Taking Southampton North!

  • Thread starter Thread starter PatrickLFC
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kolas79 said:
After finishing with the irrelevant (exams) the serious work begins ha ha ha !!!!!
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You know it :P

JamesScott2908 said:
Good to see this getting going mate! 6 pages already haha! Southampton are a brilliant team as well for neutrals especially with the way they dropped through the leagues before bouncing back! Good luck matey!
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I love Southampton, my favourite English team after Liverpool :) It's great to finally start!

CraigWL said:
Woo hoo!
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:D
 

The third qualifying round of the Europa League has been drawn, and it doesn’t look like we should be facing too many difficulties. Can’t be sure, but we will expect to progress.


Preseason Results
Our short preseason comes to an end, with my assistant guiding us to five wins from five. Shane Long and Graziano Pelle both look to have their shooting boots on, which is a good sign, even against straightforward opposition.

First match coming up!
 
Hopefully the Free Scoring Saints can perform like that in the Premier League!
 
Geez Patty!! Some good looking results already there. Cant wait for the first league match!
 
UEFA Europa League - 3rd Qualifying Round - MSK Zylina (Away)

Here we are then, the first match. We are favourites, and our lineup should be good enough to win this one comfortably.

It came as a surprise therefore, when Cedric gave away a needless penalty in the 20th minute, giving the home side the chance to take the lead. Mrva hit it straight at Stelekenburg though, and it rebounded off the keeper onto the post, before he picked it up off the line. Bullet dodged!

Four minutes later we launched a lightning fast counter attack, and Tadic provided a lovely cross for Mane to open the scoring at the back post.

In the 36th minute we were pegged back though, as a cross from the right was semi cleared, but met at the edge of the area by a glorious volley which was unfortunate to hit the post, but was cleaned up by their striker.

We then fell behind in the 54th minute as a free kick was poorly defended, and Herko had his second.

I made a triple change in the 61st minute, with Long, Davis and Caulker replacing Pelle, Clasie and Fonte, in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

In the 79th minute that move paid dividends, as a Ward-Prowse free kick was knocked down by Caulker, and fell kindly for Long, who belted it past the keeper.

We continued to press but couldn’t find a winner, and the match ended all square. It’s a result I’ll take though, as we have two away goals, and I’m confident that we can win the second leg at St Mary’s. Not the best start, but certainly no disaster.


POM: Alexander Herko (MSK Zylina - 8.8, 2G, 0A)

Best Southampton Player: Sadio Mane (7.5, 1G, 0A)
 
Zylina was so strong ? Although everything is possible in european cups..
 
makaveliAFC said:
Zylina was so strong ? Although everything is possible in european cups..
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Yeah they gave me quite a shock really, played very well. Could just be that I have no idea about tactics yet though, it was my first FM16 game haha
 

UEFA Europa League - 3rd Qualifying Round - MSK Zylina (Home)

Time for the second leg, and it’s a rotated lineup today in anticipation of our opening Premier League clash with Bournemouth. Hopefully it’s still enough to get the job done.

In the 19th minute Ward-Prowse should have put us in front from Targett’s cross, but he volleyed high.

He made amends in the 27th minute, providing a pinpoint cross for Long, who was hauled down, and a penalty was awarded. Unfortunately, Long couldn’t complete the play from the spot, seeing his tame effort saved easily.

Just two minutes later, the same thing happened - Long was fouled whilst jumping for Martina’s cross! Surely he wouldn’t miss again…unbelievable! A repeat of the first penalty. Exact same spot, exact same result.

And in the 38th minute Zylina made us pay, with a lovely shot from outside the box proving too much for Stekelenburg.

Jay Rodriguez replaced the hapless Long at half time.

Ramirez teed up Ward-Prowse on the edge of the area in the 48th but the keeper made a good save.

Juanmi and Wanyama replaced Ward-Prowse and Romeu in the 50th, with Ramirez moving to the right wing.

A minute later, Stekelenburg was forced into a good save from a Zylina counter attack.

In the 55th minute I breathed a sigh of relief as a good pass from Ramirez allowed Juanmi to slot a finish inside the near post and level the game.

8 minutes after that we were ahead, as Rodriguez chested down a Ramirez cross and smashed it home! We went to a more defensive style following the play.

In the 79th minute Ramirez capped off a wonderful showing with a third assist, chipping a ball across the box, which Dusan Tadic arrowed into the top left corner.

A great second half performance rescued things for us, with Gaston Ramirez the obvious star of the show, pulling all the strings. He was great in FM14 and whilst he’s on the brink in reality, I’m prepared to give him a real chance here. He certainly repaid my faith today.


POM: Gaston Ramirez (9.0, 0G, 3A)
 
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