Non-League To Big League: Part Two

Hello one and all and welcome back to Non-League To Big League, our FM24 road to becoming a legend in the world of football management. If you're new here then I'm managing one of my local grassroots teams, Grimsby Borough in the Northern Premier League Division One (East) and you can catch up with part one here. 

Our first assignment of this part sees us host Liversedge at the Bradley FDC for a midweek clash under the lights. Despite our decent early season form (spoiler alert if you haven't seen part one), we're sluggish from the start and the visitors punish this by taking an early lead. We manage to equalise through a Tyler Edwards penalty but this is a short stay of execution as Liversedge strike quickly with two goals in the space of four minutes to put them into a comfortable 3-0 lead. 

After the teacups are thrown at half-time, there's a marked improvement in our performance as we begin to create a string of chances in the second period but we're guilty of wasting them. If one or two had gone in then we may have managed to rescue something from the game. It could have got worse for us in stoppage time when the visitors are awarded a penalty, only for goalkeeper Liam Higton to turn the ball away and spare any further blushes. 

Previously when we've suffered a bad defeat, we've usually answered the doubters with aplomb but sadly we turn a long trip to the North East to face Bishop Auckland into a bit of a damp squib of a draw. Despite going into the lead midway through the first half, we're pegged back through Ben Creamer's equaliser before we suffer another setback when Dean Winnard is sent off for using an elbow. 

Our cause isn't helped in between our league fixtures when Newmarket Town pinch Tyler Edwards from us which reduces our striking options, which is a bit of a pain. 

Fortunately, in the first of two local derby clashes, we bounce back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over North Ferriby at The FDC. We go ahead through Tom Sawyer's good strike from outside the box (see below) before we extend in the second half. Despite conceding a consolation inside the final twenty minutes, we never really look in any danger and the win takes us to ninth place in the early league table, well within striking distance of the play-off zone. 

And so to the big one, the first El Haddocko clash of the season as we meet our near neighbours Cleethorpes Town in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup. 

In front of a decent crowd at the FDC, sadly we're not really at the races and while the stats may show that we were evenly matched with The Owls, we were very much second best as Clee always managed to find a second gear when we were still plugging away in first. After going 2-0 down in the second half, we finally began to play some decent football and it looked like we had been thrown a lifeline when we're awarded a late penalty, only for Reece York's spot-kick to be pushed away. In the end, we do manage to bag a goal in the closing stages but by that point it was very much a consolation goal as we exit the competition. 

Looks like we'll have to cancel that bus to Wembley lads. 

Never mind, we'll beat the buggers in the league instead. 

See you in the next one!