame run-in to come, Monster was optimistic at the start of February. With games dropping off and only one midweek game scheduled for February, Monster hoped that the lead would grow even further by the end of the month. New signing Donte Thompson-Prempeh (Ed: can Monster sign some players with less complicated names in the future, please?) was thrown into the mix alongside Ihionvien, returning after a few weeks out with a twisted ankle. In a game of many chances, it never looked like being a 1-0 win. Hillingdon were the stronger side throughout and took the lead after half time when Thompson-Prempeh scored a trademark header. Brought in as an upgrade to an out-of-sorts Callaghan who is rumoured to be leaving the club, Gooden's cross found the new striker in the 6 yard box and his header found the bottom corner. It stayed 1-0 despite all the chances, and it was another game ticked off the list. 08/02/2025 - SLPDS v Staines Town (H) Two wins already against Staines this season wasn't enough for Monster, still irritated by them doing the double over them last season. Ihionvien scored his first goal since his return with a low finish after 5 minutes, turning in Stansfield's cross from the right in a lovely flowing move. The second goal was a little scrappier with Wilson using his pace to evade several challenges when running on to an Ihionvien through ball. Wilson's cross deflected several times into the path of Byron, who converted from 8 yards out at the back post. Shortly after half time, Wilson made it 3-0 when some questionable defending allowed Ward to have a free shot in the area. It was saved but Wilson was there to tuck the rebound away. Staines did get back into the game with two quickfire goals. Simpson bulleted a header into the net from an Allen corner before Kedwell ran through and lobbed the ball over Ward to make it 3-2 after 70 minutes. However, Byron put the game beyond doubt in the 82nd minute when Plant's long ball from the back looped over the static Staines defence, and the left winger was able to tuck it in at the near post from an acute angle. 4-2 was the final score and the gap was now 14 points. Surely the title would be wrapped up sooner rather than later? 15/02/2025 - SLPDS v Aylesbury United (H) The first opportunity to gain another 3 points came against Aylesbury United in 16th. A last gasp equaliser had earned Hillingdon a point earlier in the season in the away fixture, which sparked a run of 3 draws in a row and Monster was keen to avoid a repeat. Hillingdon had the better of the early exchanges and a neat passing move through the middle released Byron on the left wing. His cross-shot wasn't dealt with by the keeper who could only palm it out into onrushing players and Ihionvien was on hand to slot home after 23 minutes. 8 minutes into the second half, Gostomski's corner from the right was missed by the near post crew but fell kindly for Stansfield to lash home on the volley for his 9th league goal of the season. Hillingdon took their foot off the pedal after that but always had Aylesbury at arms length despite the away side applying pressure, but no breakthrough came, allowing Ward to pick up his 12th clean sheet of the season. 10 games left. 14 points clear. Surely Hillingdon Borough would be lifting the title? 22/02/2025 - SLPDS v Slough Town (A) 4th-placed Slough were the next league opponents in the trickiest fixture on paper left for Hillingdon this season. The Southern League Cup Quarter Final would take place in midweek, so Monster had some decisions to make regarding team selection. In the end, he decided to put out a full strength side; the cup would have to take second place to the league. That faith was rewarded after 8 minutes when Ihionvien was played through by Martin and he scored a tidy finish from the edge of the area tucking the ball to the keeper's right. Hillingdon held the lead until the closing stages when Darlington was found unmarked in the area and he nodded the ball past Ward to equalise. A draw seemed to be a fair result on the balance of play. The lead was cut to 12 points with 9 games to go but the majority of games left were against mid-table or lower sides. 25/02/2025 - Southern League Cup Quarter Final v AFC Sudbury (A) Away against a side 2nd in their division and with the odds heavily in their favour, Hillingdon arrived at King's Marsh Stadium to discover it was long and narrow, heavily suited to Sudbury's counter-attacking style. Suspensions were starting to bite with 3 players missing but the side that started was still full of first choice names. Monster didn't want to tell the players but he had put in an application form for the vacant manager's position at Vanarama National League side Southend United, having started to lose faith in the board's decision-making. Monster told every player he had faith in them and sent them out with nothing to fear. They made the better start and broke the deadlock after 3 minutes when Byron's cross was met at the near post by Wilson's header. AFC Sudbury offered little throughout the first half and with Hillingdon dominating possession as expected, Monster told them to keep the ball and they would win. With legs starting to tire, Monster took off Stansfield for Ward, and he was involved in the neat build-up play in the 82nd minute which saw Gooden play Byron through, and the left winger pulled the trigger to fire past Horne and make it 2-0. AFC Sudbury did pull one back in injury time when Sutcliffe's effort from the edge of the box curled past Ward in goal but Hillingdon kept their nerve and went through to the semi final to face divisional rivals Merthyr Town. 26/02/2025 - Monster received a polite email from Southend United to say he hadn't even been shortlisted for interview, despite him seemingly fitting in with the club's philosophy. February 2025 Review A relatively quick month with only 5 games played but it was business as usual. A lead at the top of the league and through to the semi final of the cup. Monster was named manager of the month after 3 wins and a draw. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 30, 2022 Author Share Posted May 30, 2022 March 2025 01/03/2025 - SLPDS v Bath City (A) Bath had been relegated from Tier 6 and had been tipped to do well but were currently in 9th and had drawn 4 of their last 5. Pagon had played at Bath City last season before being released and was relishing playing his former team. Hillingdon opened the scoring after 13 minutes when Ward's late run was spotted by Thacker, and the wing back's excellent through ball allowed the shadow striker to run through and score with a low drive into the corner. However, Bath grew into the game and their high press caught Pagon out as he gifted Taylor-Crossdale the ball on the edge of his own box, and the Bath striker unleashed a shot across goal past Ward and into the top corner. The second half saw both sides have chances but nobody could capitalise, Ward producing several fine stops to deny the former Tier 6 side. A first sign of fear shone through here, with several players below their best. With a couple of home games coming up, Monster hoped to get back to winning ways as the lead at the top was cut to 10 points. 08/03/2025 - SLPDS v Guernsey (H) With the cup semi final scheduled for midweek, Monster rotated the entire team. Even Anyanwu (remember him?) made an appearance in goal against the side in 16th. 3 points was all Monster wanted here. After 10 minutes, forgotten centre back Brett Geddes met Beeney's left-wing corner with a bullet header to give Hillingdon the lead. Woodhouse doubled the lead in the 37th minute with a scuffed, bobbly effort into the left corner of the net from the edge of the box, hitting Sargent's square pass first-time. In the 54th minute, Beeney scored a beautiful arcing free kick from 22 yards. Beeney rounded off the scoring in the 66th minute, making the run from deep to run on to Casey's excellent through ball and fire into the bottom left corner from 16 yards. A comprehensive win and the lead was back to 12 points after Truro City stumbled against Hillingdon's next opposition, Merthyr Town. 11/03/2025 - Southern League Cup Semi Final v Merthyr Town (H) A cup semi final under the lights at the Middlesex Stadium. Monster showed the side the videos of the 5-0 win over Herne Bay at the same stage last year (albeit a different cup competition). Most of the players were still at the club although Callaghan had submitted a transfer request after feeling he would never make the grade again. Bids had been submitted for him and his departure looked more than likely. This game didn't live up to last season's semi final, though. The two sides cancelled each other out for the most part. Chances were few and far between. In first half stoppage time, Merthyr grabbed the lead when Schwank headed in Dawes' cross from the left from 6 yards out. Try as they might, Hillingdon couldn't get near Merthyr's goal until the final minute of the game. Pagon's header from Gostomski's corner came back off the bar and Wilson was on hand to hook the ball into the net from a couple of yards out. The game went straight to penalties. Having won the cup on penalties last year, Monster put his faith in the team, telling them not to worry. Merthyr took the first penalty and Hamilton hit his penalty low to Ward's right but the keeper stretched out an arm and kept it out. Stansfield took the first for Hillingdon and sent Benfield the wrong way, slotting into the bottom right corner. Gough was next for Merthyr but his penalty was also saved by Ward, the keeper not having to move too far but got a strong hand on the penalty that went down the middle. Byron stepped up for Hillingdon and found the bottom left corner, the shot having too much on it for Benfield to keep out. Barker clipped his penalty into the top left corner to put Merthyr on the scoresheet but Gostomski followed suit to make it 3-1. If Calder missed, then Hillingdon would be through. He stepped up, hit it left-footed but without any real power and Ward dived to his left to stop the ball in his midriff. They were through! The players all ran to mob Ward and look forward to another cup final. It had been a tense game of few clear cut chances, but they had made it through again against the odds and would taken on Nuneaton Borough, managed by Ched Evans, in May. 15/03/2025 - SLPDS v Royston Town (A) Monster hoped the cup exploits midweek wouldn't distract too much from the league. Away form had tailed off recently so the pressure was on to try and reverse those fortunes and ease the pressure on their title charge. Royston Town were 11th, comfortably mid-table, and had managed to draw 0-0 at the Middlesex Stadium in October. Royston Town opened the scoring in the 27th minute when a low cross wasn't dealt with well, Ward palming out Brown's low cross into Pagon's shins, and Bettamer was on hand to poke home from close range. Hillingdon went in level at the break thanks to Ihionvien's powerful effort. Played through by Beeney, he took a touch, picked his spot, and crashed his shot in off the crossbar from just inside the area. Royston Town regained the lead when Kelly nodded in Brown's corner at the back post, Ward scrambling across but couldn't keep it out. It was Ihionvien who drew Hillingdon level again, though - Beeney the provider once more playing a neat pass into the striker's feet. One touch. Bang. The ball was dispatched into the far corner. Less than a minute later, Ihionvien grabbed his hattrick. Beeney was afforded space to run into, and he had time and space to pick the perfect ball through to Ihionvien who smashed in his 3rd. Royston Town had a man sent off before the end but the 3 points went home with Hillingdon. The away fans also brightened their mood when it turned out Truro had slipped up away at Cirencester, going down 2-1. The lead was now 15 points with 6 games remaining. Surely insurmountable? 22/03/2025 - SLPDS v Hitchin Town (H) The first opportunity to confirm the title came against Hitchin Town, 9th in the league at the start of play but they would have to do it without Cian Callaghan, the top goalscorer for the last 2 seasons leaving on a free transfer to join Tier 9 Hassocks. Hitchin were the side Ihionvien had scored 5 past in November and Monster hoped the striker would do something similar today to give the side the best possible chance of winning the league in front of their own fans. Ihionvien gave Hillingdon the lead with his 21st league goal of the season when Pagon's ball over the top caught the Hitchin defence ball-watching, allowing the striker to sneak in and fire hard and low to the keeper's left. Hitchin drew level with a thunderbolt from the boot of Malcolm in the 32nd minute, smashing a shot from outside the area with the outside of his left foot off the underside of the bar and past a flailing Ward, who didn't get near it. Pagon restored the lead a couple of minutes later, thumping in a near post header from Gostomski's left-side corner. He had been under fire in recent weeks after some inconsistent performances but was stealing the show here. He added to the score after half time too, nodding in Ward's right-wing free kick to make it 3-1. Hitchin rarely offered a threat and were caught out on the break in the last few seconds of the game, Stansfield breaking forward and playing a square ball across the box for Ward to sweep home from 6 yards out. A 4-1 victory but no confirmed title with Truro beating Dorchester 2-0. 1 point was all that would be required to ensure a 3rd successive promotion. 29/03/2025 - SLPDS v AFC Totton (A) Could they manage it today against the side 15th in the table? Plant had been complaining of a lack of first team football, Fensome and Pagon the preferred centre-back pairing in recent weeks, so Monster gave him a start here alongside Pagon. AFC Totton opened the scoring in this game with a goal on the counter, Bellis played through and he used his pace to escape Plant's attention and stab the ball home off the right-hand post. Maybe the title wasn't going to be theirs today. Ihionvien had other ideas, though, equalising within 10 minutes. He managed to escape some agricultural challenges to run through and shoot from the edge of the area. His shot was palmed away by Palmer but Ihionvien followed in to tap in from an acute angle. Just after the hour mark, Byron escaped down the left, made it to the byline, and pulled the ball back for Ihionvien unmarked on the edge of the 6-yard box to stroke home. Now to see the game out. Both sides had chances but there weren't any more goals. They had done it! A title win against even greater odds than they had faced last season. Truro had lost 1-0 away at Tiverton so it hadn't mattered what the result was here. A league win with 4 games remaining and Tier 6 football next season. But would Monster be in charge? His laptop had been conducting searches for managerial vacancies elsewhere after the board's refusal to sanction a coaching course, hoping for a fallen giant with some financial backing that could support his ambitions to reach the upper tiers of the game. March 2025 Review Yet another month of unprecedented success. Ihionvien took another young player of the month award and Monster the manager of the month award. With the games having slowed down, more time was being spent training, compared to the earlier months of the season where there were two games a week on a regular basis. The win on penalties after the last gasp equaliser against Merthyr Town would live long in the memory with the Southern League Cup final to look forward to in May. It was also the month that the title was won. But it was not all rosy at the Middlesex Stadium and Monster couldn't help but keep his eyes peeled elsewhere. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted May 31, 2022 Author Share Posted May 31, 2022 April 2025 05/04/2025 - SLPDS v Merthyr Town (H) After not being able to beat Merthyr in two games yet this season, Monster hoped for better in this game. Various records were on the verge of being broken, and although not counting towards his Hall of Fame ambitions, it would always be nice to have Hillingdon written into the record books. Merthyr's form had slipped since the last time the two sides had met and were now battling for a playoff spot. Hillingdon had two goals ruled out in the first half; Ihionvien with two strikes ruled out for offside. They eventually found the breakthrough in the 56th minute when Casey's fine run on the right allowed him to squeeze in a low cross which Wilson turned in from 6 yards out. 10 minutes later it was 2-0 when Casey nodded in Byron's cross at the back post. The left winger had been released thanks to some neat work by Ihionvien and Ward in the corner, and the left-winger's curling cross picked out the opposite winger perfectly to nod in. Merthyr set up a nervy finale as Noel-McLeod bundled home from 8 yards out after Cusani's long-range effort came back off the crossbar but Haste was dismissed for a second yellow card with 9 minutes remaining and their attacks petered out after that. 11/04/2025 - Jason Baxter, Assistant Manager, was thrilled to announce the club would be covering the cost of his Continental C licence. Monster silently seethed. Gareth Eaton wouldn't even take his call to discuss the matter. 12/04/2025 - SLPDS v Dorchester Town (H) The final home match of the season saw Hillingdon face a side who had been fighting for a playoff spot but had slipped down recently to 7th. The away game had been a competitive 0-0 draw back in December and Monster demanded a decent performance to keep up some form for the cup final. Much maligned Pagon seemed to be determined to make up for his tag by opening the scoring in the 21st minute, flicking Ward's left-sided corner inside the far post. Pagon's ball forward was instrumental for the second goal too, Ihionvien flicking it on for Wilson to run on and finish from 8 yards out in the middle of the box with a right-footed shot past the keeper. In the 42nd minute, Pagon was at it again. A corner from the right this time, same taker, same target. 3-0. Dorchester never recovered and it was 4-0 in the 68th minute when Casey's free kick came back off the crossbar and Fensome was on hand to tuck in the rebound with the keeper prone on the floor. Ihionvien made it 5-0 a few minutes later with a pounding header from Casey's cross. Martin released the winger down the right and Ihionvien was unmarked in the centre of the area to nod the ball home. Casey went off injured shortly after and he'll miss the rest of the league season but may be fit for the cup final. The match finished 5-0 but Dorchester may feel slightly hard done by based on the stats. It was, however, Hillingdon's biggest win of the season so far. 19/04/2025 - SLPDS v Cirencester Town (A) Cirencester were 18th going into the game, battling to avoid relegation. In an even first half, the only real action was Hillingdon being awarded a penalty when Hayes-Green tripped Ihionvien in the area. O'Connor flung himself to his left to keep out Stansfield's penalty and the rebound was scrambled away. Cirencester took the lead in the 56th minute when O'Connor's long clearance downfield was completely misjudged by Pagon allowing Adu-Adjei to run through and clip a finish past Ward on the counter. Hillingdon equalised within 10 minutes with a fine move from the back, Thacker breaking into midfield and allowing Ward to play a through ball for Ihionvien who did what he does and find the back of the net with a right-footed finish into the bottom corner from 14 yards out. Cirencester had more chances, using the pace of Adu-Adjei but the game ended 1-1. Monster made a note of the opposition's main threat, on loan from Woking; that pace could prove a useful weapon. 26/04/2025 - SLPDS v Tivertown Town (A) And so to the final league game of a spectacular season. 1 league defeat all the way back in August had resulted in a league record number of wins. Could they extend that run further against the side in 13th? Stansfield opened the scoring in the first half after 28 minutes with a tidy finish. Monster had asked the team to play with a higher tempo and the short passes were struck with a much greater pace and urgency than noticed previously. A through ball from Martin found the right winger and he had the composure to take it around the keeper to fire home. Midway through the second half, Ihionvien doubled the lead when Monsterball out from the back found Jack Ward in plenty of space inside the centre circle. His turn and run found Wilson and his first time pass allowed Ihionvien to run through and fire into the far corner left-footed for his 26th league goal of the season and his 34th in all competitions. A 2-0 win to finish the season, leaving Hillingdon 21 points clear of Truro City, the only side to have beaten them in the league. Cirencester Town, Chesham United, Guernsey, and Walton Casuals were relegated proving that the media knew little of what to expect with only Walton Casuals having been predicted to finish in the bottom 4. All eyes were now on the cup final in three and a half weeks against Nuneaton Borough, who had also topped their league by 21 points. Monster finally managed a word with Gareth Eaton and was told a board decision would be made in the next few days. 27/04/2025 - rejected again. Monster angrily demanded a meeting which didn't last long, Gareth Eaton insisting it wouldn't be the right thing for the club now. Monster slammed the door on the way out, furious with the betrayal to cough up when they're willing to pay for the staff. April 2025 Review Another great month for plucky Hillingdon Borough with the minimum of facilities but a positive bank balance after their FA Cup run. The full season review would come after the cup final but April had been another unbeaten month. Underlying tensions with the board could make for an interesting summer at the Middlesex Stadium. Would Monster wait to see how they fared in Tier 6? Or would he jump ship to somewhere who would appreciate his skills and want him to grow with the club? He had had a manager at the brush factory who had wanted to keep him in his box a few years ago, and Monster was starting to see shades of that manager in the chairperson. Monster had pinned that manager's behaviour as the start of the factory's downfall. Would the same fate befall his new employers here? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 May 2025 Friendlies - as with last season, Monster arranged some friendlies against local sides to keep the match sharpness with the cup final coming so long after the league season had finished. Monster's mood wasn't helped by being informed by Shaddy Gittins that Mallachi Tranter, U23s coach, would be doing his Continental C licence too. It purely wasn't a cost issue. The board were wanting to cage their manager to make him less attractive to other clubs, Monster was certain of it. In terms of the matches, they despatched Pick Up 6-0 (Ihionvien 2, Thompson-Prempeh, Beeney, Gooden, and Bagger), Chalfont Wasps 9-0 (Byron 2, Fensome 2, Ihionvien, Ward, Thompson-Prempeh 2, and Wilson), and Worcester Park 6-3 (Ihionvien 3, Robinson 3) meant they had some goals under their belt going into the game. 21/05/2025 - Southern League Cup Final v Nuneaton Borough (N) Travelling to Banbury, home of Banbury United, a ground somewhere between the two home grounds, Monster was mixed. Nervous at the prospect of more silverware but also undecided on what the outcome of the match would mean. He hadn't told anyone of his predicament so far. Newspaper reports of Eaton being pleased with Monster winning the Manager of the Year award and that it augured well for future success stung even more. Surely helping him improve as a coach would benefit the club? Hillingdon were unfancied yet again, Nuneaton the clear favourites and as Monster walked the team out, he hoped they would use their underdog status to good use as they had done last year. Hillingdon took control of the first half, looking brighter on the ball and creating the better opportunities. As the clock ticked past 45 minutes, Gostomski's corner was swung in from the left and the referee pointed to the spot, having spotted a push. Byron stepped up and nearly blasted the keeper's head off with his effort into the top of the net. 1-0 was no less than they deserved. Nuneaton made it an even game in the second half, creating some chances of their own and as the clock started to run down, the pressure eventually told when top scorer Caron Burgess stole through to drive Nuneaton level with 12 minutes to go. Chances fell to both sides but neither could take them. The closest Hillingdon came was a late Stansfield free kick which the keeper somehow kept out and Pagon was penalised for a push when going for the rebound. On the face of it, Hillingdon should have scored more but Nuneaton had made their spell of pressure count and the match went to penalties. As it had done last year. Monster tried to do everything the same, telling them to relax. Stansfield took the first one but saw his spot kick come back off the post. Unwin stepped up for Nuneaton and smashed his penalty in low and hard to Ward's right. Byron, having scored during the 90 minutes, went high with his penalty but saw it bounce back off the crossbar. Monster had his head in his hands. He'd never heard of a side winning a shootout where they had missed their first two penalties. Keogh stepped up for Nuneaton... and missed! Ward threw himself to his right to palm the ball out. 1-0 to Nuneaton after two penalties each. Gostomski stepped up for the third penalty and saw his effort hit the underside of the bar... and bounce out! The assistant referee confirmed it hadn't crossed the line and they missed their third penalty in a row. Surely curtains now for Hillingdon. Burgess stepped up for Nuneaton, and Ward made another save diving low to his left this time to tip Burgess's penalty around the post. Ihionvien made it 1-1 when he scored low to the keeper's left. Monster was hoping Ward could pull off another miracle save as Agnew stepped up. Ward threw himself to his left but Agnew had gone to his right, the ball sailing into the top corner. 2-1 with one penalty left. Plant had to score. He stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way, passing his penalty into the net. 2-2. Everything was crossed now. Could Ward save Hillingdon yet again? The Nuneaton keeper hadn't touched the ball in the shootout and yet had only conceded twice. Szymon Kowalczyk took his time in reaching the penalty area. Ward danced on his line. The Nuneaton player stepped up and hit it right-footed. Low. To Ward's right. The same way the keeper had dived. The ball nestled into the corner of the net. Nuneaton had won. 3-2 on penalties. Monster made everyone stand and watch the presentation after collecting their runners' up medals. It was the first time he had experienced a cup final loss and he didn't want to experience it again. The journey home down the M40 was a solemn affair. Hardly anybody spoke. They had come so close but Nuneaton had prevailed on penalties. Monster now had a decision to make. Try and find another job? Or put up with the board's blatant disregard of his eagerness to learn and improve? The whole squad would need a rebuild with none of the first team having a deal for next season as yet. But what level would he be able to manage in with only a National C licence? He would have to have a look at job adverts very carefully. 2024/2025 Season Review If last season had been scarcely believable, what would this season count as? Barely believable? A dream? It didn't have the glamour of a double win but taking the Tier 7 division by storm, only losing 1 league game all season was a testament to the Monsterball philosophy. The end of season dinner began with Gareth Eaton congratulating the team on another promotion and discussing the finances at the club which were certainly healthier than this time last season after their FA Cup heroics. Monster sat at his table, arms folded, staring at the man who was refusing to sanction career progress. Then came the board's moments to remember. The biggest win was the 5-0 victory over Dorchester Town in April. The match to remember was the victory over Aldershot in October during the FA Cup run. The goal of the season went to Casey's weaving run and finish on the opening day of the season against Paulton Rovers. The team of the season saw Gooden in at left back and Casey on the right wing but other than that there weren't any major surprises. Club Awards: Fans' Player of the Season: Bradley Ihionvien - what a season from the punt signing Monster made in January 2024. He finished with 34 goals and barring his injury that kept him out in January 2025, he was a constant thorn in the sides of the opposition. Young Player of the Season: Noah Casey - this was a tricky decision with so many of the side being 21 or younger but Casey took the plaudits courtesy of goals and assists from the right wing. Signing of the Season: Niall Ward - Monster had been searching for a goalkeeper all summer and eventually plumped for Ward who barely made any mistakes and made several penalty saves in the shootouts faced this season. Goal of the Season: Noah Casey - a great run and finish, mentioned above. Top Goalscorer: Bradley Ihionvien (34) - the best player at the club by a long way, it was a brilliant season by the forward. Most Assists: Jack Ward (12) - not as many as last season but his through balls were still lethal. Most Player of the Match Awards: Bradley Ihionvien (7) Highest Average Rating: Noah Casey (7.4) - a constant threat on the right wing, chipping in with 9 goals and 12 assists, it was a well-deserved award for Casey. Records Broken: Most overall goals in a season: Ihionvien (34) Most league goals in a season: Ihionvien (26) Most goals by a player in a match and goals in a league match: Ihionvien (5) Most clean sheets by a player in a season: Ward (16) Competition Awards: Manager of the Season: Jonster Monster Player of the Season: Bradley Ihionvien As the clubhouse was locked up for a few weeks, Monster wondered if he would be there when it opened for training. According to an article he had seen, he was the favourite at the bookies to get the Wealdstone job, a mid-table side in the Vanarama National League South. No approach had been made but Monster applied that evening as well as putting his CV forward, now with 2 league wins, 3 promotions, 2 cup finals, and 1 cup win on there, all against the odds with a mostly young side on a modest budget. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 2, 2022 Author Share Posted June 2, 2022 2025/2026 Pre-season Monster offered contracts to Ihionvien, Jack Ward, Casey, Martin, and Fensome to extend their deals until the end of next season. A new goalkeeper was signed in Manny Agboola on the recommendation of the Director of Football. But Monster was also submitting his CV to any club that would listen. 12/06/2022 - job interview At League 2 Walsall! Monster nearly fell off his chair when the Technical Director, Jamie Fullarton, sent him an email inviting him to attend an interview. A professional football club! Monster wasn't sure if it was some sort of wind-up. The call was positive and they even agreed to send him on a coaching course if he was successful. 14/06/2022 - two job interviews Even with press speculation linking him with Walsall, Monster had two more interviews come in from Newport County, recently relegated from League 2 and Wealdstone of National League South. The interview with Newport didn't go well and the call terminated when the club refused to send Monster on another coaching course. Wealdstone said they weren't particularly fussed about the qualifications and didn't need Monster to obtain anything higher to achieve their objectives. 18/06/2022 - Wealdstone called Monster back with a job offer. Having not heard from Walsall, Monster asked to delay for a week. 19/06/2022 - Walsall announced Michael Appleton as their new manager. At least Wealdstone were still on the table. Monster had applications in with Aldershot, Accrington Stanley, and Doncaster Rovers too. 20/06/2022 - Monster was invited to an interview with Aldershot Town, a side Hillingdon had knocked out of the FA Cup last season. A professional side, once of League 2, they had much better facilities than Hillingdon. They were in some financial difficulty but Monster had proven he could get results on a small budget and they were only one cup run away from repairing the financial damage. They also weren't fussed by Monster's apparent lack of coaching qualifications. 23/06/2022 - Aldershot rang back with a job offer which would more than double his salary! Monster piled into his car to head down to Aldershot to complete his move. Also offering a wage budget four-times greater than Hillingdon's while being in the same league, Monster didn't hesitate to accept the offer. He had promised to keep the Director of Football and not to require any further backroom staff and the only club culture item was to develop players using the club's youth system. Monster was handed a scarf and was ushered outside to be unveiled as the new manager of Aldershot Town. A news article informed Monster that Joey Barton had been the favourite but it was Monster who they had put the faith in. Hillingdon would be looking for a new manager, Aldershot paying £2k as compensation. Monster spent the next few days setting up everything in the background at the club; establishing the tactic into the training plans - the players could now train every day, so his plans from Hillingdon would be useless. His first job with contract expiry day coming up would be to try to reduce the wage budget by £7k p/w. Monster's highest paid player at Hillingdon was Ihionvien on £300 p/w. Corey Jordan was on £1,300 p/w. Monster realised he was in a whole different arena now. Recognising several of the squad whom his Hillingdon Borough side had beaten in the FA Cup, Monster knew there was some talent here. It would be whether he could hold on to them. The fixtures were released and Monster immediately looked at when he would be facing Hillingdon Borough for the first time. Boxing Day at home. A return to the Middlesex Stadium wouldn't be until 25th April. Pre-season fixtures Unbeaten throughout preseason, there were some notable games including deep-lying playmaker Jayden Harris scoring from 40 yards against Barry which flew into the top corner. Transfers It was a busy summer of ins and outs. Some Aldershot players expressed their desire to play elsewhere. Monster promptly sold them, regardless of their status or how good a player they were. Talented youngsters were snapped up by higher league clubs. Monster negotiated a club record sale of Jim Johnston to Preston North End for a deal upwards of £350k. He was determined to remain under the wage budget and try to bring the club debts back under control as soon as possible. It left him with a weaker squad than when he arrived but having to trim around a third of the wage budget was always going to prove tricky. However, Monster was encouraged by the level of player he was able to attract in on trial. Anybody earning over £1k p/w was shown the door as well. Squad The standard of players that had been in on trial was a huge upgrade on what he had seen previously but they demanded wages the wage budget couldn't maintain. Monster turned to youth players again as cheaper options and with the club culture to develop players using the club's youth system, it made sense to give opportunities to youngsters already at the club. Staff Having promised not to change the backroom staff, the board had interpreted this as Monster not being allowed to bring in any staff to fill vacancies either, so there were some staff spots unfilled at the start of the season. League Season Preview Hillingdon were rock bottom in the predictions. Aldershot were predicted to finish 2nd. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 August 2025 16/08/2025 - Vanarama National League South v Maidenhead United (A) An away game to start against a side predicted to be nearer the bottom of the table. Monster still had the feeling he didn't have the complete unwavering trust of the side compared to the players he had at Hillingdon but that would only improve with good results. Aldershot started well, dominating the ball in typical Monsterball fashion, demonstrating they had at least bought into the concept. They also found a breakthrough after 28 minutes with a goal from Tom Cannon. Played through by Tydeman, the striker scuffed into the corner to give Monster's new side the lead. Aldershot continued to dominate, creating chance after chance but seemingly unable to take them. It ended up costing them as following a Harris free kick which Griffiths clawed out, Maidenhead countered and Greenhalgh was able to sneak in to convert Barton's cross. Aldershot continued to press for a winner but nothing came. 1-1 to start the season despite being the much better side. It gave Monster some encouragement but he knew there would also be much work to do. The only poor performance had come from McNamara in goal. Monster had agreed on a price with the goalkeeper any clubs would need to pay to take him off Aldershot's hands and a performance like that might discourage clubs from looking at him. 23/08/2025 - VNLS v Welling United (H) Welling had drawn their opening game too and were also predicted to be a mid-table side. Could Monster's team build on their opening day performance? Monster was also excited about stepping out in front of more than 200 fans on a regular basis at The Recreation Ground, the largest capacity ground in the league. In the 10th minute, Wilson broke through to give Aldershot the lead. Kilner's clipped pass over the top found the winger, who clipped his shot in off the far post from a narrow angle. Cannon made it 2-0 in the 27th minute, scoring a low drive from the edge of the area after Kontoulis had knocked down Kilner's crossfield pass. One touch with his left to control the ball, and a low drive into the bottom right corner. In the 36th minute, Welling pulled one back with a well-worked goal. Brown was in oceans of space on the right having not been tracked by Kontoulis and his cross was tucked in at the near post by Yeates. Monster wasn't happy with the team again at half time, criticising their performance, which some of the players didn't take kindly. However, they did go 3-1 up when O'Connell scored a penalty after Robinson had been tripped by Davidson. Lowe scored another Welling goal this time from 25 yards with a low drive that McNamara couldn't get close to. The last few minutes were nervy but Aldershot held on for the win. It could have been a different story, having hit the woodwork 4 times in the game. It made Monster wonder if Ihionvien would have scored more goals in this team. 30/08/2025 - VNLS v Wealdstone (H) Monster had nearly joined Wealdstone in the summer before Aldershot had come in for him, and Wealdstone were above his new side as it stood on goal difference. Wealdstone had appointed Lewis Grabban as their new manager after Monster had chosen Aldershot. Monster wanted to make sure there were no regrets in his decision and with it being a fan day, a bumper crowd was expected. In a competitive first half, Wealdstone were reduced to 10 men on the half hour mark when Hirst was sent off after a second yellow card. Aldershot set out to take advantage. A quick throw in on the left found Robinson in space to whip a cross to the back post where Wilson stole in to nod the home side in front. Tydeman made it 2-0 after half time with a curling effort from the edge of the area, taking a touch from Robinson's pass to get the ball to an angle where he could curl it around the centre back before whipping it home right-footed. In the 82nd minute, Robinson finally scored his first goal for The Shots, pumping home a header from the edge of the six yard box after Harris had been played the ball out on the right wing following the breakdown from a corner. It ended 3-0 and Monster was pleased at the clean sheet, the clinical finishing, and the performances on display. August 2025 Review An unbeaten start that could have been so much more if they had taken their chances against Maidenhead. However, it is still a new team bedding in and Monster is only starting to get used to training more than twice a week. 4th in the fledgling league table and there were signs the team were starting to click. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 4, 2022 Author Share Posted June 4, 2022 September 2025 01/09/2025 - VNLS v Dulwich Hamlet (A) A quick turnaround saw Aldershot take on Dulwich Hamlet on bank holiday Monday. Monster's team had been bolstered by a free loan signing of Harvey Jones from Bristol Rovers, which should provide some more options in attack. Thanks to the Director of Football, Terry Brown, for that one. Aldershot had the better of the first half but went in at the break level. Jones got the opening goal on his debut when Kontoulis made it to the byline, pulling it back for Jones to hook in on the volley to dip inside the far post. Dulwich Hamlet equalised almost immediately when Gyamfi's excellent cross was met by Reid at the back post who climbed above Elmi to loop a header over McNamara. Aldershot regained the lead when Cannon scored in the 66th minute, having been played through by Tydeman, he stroked the ball into the bottom-left corner from just inside the area. It turned out to be the winner against the side the media predicted to finish 3rd. There were some tired faces after two games in three days but Monster was hopeful his programmed training schedule would help with any fitness issues. 06/09/2025 - VNLS v Truro City (H) Truro City had made it up via the playoffs and had taken to life in the VNLS very well, starting the day in 4th. It was a warm, sunny day at The Recreation Ground and Aldershot brought out some sunshine football after 15 minutes, Tydeman converting Kontoulis's left-wing cross at the near post. Zach Robinson made it 2-0 after 27 minutes, converting a wonderful lofted through ball from Regan Clayton to cushion a volley past Osborn from the edge of the area. Just after the hour mark, Aldershot went 3-0 up thanks to O'Connell's penalty after there had been some pushing in the area following a Wilson corner from the right. The centre back drilled it into the right-hand corner of the net for his second goal of the season. Truro pulled one back in the 71st minute, Goulty presented with an easy finish when Rose's shot inside the area was deflected up into the air and with McNamara prone, the striker couldn't miss from 3 yards out. 7 minutes later and Truro grabbed a second. Raymond's lobbed free kick into the area was cushioned home by Channell to set up a barnstorming finish to the game. In the 84th minute, Clayton in the inverted wingback role broke into the box on the left and kept running to tuck the ball in at the near post for an unlikely goal. Goals at Hillingdon from the inverted wingbacks were normally strikes from the edge of the area but Monster wasn't going to complain. Games with Truro had always been goalfests and this one was no exception. Kontoulis was the player of the match with two assists. McNamara was on Monster's radar after the match and the keeper was told in no uncertain terms that his performances needed to improve to keep his place in the side. 13/09/2025 - VNLS v Billericay Town (A) Another game against a side that had started well took Aldershot to Billericay, a side Aldershot had a 100% record against. Could they make it 5 wins out of 5 today? Tydeman found Clayton rampaging up the field with a wonderfully clipped through ball in the 34th minute, and the left back played a square ball to Robinson to tuck home from 8 yards out. Cannon then had to come off before half time with a hamstring injury. 7 minutes into the second half, Aldershot doubled their lead with a Monster corner goal. Near post. Centre back O'Connell met it. Net rippled. 2-0. Another corner in the 84th minute made it 3-0. From the other side, Harris whipped in an in-swinger and Hunt rose highest, although goalkeeper Lovett would hope to do better with a shot straight at him rather than palm it into the net. McNamara couldn't claim a clean sheet bonus, though, as Billericay responded immediately when McEneff's shot took a couple of deflections to bobble in past the stranded keeper. Another game dominated. Another win. 3-1 the final score. 20/09/2025 - FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round v AFC Totton (A) A side from the division Monster had been managing in last year were the first opponents in the tournament Monster was hoping for a run in this year to try to bring Aldershot back to a positive bank balance. Slipping up at a side in rotten form near the bottom of the league a tier below them wouldn't be a good start. Monster had won 2-1 there last season but with a professional side in tow, was hoping to heap some misery on them. It looked to be coming true in the 4th minute as Clayton, almost playing as a mezzala from his inverted wingback role, played through shadow striker Tydeman who managed to beat the keeper to the ball and toe poke it into the corner of the net to make it 1-0. Hudson was penalised for pushing Milner-Smith as they contested a free kick and O'Connell smashed home his 3rd penalty of the season. In the 44th minute, Aldershot made it 3-0 with the two reserve wingers combining. Everitt, who had made in inauspicious start to life at Aldershot managed to twist and turn himself into a position to bend a cross to the far post where Jonathan Cook was on hand to nod in. It was then the reserve strikers' turn. Harvey Jones with the good work in the left channel hit a low cross across the six yard box and Olushola was on hand to tuck in Aldershot's 4th goal of the half. Duffus scored a consolation for AFC Totton in the 71st minute, played through and kept onside by Clayton's inability to stay in a straight line with his centre backs, he found the corner of the net with ease. However, Harvey Jones restored the 4-goal lead with a lovely run and finish in injury time, picking the ball up just inside the AFC Totton half and running through unchallenged to drive low past Palmer. 5-1 and Aldershot were comfortably in the hat for the next round. 23/09/2025 - VNLS v Hungerford Town (H) A midweek fixture at home to the side 5th in the league. Monster sent out a full-strength side. In the 15th minute, Kilner was pushed in the back trying to reach a Kontoulis cross and O'Connell had the chance to score from the spot. However, his shot was a comfortable height for Calmey to turn the ball away, diving to his left. However, from the resulting corner, Wilson's cross was turned home by centre back Max Hunt. Harvey Jones had a goal ruled out for offside but made amends with the first attack of the second half, tapping in from close range after Robinson's shot came back off the far post. Howley pulled one back for Hungerford with a low drive from 20 yards, finding some space in the middle of the pitch to beat McNamara from distance. Andreas Kontoulis restored the 2-goal lead in the 55th minute with a tidy finish from an acute angle, running on to Clayton's wonderful through ball. Aldershot eased off after that and gained a relatively comfortable 3 points. 27/09/2025 - VNLS v Maldon & Tiptree (A) A game against a side in the bottom four, something Monster hadn't faced so far. Aldershot set out to dominate the ball yet again, and were rewarded for their approach in the 20th minute, Wilson released down the right played a brilliant ball across the box for Robinson to turn in for a couple of yards out. An excellent move in the 52nd minute down the right-hand side gave Clayton the opportunity to smash home from the edge of the 6 yard box. Some neat one-touch football between Wilson, Kilner, and Robinson released the forward and he had the composure to pull the ball back for Clayton to score. 8 minutes later, Kontoulis was sent sprawling in the area but O'Connell missed his second penalty of the week, smashing this one against the underside of the bar. However, Hunt did make it 3-0 with a bullet header from a corner in the 68th minute. A comfortable away win and a clean sheet to boot. September 2025 Review A perfect month. 5 straight league wins and progression in the FA Cup. Goals from everywhere, decent performances all round, and Monster could start to wonder what might be possible this season with some of the best facilities and professional setups in the league. He was named manager of the month. Elsewhere Hillingdon were bottom with 1 draw from their opening 8 fixtures. Maybe it could have been different if Eaton had stumped up £960 for Monster to complete a coaching course. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 October 2025 04/10/2025 - FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round v Concord Rangers (A) A side Monster had never faced before, Aldershot travelled to Tier 7 side Concord Rangers of the Isthmian League Premier Division. Monster did rotate slightly, swapping out a few players to try to keep them fresh for league matches. 4 changes in total with Olushola, Everitt, Cook, and Milner-Smith coming in. Aldershot opened the scoring in the 2nd minute when some great work by Olushola by the byline allowed him to squeeze in a cross that was met by a flying Clayton to nod in from 7 yards out. Some shambolic defending allowed Aldershot to double the lead in the 34th minute when a deep cross from Everitt went all the way over to Cook on the right, which seemed to draw the whole defence towards him. Cook had the wherewithal to chip it back into the middle where 3 men were left unattended, and Harvey Jones nodded in from a few yards out. It got worse for Concord as they couldn't cope with the runs of the inverted wingbacks. In the 38th minute, a great run by Clayton allowed him to play Jones in to score a brace, finding the far corner with a low shot. Clayton was then brought down in the area on the stroke of half time and O'Connell passed the ball into the bottom right corner from the spot to break his run of misses in front of the away fans. 4-0 at the break and it had been completely deserved. It took 20 minutes of the second half for Aldershot to score again when Kilner broke free down the right and his low cross was turned in by Cook. Concord gave their fans something to cheer in the 87th minute when a long kick downfield ran through to Vigor who went through to score but Milner-Smith scored a beauty from outside the box, curling it low from the left-side channel to make it 6-1. Vigor scored shortly after to put a little bit of a dampener on the scoreline when he timed his run to perfection to break the offside trap and slot past McNamara but it was too little too late. Monster was hoping for at least a home tie in the next round. 05/10/2025 - Dover Athletic of the same division. Away. 07/10/2025 - VNLS v Hampton & Richmond Borough (H) Yet another game against a side in good form, this time in 4th, saw Aldershot take on a side they had knocked out in the playoffs last year, before Monster's arrival. The opening goal came after 34 minutes when Harvey Jones was played through by an exquisite pass by Tydeman and the on-loan striker had the pace and composure to round the keeper and slot home. Tydeman scored the 2nd goal in the 72nd minute volleying in Kontoulis's header back into the danger zone from 7 yards out. Hampton & Richmond Borough scored with the last kick of the game to make the scoreline somewhat flattering but it couldn't stop Aldershot from winning their 8th league game in a row. All eyes were on the next fixture away to Dorking Wanderers, another side challenging for promotion. It was proving to be a testing run at the start of the season and Monster was keen to avoid any slips. 11/10/2025 - VNLS v Dorking Wanderers (A) 3rd v 1st. Dorking had only just suffered their first defeat of the season to Woking in 2nd. Could Aldershot put some distance between the two sides? One of the noticeable things about Monster's side this season was that goals have come from all corners of the pitch. This continued today with Jayden Harris opening the scoring in the 5th minute with a curling free kick from 22 yards out. In the 12th minute, Wilson's corner was met by Hunt in the middle of the area and he powered a header into the left corner to make it 2-0. In the 26th minute, O'Connell scored a penalty after Wilson had been pushed in the area. He went high to the keeper's right this time, and was able to score yet another goal for him this season. The 4th goal in a rampant first half by the away side came through left back Clayton, making it 3 of the 4 defenders to grab a goal so far with a powerful effort from 8 yards out, smashing home Kontoulis's knock down. Kontoulis grabbed another assist with a lovely lofted through ball for Jones to run in behind and score left-footed from the left-hand channel. 5-0 at half time. Monster couldn't remember the last time his side had been 5-0 up at half time, all 5 goals from different players. Hefzalla pulled one back for Dorking with the first attack of the second half, firing in from outside the box, clipping the base of the post on its way in. He scored again on the hour mark when McNamara's punch went straight to him and he fired into the top corner from the edge of the D. Jones grabbed his second of the game with a lovely route one attack, O'Connell's clearance finding the head of Robinson and his flick on found Jones who was able to run into the box and smash it into the top corner to make it 6-2. Dorking scored a similar goal before the end, Lawal running on to a ball over the top and finding the far corner. 6-3 it finished in a breathless game in what proved to be the highest scoring game for Aldershot in their history. 18/10/2025 - FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round v Dover Athletic (A) A tricky tie against the latest side to be 3rd in VNLS. Monster hoped for a similar performance to the one against Dorking. It was a full-strength side Monster fielded in the hope they would reach the 1st Round, a target set by the board. Robinson opened the scoring in the 8th minute, Aldershot slicing Dover's defence open right down the middle, Tydeman playing the final ball through for Robinson to bury in the bottom corner. It was a similar build up on the stroke of half time, when Tydeman popped the ball through to Robinson again, but this time the striker launched the ball into the top corner across the keeper. Tydeman made it a hattrick of assists just after the hour mark, playing through right-winger Wilson, who snuck the ball in at the near post, where the keeper should have done better. Dover picked up several yellow cards throughout the game, and had a man sent off before the end but the game had already been lost at that point. 3-0 and Monster kept everything crossed for a home draw against lower-league opposition or an away draw against a side with a big following. The result also meant Aldershot had broken a club record by achieving 12 wins in a row. 19/10/2025 - Stevenage at home. A League 2 side that had struggled of late. The two sides had played in pre-season and Aldershot had won 2-1 that day. Maybe a 2nd Round tie was on the cards again for Monster, who was harbouring hopes of reaching the 3rd Round and taking his side to a Premier League ground. 21/10/2025 - VNLS v Horsham (H) As the squad arrived for their pre-match briefing, Monster saw some tired faces and decided he had to rotate. This game was the perfect opportunity coming up against a side in 19th and not in the best form. Even with a rotated side, Aldershot had the lead inside 2 minutes. Cannon's free kick from the left was headed back across goal by Milner-Smith and Zach Robinson was on hand to nod in from a couple of yards out. After being caught offside twice and having two goals disallowed, Aldershot went into half time level as Horsham scored from a corner. Russell won the header attacking the back post and powered it home in the 40th minute. Monster wanted more from his team. And for them to stop being offside. They won a free kick 40 seconds into the second half and Robinson was still in an offside position meaning yet another goal was ruled out. In the 53rd minute O'Connell proved he's not only able to score penalties by attacking the near post and flicking his header inside the far post. Cannon made sure of the result in the 82nd minute by managing to stay onside from a free kick, Wilson whipping it in and Cannon tapping home 6 yards out. A comfortable 3-1 win and another 3 points with Cannon taking the plaudits, returning to the side after injury. 25/10/2025 - VNLS v Hayes & Yeading United (A) Another tricky away game against a side in 6th. Monster demanded a fast start and Aldershot came out of the traps as if their lives depended on it in this game. Inside the first minute, Robinson gave Aldershot the lead, using his physical attributes to great effect in collecting Clayton's pass, turning his man, and powering into the box to give him space to shoot high into the left side of the net. Jones doubled the lead 5 minutes later, Clayton once again the provider, being afforded time and space to pick out the perfect pass for Jones' run, and the striker managed to scuff a shot into the corner, one the keeper will be disappointed not to have kept out. Aldershot's pressing led to another chance 2 minutes later, Wilson winning the ball back in the final third, striding into the box and pulling it back for Robinson to tuck inside the far post with a composed right-footed finish. In the 10th minute, Jones made it 4-0. Hayes & Yeading created some pressure but Wilson intercepted on the edge of his area, ran into some space, squared it to Tydeman, and his searching pass found Jones's run. The forward used his pace to break into the box and complete the counter attack, tucking the ball past the keeper at the near post. A blistering start. Hayes & Yeading were no mugs, though, and pulled one back with a back post header from Aguilar's cross, Adeyemo rising above Clayton to nod in, the ball nestling inside the far post. Hayes & Yeading pulled another goal back in the 30th minute, Daniel with a low cross from the left somehow evading all the Aldershot players to find Woods a yard out who couldn't miss. Hunt made it 5-2 with his textbook goal. Harris corner. Hunt's head. Goal. Still the scoring wasn't over, the fans at Beaconsfield Road getting their money's worth in this match. A corner from the left was cleared by Aldershot but played back out to Aguilar on the left who pulled it back for Daniels to lash home from 10 yards. After half time, Huckle made it 4-5 with a wonderful near post flick which flew into the net at the back post. Monster wasn't impressed after being 4-0 up inside 10 minutes but knew there were more goals in the game. In the 68th minute, some patient build-up play from Aldershot allowed Jones to play through his strike partner and Robinson did the rest, smashing home from near the penalty spot. In a similar move, patient build-up play starting with the centre backs and moving through the various phases of the pitch leaving Hayes & Yeading chasing shadows, Jones played through right-back Kilner who kept his cool to slot into the bottom right-hand corner to notch his first goal for Aldershot. It finished 7-4 in a remarkable game to round off another perfect month. Could anyone stop Aldershot? If they could keep this form going, then there was no reason why they couldn't promote. October 2025 Review 4 months in and Monster didn't have any regrets at moving clubs in the summer. Hillingdon were bottom of the league without a win and only picking up 2 points. Aldershot had 11 wins in 12 games and were looking destined for the playoffs at the absolute minimum. The only question now would be how far could Monster take them? Would another team come in and try to tempt him away? Harvey Jones won Player- and Young Player of the Month (above Bradley Ihionvien) as well as Monster picking up Manger of the Month. News also came through that the FA Cup tie against Stevenage would be shown on the TV with £35k thrown in for the privilege - another boost to the club coffers. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 6, 2022 Author Share Posted June 6, 2022 November 2025 08/11/2025 - FA Cup 1st Round v Stevenage (H) The first home game of the FA Cup run came against League 2 side Stevenage who had changed their manager at the start of the month. It had been two weeks since Aldershot had last played and gave everybody a chance to reset. Monster named his strongest side and in front of 5,742 fans at The Recreation Ground, Monster sent his side out with the hope of causing an upset. Stevenage started better and had a breakthrough within a minute. O'Connell completely misjudged his header and allowed Donovan Wilson in and he smashed the ball past McNamara from 8 yards. Stevenage doubled their lead after 4 minutes when some patient play on the edge of the Aldershot area released Ndukwu in the right channel and his low cross was struck home by Wilson again from with the 6-yard box. Monster wondered how his side would respond. 2-0 down within 5 minutes doesn't normally bode well. Luckily, Robinson pulled a goal back in the 11th minute. Jones intercepted the ball near the halfway line and played it forward to Robinson. The pass found Tydeman who played it through for the striker to take a touch and find the far corner. Game on. The equaliser was a scrappy affair. A great run down the line by Kilner allowed him to release Ben Wilson down the right wing and his low cross was scuffed home by Harvey Jones in the 6-yard box, the keeper getting a touch but unable to keep it out. The turnaround was complete after 39 minutes when Robinson and Wilson combined to play through Tydeman who found the far corner with his shot from the edge of the box. Three sides of the stadium were bouncing. 3-2 to the home side. Monster told his players to keep believing and they did - Harris kept pulling strings, playing the ball forward to the inverted wingbacks, and they combined in the 59th minute, Clayton playing through Kilner to run clear and find the far corner with a low strike. Robinson made it 5-2 in the 69th minute. Aldershot used their patience in keeping the ball and Jones played his partner through to fire home left-footed from just inside the area. It got even better, Kontoulis making it 6-2 in the 76th minute with a tap in from Tydeman's crossfield pass, finding him unmarked at the back post. Stevenage did manage another in injury time, Morley tucking home after a low cross was blocked and came back off the post but nothing could spoil a wonderful, dominant performance from the National League South side. Once again, all eyes on the FA Cup draw for the 2nd Round. Big side away or small side at home were Monster's preferred options. 09/11/2025 - A home tie against League 2 Scunthorpe United. Not quite what Monster wanted but having beaten 19th-placed Stevenage, there was no reason to fear 16th-placed Scunthorpe United. The tie would take place in the first weekend of December. Monster hoped for some more TV revenue money as well as similar gate receipts. 11/11/2025 - VNLS v Cray Wanderers (H) But before the cup, the focus returned to the league. Woking had continued to win so the pressure was still on. Monster gave youth a chance after the weekend exploits. After 5 minutes, a free kick from the right by Wilson was nodded in at the back post by Harvey Jones. Robinson continued his goalscoring form with a great run and finish in the 31st minute, using his pace to run on to Tydeman's perfect through ball to find the bottom corner. In the 86th minute, Everitt scored from Kontoulis's low cross, tapping in at the back post. However, before the game was out Cray Wanderers scored twice on the break. Bancroft grabbed the first, running clear to smash home left-footed, and then held the ball up well to play it to McKnight who found the top corner from the edge of the box, making it a far closer scoreline than the balance of the game had been. 15/11/2025 - VNLS v Farnborough (A) This fixture was considered to be a rivalry for Farnborough but not for Aldershot. Farnborough also had a superior record, Aldershot having not won in their last 4 games against them, although if it meant so much to Farnborough, that might explain it. What ensued was another dominant display from Aldershot but it went right the way to the wire. Monster wondered on many occasions if it was going to be their day. Everything seemed to clip the top of the net or go just wide or be hit straight at the keeper. It was 0-0 at half time and Monster told them he expected them to play much better half time. Wilson responded with a lovely finish in the 53rd minute, played through by Tydeman and finding the far side of the net with a right-footed finish. Farnborough equalised, though - chaos ensuing from a corner that the Aldershot defence did well to block but the ball fell for Obi to stab home from 10 yards with McNamara flat on the floor. 7 minutes later, Jones was pushed over in the area, and O'Connell stepped up for the penalty. However, Mersin was equal to it, parrying it away. Monster looked up at the top of the dugout. Could they find a winner? A news article had informed him they would make history with a win in this fixture but everything seemed to be against them. Except Harvey Jones had other ideas. Some patient play gave Clayton a chance to play the ball through for Jones's run, and the striker sat the keeper down, dinked it over him, and ran off to celebrate as the ball bobbled over the line. It was nearly in vain as Dillon smacked the crossbar with a header in injury time, which would have drawn them level but the ball bounced out of play. A hard-fought 2-1 victory although they should have scored a hatful. 19/11/2025 - VNLS v Dover Athletic (H) Could they put their goalscoring woes behind them? Cannon had replaced Robinson in the last match but had been ineffective, Robinson was straight back in the side for this game. Having beaten them in the FA Cup already this term, Monster was hopeful of piling on the misery again. However, it was Dover who drew first blood in this game, Lloyd nodding in a cross which floated over McNamara giving the forward an easy finish. Clayton equalised with the typical inverted wingback finish from the edge of the area, curling his shot in off the base of the left-hand post. Everitt gave Aldershot the lead in the 25th minute, tucking away from 8 yards after Jones's shot had been parried into his path. He had struggled to adapt to life at Aldershot since arriving in the summer but had started to contribute goals to his game. Robinson scored a third goal in the 31st minute. The little triangle of shadow striker and the two forwards combined, Preston playing it to Jones who knocked it through for Robinson to pass the ball into the net from near the penalty spot. 6 minutes later it was 4-1, Robinson playing a one-two with Clayton and the left back finding the run of the striker who lashed home from outside the box. Dover pulled a goal back straight from kick off, a clearance from Johnson in goal was missed by O'Connell and Sheridan sneaked in to hit a low drive from long range, with McNamara possibly at fault with the ball looking to be hit straight at him. However, Robinson scored again to complete his hattrick. Played through by Jones, he took a couple of touches and found the far corner to make it 12 league goals for the season. O'Connell did miss a penalty before the end to make Monster reconsider his penalty-takers list but it never affected the outcome. 5-2 to Aldershot, and the ridiculous winning run goes on. 22/11/2025 - VNLS v Weston-super-Mare (A) An easier run of fixtures coming up started with the match against Weston-super-Mare, 21st in the league, and with their manager under pressure. It was a goalless first half, though, the home side doing well to keep Aldershot at bay. The shackles came off in the second half when Kontoulis broke the deadlock a minute into the second half when Jones poked it through for him, and he beat the keeper to the ball to put Aldershot in front. 5 minutes later it was 2-0. Wilson had a shot from the edge of the box that the keeper managed to claw out, the ball fell for Jones who could only hit the post from the narrowest of angles, and Tydeman was on hand to tap the rebound into an empty net. Danny Banks was shown a second yellow card on the hour mark, hacking down Wilson on the right wing, and from the resulting free kick Milner-Smith was shoved over in the area. Robinson, now on penalty-taking duty, found the bottom-right corner from 12 yards, and it was 3-0. In the 83rd minute, Robinson was fouled near the byline and he stepped up to take his second penalty of the day. He powered it straight down the middle but the keeper didn't move, palming it away to safety. Jones made up for the miss a minute later, converting Kontoulis's low cross to make it 4-0 and to reflect Aldershot's dominance. The home side's manager was dismissed before Aldershot had left the post-match press conference too. With Woking drawing 0-0 at Hemel Hempstead, Monster's team moved 6 points clear at the top. The meeting between the two sides on New Year's Day looks to be a tantalising prospect as well as it also being the final league fixture of the season. 25/11/2025 - VNLS v Chippenham Town (A) Another away trip to a side in the relegation zone, Monster's side made the 75 mile trip west to Chippenham on a Tuesday evening. Several changes were needed to keep legs fresh. One of the changes, Joshua Squires, scored a wonderful curled effort from outside the area in the 18th minute, the ball slamming into the net off the right-hand post. Another change, Barrows, in at left-back, won a penalty 3 minutes later, chopped down from behind as he broke into the area. Robinson did the business from the spot to make it 2-0. Aldershot cruised home in the end, the third goal coming in the final 10 minutes, Everitt's shot hitting the post and spinning across the face of the goal for Kontoulis to tap home. Chippenham scored a consolation in injury time, Alvin Smith scoring a wonderful solo goal, but it was another 3 points to The Shots in their final league game of November. 29/11/2025 - FA Trophy 2nd Round v Whitehawk (A) Monster still didn't seem to be having much luck with cup draws, drawing a lower-ranked side away from home this time. He rotated the entire team apart from starting Harvey Jones in the shadow striker role as a new striker had joined. Former Liverpool man Layton Stewart had signed during the week after impressing on trial and with having the potential to be of League 1 standard as well as a healthy minimum fee release clause, Monster wanted to strengthen the side. Tom Cannon was transfer listed as a result having been a bit-part player and being on high wages too. Stewart started up front alongside Cannon for this match. Cannon was instrumental in the first goal, his cross finding Everitt at the back post to nod in after 12 minutes. Stewart doubled the lead, scoring on his debut with a tap in after Godwin had flicked on Everitt's free kick near the corner flag. Whitehawk pulled one back when Barrows inexplicably gave the ball to Donaldson in the area and his low cross was turned in by Pope from a few yards out. Barrows did make amends, though, scoring to make it 3-1 before half time with a low drive from the edge of the area that kissed the far post on its way in. Stewart scored his second with another tap in, this time from a Milner-Smith flick on from a corner, finishing at the back post. Whitehawk brought themselves back into the game, though, when two quickfire goals allowed Pope to complete his hattrick. The first was a counter attack down the middle, Pope's shot going through Petrie's hands. The second was a little more measured in approach, but still resulted in Pope slotting the ball home from inside the box to make it 4-3. Another remarkable scoreline at the end of a remarkable cup tie. November 2025 Review What a month! Another perfect month of results with Monster winning the manager of the month award. Monster's decision to move on in the summer was looking like the perfect move. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 December 2025 02/12/2025 - VNLS v Dartford (H) 1st v 3rd on a wet Tuesday evening in Aldershot. Dartford had been performing above expectations and Monster was wary of them turning up and causing an upset. Tydeman was on hand to put the finishing touch to Hunt's flick on in the 28th minute and give Aldershot the lead. Tydeman was involved again 7 minutes later when his defence-splitting pass found Robinson in the area, and the striker kept his composure to slot home. On the stroke of half time, the referee spotted a push in the area as Wilson crossed the ball in from the right and it allowed Robinson to step up again to beat the keeper low to his left and make it 3-0. Dartford had a man sent off before the end but managed to prevent Aldershot from scoring again. Another result that highlighted Aldershot's dominance but attention was all on the FA Cup tie on Saturday. Would they make the 3rd Round? 06/12/2025 - FA Cup 2nd Round v Scunthorpe United (H) Scunthorpe had slipped to 23rd in League 2 so Monster was hoping Aldershot could provide an upset and make the 3rd Round, not only good for the club's bank balance but to test himself against a side at a higher level. Now in his 4th season as a football manager, the highest level team he had faced was League 1 Milton Keynes Dons while at Hillingdon. Now at a professional club, in good form, the sky seemed to be the limit. Wilson had picked up an injury the day before the game so Robinson played on the right wing allowing Stewart to start up front. A new loan signing in from Crewe Alexandra, Mihkel Tsurilkin started at the back after O'Connell had suffered a twisted knee during the week. Aldershot started in their usual rambunctious fashion, breaking the deadlock in the 6th minute. Everitt did well down the left to leave his marker on toast, and his whipped cross was missed by Taft and Stewart contesting it in the middle, falling kindly for Robinson to tuck in on the bounce. A couple of minutes before half time, Hunt made it 2-0. Harris free kick from the right. Hunt header into the bottom corner. Simple. Scunthorpe rarely threatened but managed to keep Aldershot quiet in the second half. It didn't matter and Monster celebrated in front of over 4,000 home fans in taking the Tier 6 side to the promised land of the FA Cup 3rd Round. With the prize money and gate receipts, the bank balance was back in the black since December 2024. Monster promised the players they would all watch the draw at training. 07/12/2025 - There was a real buzz at the training ground as Monster brought the tactics screen out and they streamed the draw live. Coventry City away. Having had 20,000+ attendances for recent Championship matches, Monster was hopeful of attracting that sort of amount for an FA Cup tie. 7th in the Championship would prove to be a difficult ask, 4 tiers above them, so the run would most likely be at an end. Monster wondered how many of the former brush-factory workers would recognise him in the newspapers as the manager at Aldershot. Kidderminster Harriers were the lowest side left in the competition and had earned a home draw against Swindon Town. 10/12/2025 - VNLS v Hemel Hempstead Town (H) 1st v 11th. After the FA Cup exploits some injuries had started to mount up. Harvey Jones would be missing for a few weeks now with a knock picked up in training. However, with the squad performing well as a whole, Monster had faith in whomever he selected. As if the script had already been written, Aldershot dominated the match. Tydeman opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Clayton spread the ball out wide to the right and Everitt outwriggled his marker to send a cross in which Tydeman tapped in at the near post. The second goal came from the right side too. Everitt was once again the provider, crossing on his weaker right foot this time, and Stewart was able to find the bottom corner through a crowd of bodies. In the 39th minute, Robinson had time and space to hold the ball up, lay it off to Kilner, and then receive the return pass as the full back played him through. He finished right-footed, low to the keeper's left, to continue his goalscoring form. He scored a second before the half time whistle too. Harris's free kick from thirty yards was tipped on to the crossbar by the keeper but Robinson had kept himself onside and reacted quickest to turn in. 4-0 at half time and 4-0 at full time too, the only incident of the second half being a red card for Granger, lunging in two-footed on Tydeman near the halfway line. Another professional performance from The Shots and Monster couldn't contain his excitement for what the future might hold if the side keep playing this well. It was also the first time they had kept 3 clean sheets in a row since Monster's arrival. 16/12/2025 - VNLS v Tonbridge Angels (A) Monster wanted to keep winning - Woking were hot on their tails, 9 points behind but with a game in hand. Tonbridge Angels were in mid-table and Monster couldn't see much of a threat from them. Harris opened the scoring in this game with a wonderful curling free kick which sailed in at the near post. Aldershot continued to press for the remainder of the half but gave up an equaliser just before half time when the defence were caught out by a quick one-two, allowing Mannai to run through and smash past McNamara. Aldershot went in behind at the break as Tonbridge scored in first-half stoppage time. Price tied Kilner in knots and put over a tantalising cross that Close nodded in at the far post, rising about Clayton to power it home. Robinson found an equaliser in the 70th minute, Monsterball finding its way into the area with neat one-touch passing, and Robinson the beneficiary, stroking the ball home from 14 yards. Tonbridge were more than happy with a point and Aldershot dropped points for only the second time all season. It was another game they should have won, though, such was their dominance in the stats. Monster had to accept he had been complacent but insisted in the press conference that the next winning run started now. 20/12/2025 - FA Trophy 3rd Round v Brackley Town (A) Another away game in a cup competition found Aldershot travelling to VNL North side Brackley Town, 21st in their division. Monster put out the rotated side again with a packed Christmas and New Year schedule looming. Terry Brown, the director of football, had been using his connections in the game to source free loans, and the latest find, Conor Sproule, made his first start for Aldershot in this game. The plan didn't look so great when Brackley took the lead after 8 minutes, a whipped cross from the right finding Rolt all on his own in the penalty area and he slammed the ball home to the home supporters' delight. Aldershot were level before half time as Kontoulis went on a rampaging run down the left and crossing to find Stewart in the middle who couldn't miss with his header from 6 yards out. Tsurilkin missed a penalty shortly after half time, hitting his shot from the spot straight at Brackley's keeper, and Monster then started to worry if sending out the reserves had been such a good idea. In the 64th minute, Elmi was found out wide and he twisted and turned to find space for a cross which Harvey Jones managed to convert from near the penalty spot, tucking the ball first time into the bottom-left corner. Aldershot finished the stronger of the two sides but didn't add to their lead. Still, they were back on the winning trail and Monster hoped the rest for the first-choice eleven would bode well with 5 league matches coming up in the next 14 days. 23/12/2025 - VNLS v Welling United (A) Welling were a side that had struggled so far this season and were below their predicted spot in the league. They had given Aldershot a decent game in the first meeting between the sides and were hoping to do the same today. In the 7th minute, Kilner played a fantastic ball over the top to find Jones's run, and the on-loan striker kept his composure to finish, although the keeper did get a hand to it but wasn't enough to stop the ball going in. It was a similar story for the equaliser. Addo-Antoine held off the attentions of two Aldershot defenders and squeezed a cross over from right on the byline. Yeates stole a march on O'Connell and met the ball with his head, McNamara getting two hands to it but the momentum still took it past him and into the net. It was Welling's first shot of the game. Monster wasn't amused. Despite dominating the second half it looked as if it was going to be another draw on the road. That was until a long ball forward from Sproule looked certain to be going down the keeper's throat. However, Everitt made a late run to appear from nowhere and put the keeper off, controlled the ball, and tried to hook it inside the far post. The ball came back off the woodwork but fell kindly for transfer-listed Tom Cannon who tucked the ball away with relish from 3 yards out. It turned out to be a deserved winner and with Woking drawing away at Wealdstone, Aldershot increased their lead at the top of the table. 26/12/2025 - VNLS v Hillingdon Borough (H) 1st v 24th for Monster's first Boxing Day fixture. Hillingdon had had an awful season so far with 1 win and 3 draws in 20 games. Monster was mixed as he shook hands with some of the players as they came out to warm up. Ihionvien, Ward, Fensome, Martin, and Casey were the only survivors from Monster's last named team. Hillingdon had actually beaten Aldershot on their last visit to The Recreation Ground when Monster was in charge, so he hoped that they wouldn't pull off a shock again today. Hillingdon, now playing a 3-5-2 formation rather than the 4-1-3-2 which had brought them so much success during Monster's spell in charge, and now also playing the direct, counter-attacking football the board had so desperately craved, made life difficult for Aldershot in the first half until the 27th minute when Clayton picked the ball up in midfield and whipped a wonderful ball over the top for Stewart to run on and clip the ball past Agboola into the far corner. It was 2-0 when Kontoulis was sent tumbling in the area and Zach Robinson stepped up to leather the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Coughlan managed to pull one back in Hillingdon's first shot of the game, hitting them on the counter attack as Aldershot chased more goals, and placing the ball inside the far post. 2-1 at the break and Monster demanded more from his side. A Harris corner early in the second half found the head of Tsurilkin and he made it 3-1. With a lot of football left to be played in the next 7 days, Monster eased off the pressure and the game petered out after that. Not the routing that everyone had anticipated but another 3 points for Aldershot, while Hillingdon slipped to their 9th defeat in a row. 28/12/2025 - VNLS v Weymouth (A) As expected with only two days between fixtures, the match against Weymouth saw Monster name a rotated side with the Woking match due a few days later. Weymouth had been relegated from the National League last season but had struggled in this season so far, languishing in mid-table rather than challenging for a return. In a first half of little incident, Kilner went off injured in the 45th minute. Then Aldershot intercepted the ball from a throw-in, Clark-Pye found Robinson inside the area and his deft touch found strike partner Harvey Jones to sweep home on his weaker foot. A corner undid Weymouth for Aldershot's second goal. Sproule was unmarked in the middle of the area as Everitt's cross came in, and the on-loan centre back was able to power the ball home. Everitt then left the field due to injury too but shortly after, Cannon found the forward run of Tydeman and the shadow striker took a touch to create the angle and slotted home. A 3-0 win away and at the halfway stage of the season, Aldershot were 9 points clear having only dropped points in 2 games all season. December 2025 Review Not quite the third perfect month in a row, the draw away at Tonbridge Angels the only blemish. January would prove to be a defining month with fixtures against the other sides in the top 4 as well as the FA Cup 3rd Round fixture against Coventry City. The team had set a club record of 30 games without defeat. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 8, 2022 Author Share Posted June 8, 2022 January 2026 01/01/2026 - VNLS v Woking (H) 1st v 2nd. A local derby. The two stand-out sides in the division. Injuries were starting to take their toll. Star man Harris was ruled out for a week with a twisted knee so Squires had to play in the defensive midfield role. Could Monster find a win to take Aldershot 12 points clear of their nearest rivals? Woking had only dropped points in 4 games, two early defeats in the season having cost them the lead in the title race. Woking actually started the game the better of the two sides when a short free kick routine released Hamblin on the left side of the area when everyone was expecting a cross but his shot was tame and McNamara gathered easily. McNamara's clearance was poor, Tydeman was beaten in the air and Shade was released in the right channel but McNamara dived to his left to turn the ball around the post. In the 20th minute, Squires lost the ball in the Woking half, Shade stealing the ball of his toe and embarking on a run into the area but his shot curled wide. Aldershot finally managed to put the Woking goal under some pressure when Kontoulis and Jones played a neat one-two, the striker running through to produce a flying save from Patterson when a more composed finish may have opened the scoring. In the 27th minute, Jones was sent clear once again, Patterson tipping the effort over. From the corner, Wilson's cross found Hunt at the near post and the giant centre back flicked his header over Patterson and it dropped in at the far post to give Aldershot the lead. In the 35th minute, Woking tested McNamara again, the keeper flying off his line to try and claim a cross but only managing to palm the ball into Windsor's path. Fortunately the defence held firm, producing two quickfire blocks to spare the keeper's blushes and the ball ran out for a corner. Windsor then went close with a back post header that McNamara did well to claw out before Hunt clipped the crossbar with a header of his own a few minutes later. Woking continued to press and an unmarked Fellahi saw his header from Green's corner smack off the post in the 43rd minute. 1-0 at half time and it was safe to say Aldershot had ridden their luck. In the 52nd minute, Jones was played through again for his 3rd one-on-one opportunity of the game but could only pass the ball straight at Patterson. A minute later, Aldershot won the ball back in their own half, smuggling the ball back to McNamara whose clearance found Robinson on the halfway line. He found the run of Jones who had the composure to square it to Tydeman whose run had gone unnoticed. The shadow striker kept his composure and clipped the ball into the far corner to spark wild celebration on the terraces at The Recreation Ground. Could they hold on for a vital 3 points? Woking responded immediately, Fellahi hitting the post again with an effort from outside the box. Woking struggled to create many chances after that, sensing it wasn't going to be their day. Hunt had another header from a corner ruled out in the last few minutes, the referee spotting a push as the centre back powered his header home but it didn't affect the result. Woking had another effort before the end of the match, Shade played through on the right wing but McNamara got a strong hand to the shot to turn the ball behind from a narrow angle. A hard-fought 2-0 victory. The final day fixture between the two sides may not matter if Aldershot can sustain their lead at the top. 04/01/2026 - VNLS v Maidenhead United (H) With Maidenhead doing better than expected, currently in 4th in the league, the draw on the opening day didn't seem quite so disappointing. Monster remembered having dominated that day but unable to find a breakthrough. There were some tired faces noticeable at the pre-match briefing so Monster's side did contain a few rotated players with the FA Cup tie at Coventry City coming up in 6 days time. Aldershot made the better start but weren't able to find an early breakthrough. They managed to break the deadlock after 38 minutes when Layton Stewart hit a low half-volley from 22 yards which flew past an unsighted goalkeeper. Robinson had a goal ruled out shortly after due to being offside from a free kick. It was 1-0 at half time. Aldershot came out after the break meaning business and were awarded a penalty when Stewart was shoved over in the area as a free kick came in. Robinson stepped up and found the bottom corner, sending the keeper the wrong way, for his 21st league goal of the season. Maidenhead did manage to find the net late on, Mallett with a well-timed run from the left wing allowing him to curl the ball past McNamara from inside the box. But Robinson restored the two-goal lead a moment later when O'Connell broke into the box on the right, ran to the byline, and squeezed a ball across to the unmarked striker in the 6 yard box who couldn't, and didn't, miss. 3-1 it finished and all the attention was now going to be on the trip to Championship side Coventry City. 10/01/2026 - FA Cup 3rd Round v Coventry City (A) 5th in the Championship v 1st in Vanarama National League South. A complete mismatch. Surely a nailed on Coventry City win? The crowd was 15,000+ so certainly the biggest crowd Monster had ever managed in front of and the largest crowd many of the players would have played in front of too. To Monster's disbelief, Everitt gave Aldershot the lead after 20 seconds. Tydeman played through Robinson, whose shot was saved, but Everitt smashed in the rebound, the ball bouncing to him as he followed in. Jones was taken off down the tunnel in the 7th minute, and Coventry capitalised within 2 minutes, Sam Greenwood running on to a long ball over the top and turning the ball past McNamara for the equaliser. Aldershot refused to give up, though, and Wilson converted an Everitt cross in the 23rd minute with a back post header. A 2-1 lead away against a Championship side. Monster was dreaming. They held the lead going into half time and Monster tried to temper the expectations and excitement in the dressing room, fully expecting a Coventry response. The response came after 57 minutes, Willock running through and smashing the ball into the bottom corner with a low drive from within the box. But that was it. Aldershot managed to restrict Coventry to two more efforts while having several efforts themselves but a 2-2 draw seemed fair. The replay would be in a couple of weeks. At home. The 4th Round was still a possibility. 11/01/2026 - technically still in the draw, Aldershot watched on in training again. Derby County. At home. But Coventry to get past first. 13/01/2026 - VNLS v Wealdstone (A) Another side having a promising season, Wealdstone were 4th going into the game. Monster saw the tired faces yet again and knew he couldn't risk going with a first choice side. He went with whoever was mostly fit, a chance for the reserve players to stake a place. With Wilson struggling for fitness, Monster asked Everitt to play on the right wing and he repaid the faith with an outstanding display. Everitt gave Aldershot the lead after 19 minutes, meeting Barrows's cross from the left with a bullet header at the back post. It was a similar story in the 56th minute, Stewart with the cross this time and Everitt met the ball with a downward header at the back post. Everitt went on to grab a hattrick with a curling effort from outside the box which flew in over the keeper. A professional 3-0 win with a number of youngsters playing, and Everitt seems to be going from strength to strength having overcome his struggles at the start of his Aldershot career. Woking stumbled to leave the gap at a whopping 13 points with the same number of games played. It also made it 26 games unbeaten in the league, setting a new league record. 17/01/2026 - FA Trophy 4th Round v Hampton & RIchmond Borough (H) Another opportunity to play the full reserve squad with the FA Cup replay due in midweek. Injuries were starting to stretch the squad further so Monster hoped the reserves would relish the opportunity to impress. It didn't look like going to plan in the pouring rain when Graham gave the away side the lead in the 8th minute, being played through the middle and scuffing his shot into the bottom-left corner. Milner-Smith equalised with a great header from a Tydeman corner 5 minutes later and then Olushola found the net with a tap in from 6 yards out from Kontoulis's knockdown. In the 37th minute, Chapman equalised with a tidy finish, once again running on to a through ball through the middle. Left-footed, he found the far corner past a helpless Petrie. Monster wasn't impressed with the standards set and asked the team for more at half time. It took substitutions to change the match. Hunt was sent on and his flicked header from a Tydeman corner found Olushola lurking at the back post and he tapped in from close-range. Hunt himself scored 3 minutes later, his header from a corner this time finding the target. In the 77th minute, the referee awarded a harsh penalty when Simpson broke into the box from the right and the defender slid in and took a good chunk of the ball. However, the referee pointed to the spot and Milner-Smith scored to the keeper's right with a powerful effort. A convincing win to meet expectations in this competition to reach the last-16. 20/01/2026 - FA Cup 3rd Round Replay v Coventry City (H) A sell-out at The Recreation Ground. Knowing that they had gone toe-to-toe with their Championship opponents in the first game meant Monster had hope that they could provide a shock. It was a goalless first half where Aldershot had the better of the play but no end product. After the break, Coventry took the lead when an umarked Kyereh looped a header into the top corner from Namli's free kick from the left side of the box. Aldershot responded immediately when O'Connell's raking pass found Robinson in space and the striker had the composure to knock the ball back to Stewart in the D who toe poked an effort from 20 yards into the bottom corner to send The Recreation Ground rocking. Wilson had the ball in the net in the 74th minute with a back post header from Robinson's cross but was adjudged to have been offside. Neither side could find a late breakthrough and the game went to extra time. Coventry took the lead in the first half of extra time when Lewis's low cross from the right was turned in by Lang, unmarked in the middle. Did Aldershot have anything left in the tank to respond? Early in the second half of extra time, Sproule headed Willock's cross clear to second-half substitute Kontoulis in the middle of his own half. He ran forward unchallenged deep into the Coventry half before toe-poking a shot from all of 25 yards into the bottom-right corner of the goal to send The Recreation Ground into raptures. A memorable strike that could well be a contender for goal of the season. Could it be the catalyst for the home side to find a winner? Neither could and after two barnstorming games, the tie would be settled on penalties. Aldershot went first in front of their fans, Robinson stepping up to side-foot the ball into the bottom-left corner. Walker hammered his penalty to McNamara's left to make it 1-1. Harris also went to the keeper's left, kept it low, and found the bottom corner. Lewis's penalty went straight down the middle to make it 2-2. Wilson was next and his penalty found the right corner with plenty of power. Bidwell was next for Coventry and McNamara would have been disappointed to get so close to it but it seemed to go through him. Stewart was next for Aldershot and blasted it straight down the middle, the keeper doing well to avoid it. Willock went to the McNamara's right and found the top corner. 4-4. Tsurilkin was next for Aldershot and the on-loan centre back powered it home with his laces into the bottom-right corner. Belkebla had to score for Coventry and he did, beating McNamara's dive to make it 5-5 and send the tie to sudden death. Sproule side-footed his penalty into the net to make it 6-5. All Aldershot needed was one miss. A save. Something. Doherty stepped up for Coventry's 6th penalty, sent McNamara the wrong way, but saw his shot come back off the crossbar. They'd done it! The Aldershot players went to mob McNamara and celebrated wildly in front of the home crowd. Monster gazed around the stadium, taking it all in. He didn't know if he would ever experience reaching the 4th Round of the FA Cup with a non-league side again. The effect on the club from this cup run could be felt for years. Spoiler That night in the clubhouse he asked the board if they would approve him doing his next coaching badge and they immediately agreed. He would be studying for his National B Licence which should be completed by the end of the season. Another step on the road to the top. While only winning trophies would increase his score in the Hall of Fame, a cup run like this might attract the attention of some bigger clubs. To have reached January and not suffered a defeat in any competition would surely be making some league clubs take notice too. 24/01/2026 - VNLS v Dulwich Hamlet (H) The month of tricky games continued with another match against a playoff chasing side. Dulwich Hamlet had been on a good run themselves, having established themselves as the 3rd-placed side for several weeks. With no midweek game, Monster felt confident with keeping with some of the more fatigued players ahead of the game against Truro City the following weekend. That decision seemed justified within the first minute as some neat triangles across the pitch saw Robinson lay the ball off to Tydeman to scuff home from the edge of the area. Hunt's ball forward in the 8th minute was missed by the Dulwich defence allowing Stewart to turn his man and steer the ball home from inside the area. The goals continued to flow as a cross from out wide by Robinson from the left sailed over to Wilson at the back post to side-foot home from a few yards out. 3-0 with not even 10 minutes on the clock. The away side managed to hold out until stoppage time, Wilson feeding Tydeman who burst into the area and smashed into the roof of the net. 4-0 at the break and Monster had to ensure they kept their concentration. Maybe it was tiredness kicking in, maybe it was complacency, maybe Dulwich Hamlet had a roasting from their manager at half time, but Aldershot couldn't get going in the second half. Gyamfi shoved Hunt over in the area in the 50th minute and Monster instructed Tydeman to have the penalty to see if he could score a hattrick. Unfortunately his shot was too close to Murray-Jones and the chance had gone. It seemed to inspire Dulwich Hamlet and they pulled one back in the 63rd minute, Keogh nodding in unmarked from a Wilson cross. 5 minutes later they made it 4-2, Wilson turning his man and running on to a long ball from the back to stroke past McNamara into the bottom-left corner. With time running out, Keogh managed to flick a cross on to Wilson to score a second, side-footing home from 8 yards to set nerves jangling on the bench. Surely they couldn't throw away a 4-goal lead? Thankfully for Monster, Aldershot managed to hold on to grab another 3 points. Woking had dropped points, drawing 0-0 against Hungerford Town. The gap was now 15 points. Surely the title would be heading to Aldershot? 31/01/2026 - VNLS v Truro City (A) The last side to beat a Monster-managed side in a league game was Truro City in August 2024. Having been promoted via the playoffs with Hillingdon, Truro had had an exceptional season so far, comfortably mid-table and having flirted with the playoffs at one point. Monster wanted to put that behind him and had the luxury of naming a first choice team with most of the injuries having healed. After 19 minutes, the two centre backs combined to give Aldershot the lead. Robinson clipped a free kick into the box from near the centre circle but Hunt's first touch took him away from goal. He turned, tried to cross, but it looped up into the air and over the keeper, on to the head of Tsurilkin at the back post who couldn't miss. Truro only had one shot on goal in the first half but it remained 1-0 at the break. Shortly after half time, Hunt doubled the lead with a header from a Wilson free kick, rising above a couple of markers at the back post to find the net. Stewart made it 3-0 just before the hour, Tydeman the creator after some impressive passing and movement working the ball up the field, to find the run of the striker who deceived everyone by looking to pass the ball into the far corner, managed to flick the ball in at the near post instead. In the 70th minute, Wilson made it 4-0 as the ball was worked along the edge of the box to him, he had enough space to squeeze his shot in at the near post past the despairing dive of Osborn. The defence surrendered their clean sheet bonuses in the 86th minute, allowing Hurford to pick the ball up in the final third, stride forward, and smack the ball past McNamara from 25 yards. Woking dropped yet more points in a draw away at Maldon & Tiptree, the lead stretching to 17 points. Surely it was now a case of when and not if the title would be going to Aldershot. How many records could they pick up in the process? January 2026 Review Aldershot fans must be wondering when the dream will end. Some great results to finish the month unbeaten and the only thing that could possible stop them would be themselves. Monster vowed to do everything not to let that happen. The FA Cup 4th Round tie was looming too. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 February 2026 04/02/2026 - VNLS v Billericay Town (H) The tricky list of fixtures continued against Billericay, 5th in the league and in a good run of form. The Derby match was next up after this and Monster decided to rotate. It looked like a decision that would backfire when Billericay took the lead. Knott escaped down the right and his low cross evaded all of the Aldershot defenders and found Tanner at the back post to tuck in from 8 yards. Would this be the first defeat of the season? Monster's faith was starting to waver. However, O'Connell's ball over the top found a pocket of space for Harvey Jones and having recovered from injury, he swept in left footed from just inside the box. And that was it. A point rescued rather than two points dropped, in Monster's eyes. Hopefully it wouldn't backfire for the FA Cup tie at the weekend. 07/02/2026 - FA Cup 4th Round v Derby County (H) Yet another huge match in Monster's relatively short coaching career. When talking to the players it was just another football match. It was a sell-out at The Recreation Ground. All the talk beforehand was of Derby County being too strong and Aldershot making up the numbers. Monster wanted to instil the belief in his side that trust in the system would bring results. Monster knew Aldershot wouldn't play Derby off the park but could they stay in the match long enough to hit them when needed? He asked the side to remain balanced in their approach to start with but as Derby made the better start to the game, he quickly asked them to be more positive. There weren't many chances in the first half, Derby shading it but rarely testing McNamara. Monster told the team there was nothing to fear. Derby hadn't exactly blown them away in the first half. Derby started the second half better too, Jones having a free kick from a central position tipped over by a flying McNamara save. Monster noticed his players beginning to tire and made a triple substitution in the 70th minute. Neither side had created many clear cut chances, but Everitt came on for Wilson and had a great chance cutting inside from the right wing and curling a shot just past the far post. Monster thought that was it. The chance had gone. A few minutes later, a long ball downfield found Everitt again. He brought the ball down, exchanged passes with Stewart and managed to find the net this time with his curling effort. The stadium erupted with 6 minutes left on the clock. Could Aldershot hold on? Derby surely weren't going to roll over and let them win. Monster pulled everyone back behind the ball, telling them to focus on keeping possession, and see the game out as best they could. There was one moment towards the end where Derby broke through but the assistant referee raised his flag. The clock ticked down and the stadium erupted again when the referee blew his whistle! A famous FA Cup victory for Aldershot Town of the Vanarama National League South. A Tier 6 side had knocked out two Tier 2 sides to reach the 5th Round of the FA Cup. The penalty shootout victory against Coventry had been lucky. This was professional. This was refined. It was a little against the run of play but nobody could deny it was a fluke. £91k was the prize money and with the gate receipts, Aldershot had nearly half a million in the bank. Monster went out to look at the pitch afterwards, trying to burn the memories into his brain. Could his philosophy really have turned a non-league side into one capable of competing in The Championship? 08/02/2026 - Monster considered having a large screen installed at the training ground, not expecting it to have been used three times this season so far. They had to wait a long time for their name to come out. The last four sides were Aldershot, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Sunderland. Liverpool came out and everybody could picture stepping out at Anfield. The ball number was for Newcastle United. So Aldershot would face Sunderland. Aldershot were then drawn at home. Sunderland were 12th in The Championship, one place below Derby County and also below Coventry City. Once again, nothing to fear, as far as Monster was concerned. 10/02/2026 - VNLS v Maldon & Tiptree (H) 3 days after the remarkable scenes in the FA Cup, Monster was expected to field a side in the league against the 19th-placed side. It was another rotated team featuring several loan players. Toby Hammonds had arrived on loan as left wing cover from Exeter City and played a key role in this game. After a goalless first half, Monster questioned the motivation of his players and they responded in the second half. Layton Stewart opened the scoring from a Hammonds free kick which was inexplicably allowed to bounce inside the penalty area and Stewart couldn't miss from a few yards out, the keeper caught in no-man's land. Shortly after, Sanders was shown a second yellow card for a crunching tackle near the corner flag. Aldershot eventually scored a second goal with 10 minutes remaining, Hammonds scoring on his debut after a lovely flowing Monsterball move released him on the left wing and he was able to tuck it in at the near post. However, Maldon & Tiptree responded, Napa allowed the freedom to run in on goal and tuck the ball past McNamara. It proved to be only a consolation goal as Aldershot managed to hold on for another win. With another 16 games left, they were only just over two-thirds of the way through the league season. 14/02/2026 - FA Trophy 5th Round v Exeter City (H) Another home cup draw, this time against 2nd-placed Vanarama National League side Exeter City in a competition Monster hoped to go far in. He hadn't expected to still be competing in the FA Cup at the same time but wasn't going to complain. Could his unfancied Shots side cause another upset against one of the strongest sides left in the competition? Hammonds wasn't able to play against his parent club but former Aldershot player Dion Pereira, someone Monster had unceremoniously shown the door in the summer, having been a fringe player on a ridiculous wage, was on the bench for the visitors. Monster named a strong line-up but they couldn't find a breakthrough in the first half, despite creating more chances. They dominated the ball again in their usual fashion and Monster encouraged them to keep going. Everitt gave them the lead in the 56th minute with a low finish from Tydeman's pass after some great build-up play again. Tydeman had the space to pick a pass and he found Everitt who finished with aplomb. Zach Robinson put the icing on the cake in the 88th minute to settle the tie, volleying home with a cushioned, side-footed finish at the back post from Everitt's drilled cross from the left. It was his first goal in over 10 hours of football and he was delighted to break his duck. Exeter had barely created a decent chance in this game and it gave Monster hope that, if promoted, Aldershot could cause some issues next season in Tier 5. No TV screen for the Quarter Final draw in this competition, but Monster wasn't surprised to see Aldershot draw the side top of the National League, Southend United, joint on points with Exeter. An away tie at Roots Hall too. If they were going to win a trophy, they would have to do it the hard way. 17/02/2026 - VNLS v Hungerford Town (A) Their first away game of the month took Aldershot to 9th-placed Hungerford Town. Before the cup games in March were some potentially tricky fixtures and Monster was keen to ensure focus was kept on the league as well as dreaming about further progress in the cups. Using the full extent of the squad has been a key to Aldershot's performances this season, having been told he had now used 28 different players in the VNLS this season. The newest player, Hammonds, was involved in the opening goal in this game. His free kick from the left was nodded home by Tsurilkin attacking the back post in the 10th minute. Hungerford hit back and equalised in the 19th minute when Viggars played a one-two with Nallo, using his pace to escape the Aldershot defence and toe poke past McNamara as he rushed out to block. Aldershot were awarded a sketchy penalty in the 35th minute when Howley thought he had made a clean tackle on Hammonds, winning the ball but catching Hammonds in the process. The home fans were incensed as the referee pointed to the spot and Robinson was able to convert in front of the away fans, Calmey getting a hand to it but unable to keep it out. Howley, booked for the tackle which gave away the penalty, was then shown a second yellow card in the 44th minute for chopping down Kontoulis and was sent back to the dressing room. Aldershot couldn't increase their lead until stoppage time in the second half, a low Hammonds cross picking out an unmarked Robinson in the 6-yard box who turned the ball home for his 24th league goal of the season. New loanee Hammonds produced another player of the match performance with two assists. 21/02/2026 - VNLS v Hampton & Richmond Borough (A) 11th v 1st. A mid-table side who had given Aldershot a good game earlier in the season. Monster was starting to look ahead to the end of the season now, ticking the games off. It was the first time he had had such a large lead, though. 15 points clear with 15 games to go means 11 wins would still be required to guarantee the title. Could they grab the first of those wins in this game? Robinson was rested, showing some signs of fatigue, so Stewart and Harvey Jones were chosen to play up front in this game. In the 27th minute, Tydeman played the ball forward to Stewart from the centre circle, the former-Liverpool man taking a touch to control and then looking for Jones's run with his next touch. Chakawa intercepted with a slide tackle, but Jones adjusted his run to collect the ball, burst into the area, and blast a finish past Bilboe at the near post. Aldershot were the superior side throughout, but couldn't find a goal to prove their dominance until Stewart scored with a crouched header in the 80th minute. Hammonds, on as a substitute, whipped in a cross from the left, and the striker was on hand in the 6-yard box to nod into the corner. Another deserved win, and the side were starting to put a few clean sheets together. 24/02/2026 - VNLS v Dorking Wanderers (H) 1st v 13th. Another mid-table side but with a manager under considerable pressure, according to the pre-match press conference. Monster never dared to comment on the situations at other clubs in the same league, having never considered him to be qualified. He was a manager, not a pundit. A relatively first-choice side started this game with the FA Cup match against Sunderland coming up in a week's time. In the 17th minute, Aldershot broke through down the middle, Wilson and Jones combining to send Jones through but Brown intercepted and booted the ball behind for a corner. Harris whipped the corner in from the left right-footed to find Tsurilkin attacking the near post, forcing his header inside the far post to give Aldershot the lead. In the 63rd minute, Robinson had an effort from the edge of the area tipped over by Shelvey and once again the Harris-Tsurilkin combination produced the second goal, the centre back nodding in at the near post this time. Aldershot continued to create the better chances and grabbed a third in the 85th minute when Robinson lashed home from the edge of the box. Tydeman had tried to break into the area on a run, Hefzalla had timed his tackle to perfection but the ball ran straight to Robinson who hit his shot with power to find the back of the net. 3-0 on the night and Monster could tick off another match towards the title. With that, Aldershot confirmed that they would at least finish in the playoffs this season. 28/02/2026 - VNLS v Horsham (A) 21st v 1st. A must-win. A nice game to have with an FA Cup tie to come in a few days. Monster made 11 changes, sending out a reserve side without a recognised shadow striker. Everitt, playing as the left winger, found the net with a thunderbolt from outside the box in the 19th minute, finishing a lovely flowing move that started on the halfway line with the ball working through the different zones before falling at the feet of Everitt to lash home. On the stroke of half time, Barrows's throw in on the left went to Stewart, who crossed to the far post. The ball bounced a couple of times in the area before Cook was able to stab home on the stretch. 5 minutes after half time, Cook scored again at the back post. Everitt with the cross this time, the keeper flapped at it trying to go through a crowd of players and Cook was able to apply the finish with the keeper flat on the ground. Aldershot did let Horsham back into the game from there, though. Saunders scored on the counter in the 62nd minute, played through by West and using his acceleration to take the ball around McNamara to slot in. West scored in the 87th minute to make it a nervous last few minutes, picking up the ball on the edge of the box with Godwin caught out of position, and applying the finish off the far post. The 3 points was the most important thing for Monster and the attention once again returned to the FA Cup. February 2026 Review A famous month in the history of Aldershot Town. The win against Derby County would live long in the memory, and the only blip in the league was the draw against Billericay Town. The club finances were looking healthy, the mood around the club was generally positive on all fronts, and all that remains to be seen over the next 3 months is what Aldershot could win. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 March 2026 04/03/2026 - FA Cup 5th Round (!!!) v Sunderland (H) The Wednesday night match of the season, saw Monster's Aldershot take on Steven Gerrard's Sunderland. Sunderland were without a win in their last 5 games and were certainly hoping to set that record straight, whereas Monster wanted his side to keep on winning. The Recreation Ground was packed again for a night they would never forget. Tydeman picked up a knock in training ruling him out for a week so Monster named Harvey Jones in the shadow striker role. Aldershot made the better start to the game and created all of the early chances. In the 12th minute, Hunt went close with a header from Harris's corner from the right, the ball clipping the top of the net. From the goal kick, Sunderland broke upfield but couldn't quite find a way through, the well-marshalled Aldershot defence repelling any balls into the area. Kilner cleared out to Wilson, who broke down the right, cutting back inside to find Harvey Jones who played Robinson through. Sunderland managed to cover but left Stewart unattended, Robinson finding him just inside the area and the former Liverpool player stroked the ball into the bottom corner to send the delirious fans into raptures. Monster celebrated on the bench. The first goal was always going to be key and Aldershot had drawn first blood. He was keen to keep everyone's feet on the ground, Sunderland still posed a threat, and with their second shot of the game, they drew themselves level. Robinson couldn't win Jones's ball forward in the air, and a ball from deep found the run of White who made it to the byline, only to pull it back for the inrushing Embleton to stroke in the equaliser. They had barely applied any pressure and Monster couldn't hide his disappointment. The two sides went in level at the break. Monster told the players that they had to keep going. They had been the better side on the stats in the first half. Monster was considering changes as Wilson broke down the right in the 68th minute. Wilson's cross was blocked out for a corner allowing Harris to swing it in from the right. On to the head of Hunt attacking the near post! The net bulged. The fans roared. The bench were nearly on the pitch. Monster immediately made the changes, taking off the tired legs and ineffectual performers of Jones and Everitt. Now they had to hold on with a quarter of the game remaining. Within a few minutes, Sunderland managed to put their clearest move of the game together when McNamara's clearance fell straight to Cirkin and the Sunderland left back's through ball found Bishop, who smashed into the net from 7 yards out. Monster had his head in his hands, on the edge of his technical area preparing to tell his players to up their game again. But as the Sunderland fans began cheering, Monster noticed the referee with his arm in the air. The assistant on the near side had his flag up! The goal was ruled out. Joy in the Sunderland end turned to despair. Monster immediately reduced the team's tempo, asking them to be more disciplined, hold their shape, and keep the ball. Opponents can't score goals without the ball, as he'd told the journalists in the press conferences on several occasions this season. Monster was fully expecting Sunderland to apply pressure and in injury time, Stewart lost the ball on the halfway line, Bryan intercepting and giving the ball to Embleton. The Sunderland goalscorer immediately looked for Bishop's run and he had the edge over Tsurilkin, the Estonian caught on his heels. Bishop ran into the box and pulled the trigger. Monster fully expected to see the net bulge and it did. But it was only the side netting. Bishop's shot had gone wide. Shortly after, the referee blew his whistle and the Aldershot players sank to the turf. As FA Cup Quarter Finalists. Hunt was named as player of the match after a dominant display at the back as well as the winning goal. Spoiler 05/03/2026 - Aldershot were joined in the Quarter Final by Championship sides Swansea City and Brentford, as well as Premier League sides Brighton & Hove Albion, Leeds United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, and Norwich City. As ever Monster hoped for smaller team at home or big side away. Swansea were drawn first and Aldershot came out second. An away trip to a Championship side in 9th. It was probably the best they could hope for, and once again, the Aldershot players had nothing to fear, having knocked out three Championship sides already. That tie would take place on 21st March. 07/03/2026 - VNLS v Hayes & Yeading United (H) 1st v 11th. Monster's next game on the horizon was the Southend game in the FA Trophy but with two league games before then, Monster knew there were still points on offer which could help towards the league title. The side he named was flooded with youngsters, Derek Richardson making his league debut at left back. Aldershot had the better of the early chances and won a corner in the 26th minute. As Flood swung the ball in, Sproule was sent tumbling by a push in the area and the referee pointed to the spot. O'Connell stepped up and smashed the penalty into the top-right corner to give Aldershot the lead. 2 minutes later, another corner from Flood on the left found Sproule this time, and the other on-loan centre back met it with his head and found the back of the net. In stoppage time at the end of the half, Squires won the ball in midfield with a sliding tackle but the ball ran to Mingi, who took it on, ran into the box, and looped it over McNamara. After half time, Hayes & Yeading found an equaliser within 10 minutes when Chin's low cross from the left found Daniels at the back post who tapped in first time. In the 85th minute, Aldershot found a goal when Kontoulis's through ball found the run of Hammonds, who had the composure to tuck it past the keeper at the near post and win the game for Aldershot. Youngster Steve Flood was named as the player of the match, impressing in the shadow striker role, which gave Monster some hope for the rest of the season, having struggled to find a rotation option there so far. On returning to the dressing room they discovered Dover Athletic had won away at Woking and the lead had been stretched to 18 points with 11 games remaining. 11/03/2026 - VNLS v Cray Wanderers (A) Monster used the squad again to take on 18th-placed Cray Wanderers with the FA Trophy match against Southend coming up at the weekend. It was an even game throughout the first half, the rotated side unable to find a breakthrough. Aldershot came out and applied more pressure after half time but found themselves behind in the 70th minute when Currie's long ball from the back found Campbell's run and Petrie couldn't keep the ball out. It shocked Aldershot into a response. MIlner-Smith nodded them level with a powerful header from Everitt's corner from the left within two minutes. In the 78th minute, Stewart was tripped in the box and Tsurilkin found the bottom-right corner with his spot kick. Cannon, still at the club but still on the transfer list, scored a curling free kick from right of centre, curling inside the near post from 22 yards. It was a good turn-around from the team, and took them to 102 points for the season with the unbeaten run continuing. It was also the 33rd win of the season, a VNLS record. 14/03/2026 - FA Trophy Quarter Final v Southend United (A) The highest-ranked side left in the competition, Southend United, top of the Vanarama National League, welcomed Aldershot to Roots Hall. Still in two cup competitions in mid-March, Monster still hadn't tasted defeat as Aldershot manager in any competition. Monsterball was well and truly on display in this game too, having proved to be so successful so far, although Southend did take the lead 7 minutes in when Paterson's run was found by a looping ball from the right and he was able to knock the ball home with a controlled volley from near the penalty spot. Aldershot had come from behind in their last game and would have to do so again if they wanted to make it through to the semi final. Aldershot were only behind for just over 10 minutes, Harris drawing them level with a low effort from outside the box somehow squirming through a crowd of players and past an unsighted keeper. It was 1-1 at the break. Southend rarely threatened and it was Aldershot who broke the deadlock in the 69th minute when Robinson smashed into the top-left corner from the right side of the box, Wilson with the pass into his feet. In the 84th minute, Harris chipped a free kick into the box towards Hunt, whose header looped over the to the back post where Robinson was on hand to smash home and provide some daylight between the two sides. In the 89th minute, Stewart added some gloss to the result, running on to O'Connell's through ball and although his original effort was saved by the keeper, Stewart responded quickest and was able to tuck home and condemn Southend to their heaviest home defeat of the season. Woking also slipped up at home to Dartford meaning Aldershot were still 18 points clear with a game in hand. The title (and promotion) could be sealed before the end of the month. Aldershot had set a record for the number of goals scored in the competition, beating the record Monster had set with Hillingdon Borough the season before. In the semi final, Aldershot will take on Boreham Wood, the side that knocked Hillingdon Borough out the season before. Another revenge mission for Monster. 17/03/2026 - VNLS v Farnborough (H) A match which had been rearranged multiple times due to cup exploits saw 1st take on 16th. With the FA Cup Quarter Final (!!!) taking place on the Saturday, Monster rotated the side yet again against the side that treated Aldershot as a rival despite Aldershot not feeling quite the same way. Farnborough were a route-one, physical side, with man mountain Reyon Dillon up front. Aldershot had the better of the first half and eventually took the lead when Hammonds scored at the second attempt from Olushola's cross from the right wing. His header was well saved but he reacted quickest to turn the ball home from a narrow angle. Sproule doubled the lead after half time, nodding in Flood's corner, the diminutive shadow striker proving to be a threat from set pieces. Farnborough responded from kick off, playing in Dillon who smashed his shot past Petrie and in off the crossbar. Layton Stewart had a goal ruled out for offside from a free kick, before he finished from a yard out in a mad scramble with a shot that deflected in off the post and keeper. Farnborough had a goal ruled out before the end as well for offside, although it was a narrow decision that they could feel hard-done by. Overall, a good job for the reserves, meaning the first choice side would be fit for the game on Saturday. 21/03/2026 - FA Cup Quarter Final v Swansea City (A) Surely the unbeaten run would end here? A Tier 6 side had no right to reach a Wembley semi final in one of the most prestigious cup competitions in the world. However, with Monster in charge, anything seemed possible. As a football fan working at the brush factory, he had watched plenty of the FA Cup on TV. He had reached the 2nd Round with Hillingdon Borough. Never had he dreamt of reaching the quarter final stage without managing in the Premier League and managing in the Premier League was an impossible dream when he was submitting his CV to any club he could apply to back in September 2022 when he arrived at work to find the brush factory had been closed. To be at this stage felt like an impossible dream. He was determined to enjoy it and he told the players as much. They had nothing to fear. He pumped his fists telling each individual player that he believed in them. In the 5th minute, the referee blew for a foul on the left side of the pitch. Free kick to Aldershot. In Jayden Harris range. He stepped up, curling his effort around the wall, but the ball dipped just wide of the near post with the keeper beaten. So close. 2 minutes later, Tydeman tried to play through Robinson, but Cabango intercepted, nodding the ball to Grimes who turned and knocked the ball out wide to Ng. The wing back played a ball forward for Capone to run on to, and his electric pace was too much for Tsurilkin to keep up with. Capone had a free run into the box and clipped a finish past McNamara into the far corner to give Swansea the lead, slightly against the run of play. Monster kept the faith in the system, having sent the side out to be balanced in their approach. His faith was rewarded as Harris whipped in a corner from the right and centre back Max Hunt was able to force his header in for the equaliser in the 32nd minute. The away corner were ecstatic. Could they hold on until half time? There were no more goals but Wilson was stretchered off in the 41st minute, Hammonds coming on to replace him. Monster encouraged the team at half time, they had kept the ball well so far, having dropped the tempo to ensure the priority was maintaining possession. Swansea came out firing all cylinders in the second half and Monster ended up telling the players to not look too far up the field and concentrate on defending for a while. Swansea brought on former Aldershot loanee (and previous record goalscorer) Pablo Bangerter and he wasted several good one-on-one opportunities, McNamara making three excellent saves at the start of the half to keep Aldershot in it. They had created nothing. Fed up with letting Swansea have the ball and dominate, Monster told the players to be more positive, hauled off an ineffective Tydeman and sent on Layton Stewart with Harvey Jones dropping back into the shadow striker role. There was a shift in the play. Swansea were on the back foot as Aldershot pinned them back, the inverted wingbacks pressuring much higher up the pitch. From one such move beginning on the right, Kilner worked the ball across to Jones in the D, who squared it to Clayton, and the left back found Hammonds's run. The substitute winger brought the ball under control and flicked it into the far corner to silence the home crowd and send the away fans absolutely mental. Swansea kicked on and won a corner in the 84th minute. Grimes whipped it in but could only find the head of Hunt who headed it clear to Stewart. Rather than play the ball through for Robinson to run on to, he played it to Robinson's feet, and he allowed the defence to pull up. He gave it to Everitt and the ball worked its way across the pitch to Clayton, tucking inside, almost as a wide defensive midfielder. From there, the ball made its way through the lines back out to Everitt on the right, who applied a through ball to Robinson in the right channel and he ran through to finish into the far corner. Monster could only watch on in disbelief. From Hunt's headed clearance it was 14 passes between the side without Swansea getting near the ball before Robinson had stuck it in the net. Monsterball at its finest. He was full of praise for the side, now 3-1 up away at a Championship team. 3 minutes later, Kilner was sent flying on the edge of the area by a Bangerter trip. Monster looked over at the referee, pleading for a penalty. The referee signalled a free kick. Harris stepped up and curled an absolute beauty into the top corner to make it 4-1. Monster could only slump on the bench, not able to understand what was going on. How was this happening? He had told the team to keep the ball. They didn't need to attack any more. They could keep it and keep it and as long as Swansea didn't have it, they couldn't score. In the 89th minute, Everitt broke into the box on the right and with a cheeky flick found Robinson whose cross was blocked. The rebound fell to Everitt who squared it to Kilner up in support and he tucked the ball away from the edge of the 6 yard box to make it 5-1 in a ground that was starting to resemble a library, apart from the corner where the Aldershot fans were. In stoppage time, Kilner, who had been instrumental in the last 15 minutes of the game with more licence to get forward, sprayed a pass up the field to Robinson who gave it back to him. Having switched to a back four, Swansea had nobody covering the shadow striker role and Kilner's pass found Jones's run. He made it unimpeded into the box, clean through, and finished into the top corner left-footed to make it 6-1. The fans that were left looked on in disbelief as the Aldershot fans sang their hearts out. 6-1 was the final score. Away. At a Championship side. Having been 1-0 down. With 6 different scorers. Monster wondered when he was going to wake up. He attended the tunnel interview after the game in a daze. He wasn't much better for the post-match press conference. They were through to the semi final. At Wembley. As a side from the Vanarama National League South. Spoiler 23/03/2026 - FA Cup Semi Final Draw Yet again, the screen was rolled out. All the players and the coaches stood arms linked watching the draw. They were in the hat with Leeds United, Manchester City, and Newcastle United, and would play one of them at Wembley. Manchester City came out first. Leeds United followed. Everyone then knew they would be facing off against Newcastle United but there were still great cheers around the training ground as their name was read out. The match would take place on Saturday 18th April when a Tier 6 side would be totally destroyed by a Premier League side at Wembley in front of the whole nation. 24/03/2026 - VNLS v Dover Athletic (A) Despite all the cup runs, Aldershot still had league business to take care of. Regardless of whom they played at Wembley, if they didn't get promoted or win the league, it wouldn't be a successful season for Monster in his bid to top the Hall of Fame. Could they do it on a Tuesday night in Dover? For large parts of the game it looked like they wouldn't. They dominated possession as usual. They had plenty of efforts. Tydeman and Jones looked out of sorts. With time beginning to tick on Hammonds played Stewart into the left channel where the striker held the ball up, waiting for some support. He played it back to Hammonds whom had made the run from deep. Taking a touch to control and then use his speed to burst past his man, Hammonds whipped a cross over into the middle from near the byline on to the head of Zach Robinson whose bullet head found the net from 6 yards out. Stewart thought he had a second goal on the break, played through by Robinson and tucking into the corner but it was ruled out for offside. Still, it was 3 points and a clean sheet, and after the cup game on Saturday, Monster had been keen to ensure they didn't fall back to Earth with a bump. Hammonds was named player of the match with another excellent performance. Since arriving on loan from Exeter City in January, he had averaged 8.09 in the league, scoring 3 goals and providing 5 assists. It was looking like a masterstroke from the Director of Football, Terry Brown. 28/03/2026 - VNLS v Weston-super-Mare (H) In one of the most cliche jokes of all time, Monster hoped Aldershot wouldn't have a super mare against their opposition when one point would guarantee them the title. At home against a side battling relegation, albeit in decent form, Monster wanted his side to dominate the ball and score goals - Plan A going into any match. In the 8th minute, Everitt's corner from the right was whipped in left-footed and Hunt was on hand to nod in his 8th league goal of the season, and 12th overall. A fantastic return for the centre back. Aldershot continued to create chances but couldn't find any further goals. Jones and Sproule were hoiked off in the 66th minute with Robinson and Milner-Smith taking their place. Within seconds, Robinson was challenged from behind in the area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. The substitute stepped up and found the bottom-left corner with a tidy finish. The goal seemed to give Aldershot another burst of confidence and they continued to pour forward in search of more goals. In the 80th minute, Clayton sent a raking ball out to the right-hand side to find Everitt. The winger cut inside on to his preferred left foot and whipped a cross to the front post where Stewart managed to direct his header into the top-left corner of the net. Robinson thought he had scored again a minute later but was correctly adjudged to be offside when Hammonds played the free kick in. A 3-0 win for Aldershot meant they wrapped up the title in March. Promotion achieved. Now to see whether they could keep their invincible season going. 31/03/2026 - VNLS v Dartford (A) 6th v 1st. Apart from the away game against Woking on the last day of the season, this was the most difficult fixture left in the list. Monster wanted to rotate with the FA Trophy Semi Final coming up at the weekend. Dartford were looking for points to confirm their playoff place. Dartford had a goal ruled out in the early exchanges, the referee spotting an offside from a corner. In the 6th minute, Sproule was pushed in the back contesting a corner, and the referee gave Aldershot a penalty. Charlie O'Connell, the penalty taker at the start of the season, couldn't press a claim to be the regular taker again as he shot straight at Berman and did the same with the rebound. Dartford thought they would reach half time with the score intact, but Prodger brought down Sproule 25 yards out and forgotten man, Tom Cannon, stepped up to curl a beauty into the top left corner. In the 51st minute, Jones extended the lead with a leaping header 8 yards out to meet Simpson's cross from the right wing, the header clipping the base of the post on its way in. In the 68th minute, Aldershot put the game to bed with their third goal. Squires received the ball from Simpson and clipped a gorgeous pass into the area which bounced off a defender's head as Cannon challenged. The ball fell to Olushola who crashed his volley into the roof of the net from the edge of the box. Dartford did have some pressure towards the end but weren't able to grab a consolation. Harvey Jones was the player of the match in the shadow striker role after his goal and excellent link-up play. With their 3 goals in this game, Aldershot set the record for VNLS goals in a season with 6 games remaining. March 2026 Review An unbelievable March. To still be in three competitions at this stage didn't seem real. The 6-1 win at Swansea City to send The Shots to Wembley would live long in Aldershot folklore, as well as be a personal highlight in Monster's own history. The month had begun with the 2-1 win over Steven Gerrard's Sunderland, coming up against a manager Monster remembered as a player on the TV. It had been a surreal season. Promotion had been confirmed and it was now time to see if they could turn their season into a great one by adding some more silverware as well as enjoying themselves at Wembley in their match against Newcastle United. However, one cloud on the horizon was Monster's contract. Nothing had been offered so far by the board and Monster was starting to wonder if he should start looking higher than National League football for next season. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 11, 2022 Author Share Posted June 11, 2022 April 2026 04/04/2026 - FA Trophy Semi Final v Boreham Wood (H) Monster's Hillingdon Borough side had been knocked out of this competition by Boreham Wood last season and Monster wanted to set the record straight against the side 14th in the National League. Having knocked out Exeter City and Southend United, two sides at the top of the National League in this competition, as well as 4 Championship sides in the FA Cup, surely Aldershot wouldn't have any trouble reaching the final to play either Gateshead or York City? The match also marked Monster's 200th game as a manager. Monster encouraged the team to keep the run going and then told them all he had faith in them. It was another game. They had proved they could win matches all season in whatever weather against any opposition. Why would this match be any different? Aldershot started on the attack and were awarded a free kick when Clayton had his shirt pulled. A free kick in the D. Harris territory. And so it proved as the deep-lying playmaker stepped up to curl his shot over the wall and kissing it off the post and into the net. Boreham Wood looked shell-shocked. Aldershot kept them pinned back and created several early chances. In the 13th minute, Clayton played Hammonds through and the left winger found the bottom corner with a low finish from the angle. 3 minutes later it was 3-0. Everitt played Harvey Jones in, and rather than shoot on his weaker foot, the shadow striker played it square to find Stewart who couldn't miss from 8 yards out, tapping the ball into the corner. Aldershot thought they had made it 4-0 inside 20 minutes but Stewart was ruled to be offside when Jones played the ball through to him. Boreham Wood found a foothold in the game after that and created a couple of chances of their own but it was 3-0 at half time. Aldershot had dominated. Monster wanted more of the same. On the hour mark, Boreham Wood found a breakthrough. Smith played a long ball over the top for Olomola who managed to beat two Aldershot defenders and then launch a shot into the top corner from 22 yards. Monster's heart sank. Surely they couldn't throw it away from here? He told the team to focus more on retaining the ball and made a triple change to combat tired legs. It shored things up and Boreham Wood gradually began to lose players to injury, 2 players coming off before the end. In injury time, Hammonds grabbed his second goal of the game to make it 4-1, playing a neat one-two with Stewart and scoring with a right-footed effort which clipped off the far post from inside the area. 4-1 was the final score and ensured Aldershot would have a second match at Wembley before the end of the season. They would face Gateshead who had destroyed York City 4-0 in the other semi final. 07/04/2026 - VNLS v Chippenham Town (H) The first of 3 home games remaining, Aldershot faced off against Chippenham Town, battling against relegation in 23rd in the league. Monster sent out the fittest side he could scrabble together. Chippenham's manager had criticised Monster's playing style in the build-up to the game. Monster had given a professional response in the press conference but wanted to demonstrate to a manager fighting against relegation that a quick-passing game was far more effective than lumping the ball downfield all the time. Monster was also hoping Robinson could stake his claim for the league top scorer award having led the way for large parts of the season, he had recently fallen behind Joe Wilson of Dulwich Hamlet. Harvey Jones started up front alongside him. It was Jones who opened the scoring in the 8th minute with an incredible effort from 22 yards. Tydeman intercepted the ball midway inside his own half and sent the ball through for Jones to run on to. The defence managed to hold him up but using his marker as a screen, he cut back inside on his left foot and launched his effort into the top left corner. Chippenham equalised in the 23rd minute when Soleman was gifted an opportunity on the break, left unattended to tap in with an effort McNamara will be disappointed to have let squirm underneath him. Jones restored the lead 5 minutes later with a tidy finish from inside the area, beating Dearnley at his near post having been played through by Tydeman. A minute later, Jones grabbed his hattrick when a clearance from Hammonds's low cross was drilled into his shins and the ball found its way inside the far post. Monster substituted him straight after to rest him up and Cannon replaced him. Elmi then gave away a penalty which Munroe converted to make it 3-2 but Aldershot were also awarded a penalty when Robinson was tripped inside the area and he found the bottom-right corner with a confident finish. 4-2 at half time. Monster wanted more to pile on the misery and Robinson grabbed his second when Sproule produced a cross from the left wing for the forward to turn in from 8 yards out, the ball having landed in front of him. He also grabbed his hattrick shortly afterwards, sliding in to meet Hammonds's low cross from the left to make it 6-2. Chippenham did show some fight when Yakubu headed in a corner and Smith tapped in from a cross from the left but Aldershot ran out winners with both strikers grabbing hattricks. It took Robinson on to 30 league goals for the season and back above Wilson. 11/04/2026 - VNLS v Hemel Hempstead Town (A) A top half side hoping to sneak into the playoffs were the next opposition for Aldershot. With a week until the FA Cup semi final, Monster put out his fittest side again. As ever, Aldershot started on the front foot but only took the lead after the half-hour mark when Everitt played through the forward run of Kilner who shot across the keeper and in at the far post. After half time, Hammonds was fouled in the box, and Robinson scored low into the bottom-left corner from the spot. Hemel Hempstead scored shortly after when Alcock was allowed to roam into the box unchallenged and his effort slipped between Tsurilkin and McNamara and ended up in the far corner. Kilner scored his second of the game, once again played through by Everitt, shooting low and hard into the far corner in the 68th minute. Stewart scored on the break in the 88th minute, Jones playing him through, and Stewart stroked home from just inside the box. A professional 4-1 win to keep the dream of an invincible season alive with Oliver Kilner, an unsung hero at right back, named as player of the match. 14/04/2026 - VNLS v Tonbridge Angels (H) A side that had held Aldershot to a draw in the first meeting, Monster did want to gain some revenge for that but also with the semi final against Newcastle due at the weekend, he wanted to keep his star men fresh for that game too. Wilson was scheduled to make an appearance after being out for several weeks due to dislocating his shoulder in the Swansea City match, but Monster also wanted to give some of the new youngsters an opportunity to impress. Steve Flood was out with a hip injury but a new youth intake had produced some good talent. Dmytro Kozlov started on the left wing and James Loader as the deep-lying playmaker. It was Loader who opened the scoring after 4 minutes, nodding in from close range after Cannon's free kick was kept out by a combination of keeper and crossbar. A minute later Kozlov provided the low cross for Olushola to score from close range. Before half time, Milner-Smith scored with a penalty after Barrows had been pushed trying to meet Elmi's cross, and the centre back found the net with a low finish into the bottom-right corner. It remained 3-0 until the 86th minute when Olushola scored again. Kontoulis's through ball for him was only half-stopped by the defence and and the striker joyfully lashed home as the ball sat up kindly for him. Tonbridge Angels scored with two goals on the break before the end; Mannai with the first with the run and finish to smash past McNamara, and then Fielding with a header from close range after Jenkins's run to the byline. However Cannon restored some gloss to the scoreline with a goal in injury time, tapping in from the middle of the area from Kontoulis's excellent low cross from the left. 5-2 it finished with the youngsters having enjoyed a run out. Loader at 16y and 89d became the youngest club scorer as well as in the VNLS. Kozlov also became the youngest player to ever feature in the VNLS as well as for Aldershot at 15y and 238d. 18/04/2026 - FA Cup Semi Final (?!) v Newcastle United (N) The unlikeliest of fixtures in one of the most unlikeliest runs in footballing history saw Tier 6 side Aldershot Town walk out alongside Newcastle United, currently 7th in the Premier League, and whom had been playing Champions League football earlier in the season (knocked out in the First Knockout Round by Bayern Munich). Whatever the result, the Aldershot players and coaching staff would never forget this trip to the national stadium, having already booked a place against fellow north-east side Gateshead at the end of May to contest the FA Trophy Final. The most Monster could hope for was a goal. Could he see his side score against a Premier League team at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans? Monster went for a balanced approach but kept the rest of his tactics the same. He knew Newcastle would want the game won early so as to kill the game off and reduce any chance of an upset. It was exactly as he predicted. Newcastle came straight out of the traps and took the lead after 3 minutes with an Edozie header from a corner. After 6 minutes it was 2-0 when Evanilson couldn't miss from a yard out after good work in the box from Suddick. Monster managed to settle the team down and hoped the scoring wouldn't continue at the same rate. In the 30th minute, Aldershot were able to celebrate something when Clayton broke down the left and after a couple of bites of the cherry managed to find a cross through to Jones who sent the Aldershot end into raptures with a low finish. It proved to be the highlight of the game. Newcastle took a stranglehold from there, adding two goals after half time, Suddick with a header from a Willock cross and a Digne free kick from 20 yards to condemn Aldershot to their first defeat of the season in all competitions. In April! The dream was over. But what a dream it had been. Monster was philosophical afterwards. How was a Tier 6 side expected to compete against a Premier League side? The sheer physical prowess of the Premier League players had been noticeable from the outset. But nothing could take away the Jones goal or the run to this stage. It had been incredible. And Monster wanted more. Spoiler 25/04/2026 - VNLS v Hillingdon Borough (A) Wembley one week, a trip to his former stomping ground the next. Hillingdon had already been relegated some weeks ago and were only playing for pride. Paul Burns, the Hillingdon manager, had borne some ire from Monster throughout the season after changing a winning system to revert to a 3-5-2. After suffering their first defeat of the season, Monster was keen to ensure it didn't turn into two in a row. Returning to the club where he had cut his managerial teeth made him nostalgic. Wandering down the corridor where the dressing rooms were made him remember some of the greatest matches he had experienced as Hillingdon Borough manager. It had been a miserable season for his former side, though, with only 3 wins so far. Aldershot soon slotted into their usual groove and took the lead in the 13th minute with Tsurilkin nodding in at the near post from Harris's corner. He doubled the lead 11 minutes later with a back post header from Harris's free kick wide on the right. Harvey Jones then made it 3-0 just after the half hour mark, Tydeman knocking it through for the forward to use his pace to pick up the ball and then tuck it past Agboola. Hillingdon then had a spell of pressure, Ihionvien going close with a shot that came back off the bar, and then Rose finding the bottom corner from 25 yards with a low bobbling strike. Robinson had had a poor game on the right, so Monster introduced Everitt, pushing the top scorer up front. It paid almost immediate dividends as Everitt won a header at the back post, Agboola could only push the ball out and Robinson was on hand to tuck home from a yard out. Tsurilkin completed his hattrick with another header from another Harris set piece in the final few minutes. It finished 5-1 but Monster couldn't take a great deal of pleasure from the result. His mind was starting to wander elsewhere again. All the memories from last season's betrayal by the board around this time of the season had come tumbling back to him. The Aldershot board still hadn't offered him a new deal and he was starting to wonder if it was time to move on again. A bigger club? Better facilities? He had no idea. With 3 games left in the season, surely the board would want him to stay? April 2026 Review An unsurprising defeat at Wembley in the FA Cup semi final but otherwise wins all round in the other games. Monster had used the full depth of his squad to great effect and he hoped to have more to celebrate come the end of May. Harvey Jones was named as player of the month, as well as finishing second in the goal of the month with his stunning effort against Chippenham. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 May 2026 02/05/2026 - VNLS v Weymouth (H) 1st v 14th in the penultimate game of the season and final home match. Monster was determined to savour it. He didn't know if he would be back next season. Everitt gave Aldershot the lead in the 21st minute with a back post header from a Hammonds cross. Robinson continued his quest for the golden boot with a 54th minute penalty, smashing it into the top right corner after Jones had had his heels clipped in the box. Harris had an opportunity to make it 3-0 in the 61st minute with a free kick on the right side of the box. He curled it around the wall and ran off celebrating as the net bulged. Brown pulled one back for Weymouth when his original shot inside the area was blocked but the rebound fell kindly for him to tuck home from 12 yards out. A 3-1 win in the final home game of the season, and Monster sent the team out to applaud all of the fans for their support in a memorable year which had taken them to Wembley twice. 09/05/2026 - VNLS v Woking (A) The final game of the season away to the side in 2nd. Avoid defeat and be written into history as the Invincibles. However, Woking had had a fantastic season of their own. Prior to this season, Newport County had held the record for number of points with 103. Woking were on 100 and hadn't guaranteed themselves promotion yet. Any other season and they would have been champions. In the 12th minute, Woking were awarded a fortunate penalty, Fellahi tumbling after a clean tackle by Kilner but the referee pointed to the spot. However, Green could only shank his penalty into the Aldershot fans behind the goal. Aldershot broke the deadlock in the 35th minute with a Robinson back-post header from a Harris free kick out wide on the left. They extended their lead after half time with a Hammonds volley from a Kilner cross. Woking then fought their way back into the game with two late goals. The first was a back post volley from Shade, hooking it home from a narrow angle. The equaliser came in the 87th minute from Fellahi, nodding home unmarked from 6 yards out. It was a deserved equaliser and Monster had no complaints. His Aldershot side had remained unbeaten throughout the 46 game season; a remarkable feat. 11/05/2026 - some of the loan deals came to an end, which was of some surprise to Monster and left him struggling to work out what team he would be picking for the FA Trophy final. He had made offers for youth players being released from their contracts from Premier League clubs, and they joined the squad as the transfer window reopened. The club also offered Monster a new one-year deal with a slight payrise. He left the meeting and walked out. The offer was pitiful. After restoring the club's finances, reaching the FA Cup semi final, and the FA Trophy final, he had hoped for more faith and more commitment. He would wait to see if they came back with another offer but if not, he would leave when his contract ended at the end of June. 17/05/2026 - Friendly Monster arranged a friendly against Finchampstead to keep some football in the legs, to check his line up for the final, and to have a look at the new signings. Fortunately, he had managed to extend Kilner's loan, and Jones's and Hammonds's loans weren't due to end until June anyway. Aldershot won 13-0 with Moses impressing on his debut and Layton Stewart scoring a hattrick. Newcastle United went on to win the FA Cup final, beating Manchester City 2-1. At least Aldershot could say they had been beaten by the winners. 24/05/2026 - FA Trophy Final v Gateshead (N) A second trip to Wembley to take on the side that had finished 20th in the National League, narrowly missing out on relegation. New winger Moses started on the right, while top scorer Robinson was on the bench. Wembley wasn't as full as it had been for the FA Cup semi final but there was a trophy to be won this time and Monster wanted to win it. It was the first time Aldershot had featured in the final of this competition. Monster wanted there to be another cup in the trophy cabinet to sit next to the league title. It was also the 3rd season in a row he had reached an end-of-season cup, having won one and lost one so far. Gateshead began the better of the two teams, creating some decent chances but it was Aldershot who broke the deadlock when Hammonds escaped down the left, swung in a low cross from the byline and new-signing Moses tucked in from a couple of yards out. 4 minutes later, Aldershot had a huge stroke of luck when Moses found the run of Clayton, and the full back's shot hit the defender, rebounded off another defender and looped over the goalkeeper and into the net. Gateshead had some decent opportunities to get on the scoresheet but found the Aldershot in formidable form. With time running out, Everitt put in a cross from the left to find Moses and the new signing's shot deflected in from close range off Baggott, the goal going down as Baggott's for another own goal. In stoppage time, Aldershot put together their final attack of the season. Harris played it to substitute Wright, who knocked it forward to Stewart. The striker took a couple of touches, drifting out wide, allowing Wright to run into the space Stewart had vacated. Stewart gave him the ball back and the other new signing finished into the bottom corner from inside the area to make it a very flattering scoreline. It wasn't a 4-0 game; Aldershot had taken their chances whereas Gateshead hadn't. Monster didn't get involved too much with the celebrations, preferring to let the players enjoy the moment by winning at Wembley. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 13, 2022 Author Share Posted June 13, 2022 2025/2026 Season Review The end of season party had the league title and the FA Trophy side by side to show what a fantastic season it had been. Predicted to finish 2nd and only reach the latter stages of cup competitions, Monster's team had blown those expectations away breaking record after record on the way. Ivan Hyjek, Chairperson, congratulated everybody for a fantastic season. In terms of finances, the club was in extremely healthy shape, mostly thanks to the FA Cup run and the competition prize money that brought in. All other aspects of finance had improved or remained the same. In terms of merchandising, the club had sold 427 shirts with Stewart, Harris, Robinson, Wilson, and Everitt being the top requested names. In terms of moments to remember, the biggest win was the FA Cup Quarter Final match against Swansea City. Monster had to check through the fixtures - surely beating a Championship side away hadn't been the largest scoreline of the whole season? They had scored 7 once, 6 five times, and 5 five times but the 5-goal margin came in that remarkable quarter final match. The match to remember was the 6-3 win over Stevenage in November in the FA Cup First Round tie. The goal of the season also came in the FA Cup and was Kontoulis's extra-time equaliser against Coventry City in the 3rd Round replay where he ran from his own half and scored from 25 yards. The team of the season looked rather strange and Monster chose to disregard it. Having used so many players, it was difficult to narrow it down. All players had contributed in some form. The reserves and youth players had stepped up when needed when the cup competitions were still going on, and the first choice side had dominated. Club Awards: Fans' Player of the Season: Jayden Harris - a remarkable season for the deep-lying playmaker, the conductor of the side producing assists and key passes galore from the base of the midfield. Young Player of the Season: Ben Wilson - at 24, a strange choice in Monster's eyes, but before dislocating his shoulder, Wilson had been a mainstay of the side on the right wing. He never made it back to full fitness before the end of the season, though. Signing of the Season: Max Hunt - the giant centre back scored key goals from set pieces this season, had put in excellent performances throughout, and was a real rock at the back Goal of the Season: Kontoulis's effort against Coventry City Top Goalscorer: Zach Robinson (43) - an excellent season for the striker, who did have a goal drought at one point but regularly had goalscoring spells in the side finishing joint top scorer with 34 goals in the league Most Assists: Kian Tydeman (19) - a surprising chart-topper, but provided plenty of assists through to the strikers from the shadow striker position Most Player of the Match Awards: Jayden Harris (10) - if he played well, the team played well. He played well a lot. Highest Average Rating: Jayden Harris (7.8) Records Broken: Most overall goals by a player in a season: Zach Robinson Most league goals by a player in a season: Zach Robinson Most goals by a player in a match: Zach Robinson (3) Most goals by a player in a league match: Zach Robinson (3) Most assists by a player in a season: Kian Tydeman Youngest player: Dmytro Kozlov (15y 238d) Youngest goalscorer: James Loader (16y 89d) League Records Broken (taken from VNLS records page): Most points in a season (130) Most league wins in a season (42) Fewest league defeats in a season (0) Most matches won in a row (18) Most matches without losing (46) Most team goals (145) Youngest player: Dmytro Kozlov (15y 238d - against Tonbridge Angels 14/04/2026) Youngest goalscorer: James Loader (16y 89d - against Tonbridge Angels 14/04/2026) Competition Awards: Vanarama National League South Player of the Season: Zach Robinson Vanarama National League South Players' Player of the Year: Max Hunt Another season done. Monster headed home, not knowing where he would be starting his pre-season. He had completed 4 seasons as a football manager and after having the brush factory team photo on his wall for so long, he had to take it down to make room for the FA Cup semi final photo from Wembley. In terms of the Hall of Fame, Monster was now on 39 points. Still barely a dot in terms of catching Pep Guardiola (5230) or Sir Alex Ferguson (5380) but he was putting in the building blocks. The system seemed to be successful. It was now seeing if he could find a club that could bring in the best players available to win the trophies that would catapult him up that leaderboard. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 14, 2022 Author Share Posted June 14, 2022 2026/2027 Pre-season The vast majority of the first choice players were on deals for next season already. Monster offered new contracts to Harris and Barrows and hoped that some more loans could be found throughout the season. However, Monster still wasn't sure about signing a new contract with Aldershot. Having experienced the FA Cup run and knocked out 4 Championship sides, surely his brand of football would be successful at a higher level? He put his CV out to various clubs around Europe: Oxford United, Huddersfield Town, Pro Vercelli, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Empoli, FC Metz, and Stevenage were all on the list. The Aldershot chairman offered him a new deal on even less than the first contract. Monster refused. He was interviewed by Oxford United, Huddersfield Town, and Stevenage, but in having a look around those clubs and with the finances and structures on offer, he couldn't justify leaving Aldershot. With days left on his contract, Ivan Hyjek came back in with another offer, and Monster negotiated with him for a contract worth £1k p/w as well as requesting he could do his next coaching course. Ivan agreed. Monster was staying. There was an ambitious plan put forward by the board but Monster was confident they could reach the upper echelons of League 2 as requested, providing he could find the players who would work within his system. After four weeks off, pre-season training started on 22nd June. Oliver Kilner and Harvey Jones agreed to extend their loans. Monster wanted to win promotion and defend the FA Trophy. The FA Cup would be a great experience but it all depended on which sides they would face. However, the board told him what their expectations were and Monster told the team that's what they needed to achieve: a top half league finish and the semi final of the FA Trophy. After last season's performance, Monster couldn't see why another double wouldn't be on the cards if he could make a couple of improvements. Pre-season fixtures A decent pre-season, beating some second-string French sides as well as U23 sides in Bournemouth (12-0!) and Everton, as well as League 1 Rochdale. Various trialists came in but only a few were signed up, most demanding ridiculous wages. Transfers In terms of new signings, along with Edward Moses and Jack Wright who had joined prior to the FA Trophy final, there were only 5 other additions before the start of the season. Defensive midfielder Kyle Townsend, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur's academy. Sol Brynn, goalkeeper, from Middlesbrough. Cian Hayes, winger, from Fleetwood Town. Will Forrester, centre back, from Crewe Alexandra. And back-up goalkeeper Andre John from Barnsley. The only major departure prior to the season starting was left winger Andreas Kontoulis leaving for Newcastle Jets in Australia. He had agreed the move in January, despite Monster being more than happy to keep him. Squad Monster was thrilled with the squad. A year older, strengthened in key positions, and playing at a level that they had proved they could compete at, Monster was hopeful they could reach the Football League with it. He would allow Terry Brown to try and bring in some loans for areas that he thought would need covering but Monster had faith in the youngsters who would be scrapping on the fringes of the squad. Steve Flood had recovered from his injury and would hopefully fulfil his immense promise. Staff No real changes to the staff. There had been a change in goalkeeping coach and Monster had filled in the available slots at the club. League Season Preview Aldershot were predicted to finish 2nd with only Clayton in the Media Dream XI. Interestingly, Woking, promoted with Aldershot, were predicted to finish 4th, a sign of the strength both sides had from last season. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadManager Posted June 14, 2022 Share Posted June 14, 2022 Very good season last time out. I must admit, I thought Monster might look at Metz or Empoli to broaden horizons a bit but building this side another level certainly seems a good bet based on history. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 8 hours ago, BadManager said: Very good season last time out. I must admit, I thought Monster might look at Metz or Empoli to broaden horizons a bit but building this side another level certainly seems a good bet based on history. I did try, more out of curiosity to see what level could be reached with those qualifications - but having earned £2.5m from the FA Cup run, it was a no-brainer to stay with the platform that had given the club. Not wanting to plot spoil too much, but it worked out rather well. (The posts are about a season behind where I am in game.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 August 2026 In a world where Spain have beaten France to win the 2026 World Cup, Arsenal have won the 2025/26 Premier League, and Manchester United have won the 2025/26 Champions League, a new season is about to kick off. 01/08/2026 - Vanarama National League (VNL) v Gateshead (A) The last side they'd played in a competitive fixture was the first of the season this time around. Monster was cautious. Surely Gateshead would be seeking some revenge? This season was the first time Monster had managed a side competing in a national division and they were faced with one of their longest trips first up. Monster would have to find something to do on the bus journeys. In terms of the team, Brynn and Forrester were the summer signings making debuts. Moses was on his first league start. Gateshead were predicted to struggle in the league whereas Aldershot were predicted to make a title challenge. As per the FA Trophy final, Aldershot made a fast start and opened the scoring after 9 minutes. Hunt played a long ball from the back towards Stewart, who managed to knock it down for Everitt to slot home on the half volley. Aldershot pressed home their advantage and added a second goal 4 minutes later with a lovely Monsterball passing move. Harris, Tydeman, and Stewart combined to release Moses into the right channel and the winger pulled the ball back from the byline to find Robinson lurking on the far side of the 6-yard box to knock the ball in. In the 19th minute, Moses was tripped on the edge of the area. There were calls for a penalty but the referee awarded a free kick. Moses swung it in and found Hunt at the back post who towered above everyone to head home. 3-0 with 19 minutes on the clock. Monster couldn't believe it. Gateshead came out for the second half like a completely different side. They pulled one back in the 56th minute when Thompson's cross to the back post was turned in by Gallagher with some help from the post. Husin scored with a shot from well outside the area that stayed low and flew in at the near post past an unsighted Brynn. Aldershot looked rattled. Monster responded with some changes and Aldershot seemed to settle, grabbing another goal when Moses on the right wing played Stewart into the channel and the striker hit his hot across the keeper and in at the far post. Gateshead weren't done and prompted a whole wave of nerves when they made it 4-3 in the 80th minute when Gallagher's cross from the left picked out Langstaff attacking the far post, and he was able to tuck home from a few yards out. Aldershot did manage to see the game out but some concerns for Monster after this performance. Moses looked impressive on the right with 3 assists. Brynn hadn't looked quite so convincing in goal. It was still early days and the most important thing was picking up 3 points. 08/08/2026 - VNL v Accrington Stanley (H) A first home game of the season against a side whom had also won their opening game of the season. Monster named a similar side; Jack Wright coming in for Tydeman the only change. After a calm start to the match with neither side taking the game to the other, another long ball forward by Hunt looped over the top of the defence and Stewart timed his run to perfection to pass the ball into the net on the half volley in the 33rd minute. Accrington Stanley continued to threaten in patches so Monster substituted both wingers in the 66th minute. A minute later, Clayton intercepted the ball on the halfway line and sprang a counter. He played a one-two with Robinson who had dropped deep before playing Wright through who smashed into the top corner from just inside the box. Not content with a 2-goal lead, Monster wanted more. In the 81st minute, some calamitous defending allowed Stewart to score a second of the afternoon for him, but only after Thomas had spilled his original shot, Robinson whacked the rebound off the near post from an acute angle, then pulled the ball back for Hayes to have a shot which was blocked, Wilson's shot was blocked too, and Stewart finally managed to smuggle the ball over the line to make it 3-0. It was a professional performance, and Monster hoped to have a similar record to last season at home, winning all but one of their league games at The Recreation Ground. Stewart was a deserved player of the match. 15/08/2026 - VNL v Torquay United (A) Aldershot travelled to the south coast to take on a Torquay side who were unbeaten in their first two games of the season. Monster named a settled side, Wilson coming in for the injured Moses. Torquay managed to find a way to nullify the game, making it difficult for Aldershot to settle into their normal rhythm and the match finished 0-0, the first time Aldershot hadn't scored in a match during Monster's reign. 22/08/2026 - VNL v Boston United (H) 3rd v 1st. Boston United were the early pacesetters in the league, winning their first three games. Monster made it clear to the team he expected better than the previous Saturday. A wonderful flowing move opened the scoring in the 35th minute. Clayton started it with a throw-in on the left, and eventually received it back via Hayes and Harris, before finding Kilner on the edge of the area in a central position. The right back took a couple of touches and found the bottom left corner with a shot through a crowd of players. 4 minutes later, Kilner was tripped just outside the D, slightly to the right of centre. Moses stepped up and curled an exquisite free kick into the top left corner, the keeper left flailing at air as it sailed past him. It had been a much better performance and Monster wanted more of the same after half time. In the 63rd minute, Tydeman broke into the Boston box but took it too wide to have a shot. Swivelling suddenly, he whipped a cross to the back post and Everitt rose above his full back to nod in from close-range. Boston pulled one back shortly after. Thorn played Keough in down the left channel with a ball over the top. Keough held it up long enough for Thorn to make a run into the box and found him with a perfect cross, allowing the striker to drive it in low off his laces. Aldershot restored their three-goal lead when Hayes was tripped chasing Clayton's through ball. Robinson stepped up and smashed the ball into the top right corner of the net from the penalty spot. A 4-1 win made up for the disappointment of the week before and showed that it was most likely a small blip. 29/08/2026 - VNL v Bromley (A) A 5th game of the month but without having played any midweek fixtures, meant Monster could name another settled side. Last season's keeper, McNamara had kicked up a stink in the summer, citing wanting to test himself at a higher level, and Peterborough United put £60k on the table for him. Monster snapped their hand off and with Brynn having settled between the sticks now, McNamara was allowed to leave to become the cup goalkeeper for the Championship side. Bromley had made a poor start to the season but were unbeaten against Aldershot in their last 4 meetings; could they make it 5 games unbeaten today? Aldershot set out to ensure that didn't happen when Stewart headed in from close range in the 6th minute. Tydeman's ball across the box from Clayton's throw-in saw shots from Moses and Kilner blocked before the ball sat up nicely for Stewart to head in. Bromley levelled in the 10th minute when Tansley twisted Kilner inside out and was able to smash into the top corner right footed from just inside the area. Aldershot regained the lead two minutes later when Monsterball triangles formed all over the pitch. The final one saw Jones and Moses exchange passes to release Stewart through the middle and he passed the ball into the bottom-left corner. 2-1 at half time. Stewart completed his hattrick 6 minutes into the second half. A beautiful move started with a goal kick, and the side exchanged a set of passes without Bromley getting near them. The ball moved from the left side of the pitch to the right, and Kilner played a wonderful ball over the top for Stewart to run on to, and find the far corner of the net with a low drive from inside the area. In the 81st minute, Stewart was pushed over trying to reach a Wright cross in the area. O'Connell took the penalty but was denied by an excellent save by Vallese, throwing himself to his right to palm it around the post. Bromley made for an interesting last few minutes when Sodje side-footed a volley home in the 88th minute but Aldershot held on to come away with 3 valuable points ahead of their game with closest rivals Notts County. August 2026 Review A great start to the season. Aldershot seemed to have settled back into life as a VNL club and were looking to regain a League 2 spot for the first time since the 2012/2013 season. The Torquay game had proved that they wouldn't have it all their own way and may prove to be a closer fight than last season had been. For Monster the task was simple: win games of football. Monsterball seemed to be effective. The new signings had slotted in well. And the Director of Football had managed to snaffle an England U19 international on loan from Millwall for the season. Paul Spencer was the new man who would give Monster even more of a selection headache up front with Stewart and Robinson both having started the season well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJonsterMonster Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 September 2026 In a world where Tony Mowbray is the England manager (Editor Monster: no, seriously, I had a double take at that one myself), Monster hoped to continue the good start they had made in the league with some tricky games coming up at home this month against the two counties, Notts and Newport. 05/09/2026 - VNL v Notts County (H) A first real test against the side predicted to finish above them, saw Aldershot take on an also unbeaten Notts County at The Recreation Ground to kick off September. Robinson gave Aldershot the lead in the 6th minute, nodding in from close range from Forrester's flick-on at the near post off Moses's corner. Notts County shredded the Aldershot defence to ribbons with a move Monster would have been proud of. O'Keeffe was provided with all of the space in the world down the right and his cross was turned in from 6 yards out by an unmarked Grant. Aldershot regained the lead with their next attack in the 16th minute. Stewart applied the finish, beating Schofield at his near post after some lovely build-up play from the back. Hunt nodded a clearance down to Tydeman, who found Robinson's chest with a clipped 30-yard pass. Robinson brought the ball down and played in his strike partner who did the rest. Aldershot went in at the break 3-1 to the good, thanks to a Tydeman goal. He sometimes drops deep, he sometimes pushes up as a third striker, and on this occasion, starting with a goal kick at the back, which went wide to Clayton and then inside to a rampaging Harris, the ball was delivered for Tydeman to run on to, and he once again tucked it past Schofield at his near post from inside the area. Monster wanted more of the same - they'd kept Notts County at arms' length so far. Tydeman made it 4-1 in the 69th minute with a close-range tap-in. Harris released Stewart, the referee waving play on as Moses was sent tumbling, and the striker ran into the box and blasted the ball across goal to find the shadow striker running in. Notts County made it 4-2 with 15 minutes to go with a Cover header from the middle of the area. It was an excellent performance except for Brynn but the team had played Notts County off the park and ran out deserved winners. 12/09/2026 - VNL v King's Lynn Town (A) 20th v 1st. King's Lynn had endured a tricky start to the season and Monster wanted to churn out more wins. No debut for Spencer still, but he was on the bench. Aldershot began the game the stronger side and Edward Moses gave them the lead in the 34th minute. He took the original corner from the right which was cleared but the ball made its way back to him and he cut inside on to his left foot to blast a curling effort in at the far post. Aldershot continued to play well and create chances but didn't score again until the 84th minute when Robinson, off the bench for the ineffectual Jones, tapped in from a few yards out from Everitt's low cross. A poor clearance from Brynn led to King's Lynn releasing Welch over the top and he beat the goalkeeper at his near post from a narrow angle to pull one back with a few minutes left. But Moses made it 3-1 in stoppage time with a fine finish from substitute Spencer's pass. The on-loan striker looked as if he was going to have a long-range effort when Robinson gave him the ball 30 yards out, but he disguised it as a great through ball for the right winger, who took a touch to create the angle and then slotted in at the near post left-footed. It finished 3-1, Moses the best player on the pitch, and Monster was happy as they began the trek back to Aldershot. 15/09/2026 - VNL v Crawley Town (H) The first midweek game of the season came against 6th-placed Crawley Town, another side Aldershot had a poor record against and were scrapping for a playoff spot in 6th. They had one of the strangest formations Monster had ever faced - a 5-2-2-1 where they played with a back 5 and then a pentagon in midfield and attack. He was intrigued to see how it fared against his 4-1-5. Spencer made his first start up front, Jones played as a left winger, and Ben Wilson started on the right wing. Barrows came in at left back too, as Monster rotated to keep the players fresh. Aldershot started well, as they so often do, and Monster was out of his seat in the 15th minute when Spencer announced his arrival with a stunning left-footed shot from 25 yards which cannoned in off the crossbar. A stupendous goal that had the Aldershot faithful wondering how they'd managed to find the giant striker. He was involved in the second goal, 13 minutes later, playing the through ball for Stewart to lash home from inside the box. A remarkable first half hour of the match. 2-0 at the break and all the talk was of the U19 international in the gangways. Crawley made a few tactical tweaks, trying to find an edge and were more positive in the second half, eventually capitalising on some tiredness at the back when Amario Cozier-Duberry was afforded time to control, turn, and finish in the 80th minute. Monster managed to shore up the defence and Aldershot saw the game out. 19/09/2026 - VNL v Solihull Moors (A) On the verge of completing 4 years as a football manager, Monster checked to see how Hillingdon Borough were getting on back in Tier 7. They still had the same manager, Burns, but they were rooted to the bottom of their league with 9 defeats out of 9. Monster tried not to feel any sympathy but there was a little part of him that couldn't help feel sad that he hadn't built a lasting dynasty at the club, having taken them from the bottom of Tier 9 into Tier 6. Maybe if Gareth Eaton had backed him, it could be Hillingdon sitting top of the VNL now. However, the side that had backed him, and given him a generous budget and decent facilities after a season in charge, were reaping the rewards. Intriguingly, Walsall, the side that had turned him down a year ago were 22nd in League 2. In this game, Monster found himself up against the same formation Crawley had put out in midweek. He hoped his side would manage a similar result. Aldershot were on the front foot early on but didn't find a breakthrough until after the half hour mark, when Stewart poked home from close-range after Tydeman's shot hit the keeper and fell to the in-form striker for his 9th goal of the season. 1-0 at the break. After half time, Everitt reached the byline and cut inside to break into the area but was hacked down Johnson. Harris stepped up to take the penalty and passed it into the bottom-right corner to double the lead. In the 55th minute it was 3-0. Hunt won a crunching tackle outside his own area, the ball looping up for Everitt to win the header and knock it forward to Spencer. The frontman took it on, breaking upfield, eventually finding his strike partner, Stewart, whom stroked the ball into the back of the net. A glorious goal. They still couldn't keep a clean sheet, though, surrendering a goal on the counter from a corner, the ball finding Taylor in space outside the D to drive home right-footed into the bottom corner, Brynn unable to get anywhere near it. 3-1 it finished with the result taking Aldershot 5 points clear with Notts County drawing 0-0 at home to Gateshead. 26/09/2026 - VNL v Newport County (H) Another side that had started the season well, saw Aldershot take on Newport County in 3rd, the only other side with a goal difference in double figures (although helped by having thrashed bottom side Radcliffe 7-0 a few weeks ago). Monster made some changes - John started in goal for his debut after a set of mediocre performances from Brynn. Monster also wanted to test a balanced mentality at home rather than a positive one. For some reason they seemed to be more clinical away from home, and Monster wanted to see if that worked here. Monster also wanted to get one over Newport County after his interview with them had been the worst interview he had attended so far, not even making it to the end of that one. With the ground almost half full, Monster's team weren't out of the traps as quickly as normal but wrestled control of the game in the 36th minute when Clayton's throw found Harris, and the deep-lying playmaker hit a sweeping cross over to the far post where Moses was lurking, managing to beat his marker in the air and direct his header into the top corner. An unlikely source for a headed goal, all 5ft 7in of him, but Monster wasn't going to complain. Aldershot missed some great chances to extend the lead but did manage to grab a goal in first-half stoppage time. Forrester and Harris exchanged some neat passes on the halfway line. Jones dropped deep to receive it, playing it forward to Clayton who had raided forward, and the left-back's ball through to Stewart was perfect, the forward able to smash home to continue his great goalscoring run. Newport created a few chances in the second half, using their good passing range but they couldn't find a way through the resolute Aldershot defence. Hunt headed clear to Moses, who cut inside to find Spencer in the shadow striker role still in his own half. Spencer managed to scoop the ball over the top for substitute Robinson to run on to, controlling the ball on his chest and using his pace to take the ball into the box and hit the ball hard and low past Day to make it 3-0. John managed a clean sheet on his debut. Spencer looked good in the shadow striker role, which gave Monster food for thought with Tydeman being mixed in there so far this season, but it turned out Spencer would be missing for 2-3 weeks with sprained ankle ligaments. All in all, a satisfactory result in celebration of Monster's 4th year as a football manager. And what a 4 years it had been. He had now gone 2 years without a league defeat, last losing away at Truro City in August 2024. September 2026 Review A perfect month in the league. Monster was named as manager of the month, and all in all, he was pleased with progress. Moses was named second in young player of the month. There didn't appear to be any ill-effects in the squad after promotion, all the new players seemed to be settling in, and Monster hoped he could keep the Aldershot train on its tracks towards another promotion and return them to the Football League. Monster was pleased with attendances, which were almost double on average what they had been last season, resulting in a boost to the finances. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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