Post by Amber Aleman on Jan 2, 2022 20:29:38 GMT
Yesterday's victory over Exeter City marked the halfway point of our inaugural season in League Two. (It did of course arrive a little later than originally scheduled thanks to the Covid-related postponements just after Christmas.)
That game did feel to me like a coming-of-age. We've now played every other club in the division (Exeter twice, Bristol Rovers only in the FA Cup) and nobody can say that we've struggled to take the step up. To sit third in the table (an automatic promotion place
) at this stage is an extraordinary achievement, even after the heroics of last season. We've won 12 of our 23 league matches. If you take out the four we played in August, none of which we won, but when we were arguably finding our feet, we've won 12 out of 19. That's some going. Of our eight defeats, only two (at Exeter and Orient) were lost by more than a single goal. We've beaten Carlisle 4-0, and Northampton, Colchester and Mansfield by two-goal margins. Our goal difference is +7. We've got 39 points. Our attendances are averaging almost 3,000 (unthinkable ten years ago).
Matt is still going to focus on reaching 50 points, but there can be scarcely any doubt that we'll be an EFL club again next season (whatever might happen in the transfer window). Realistically we need three more wins from our remaining 23 games to be safe. As has been pointed out in another thread, we've already got most of our more difficult-looking away fixtures behind us. Of the other seven clubs in the top third of the table, Port Vale and Swindon are the only ones we've still to play away. Our home form, particularly recently, has been pretty impressive; we've won our last four at GGL (five if you count the Papa John's), conceding just one goal.
2021 has been the most successful year in the club's history, and 2022 has started pretty well.
We're all loving the ride, but this is also real and it's serious. All that work over the summer to ready the club for EFL football is bearing rich fruit.
That game did feel to me like a coming-of-age. We've now played every other club in the division (Exeter twice, Bristol Rovers only in the FA Cup) and nobody can say that we've struggled to take the step up. To sit third in the table (an automatic promotion place
) at this stage is an extraordinary achievement, even after the heroics of last season. We've won 12 of our 23 league matches. If you take out the four we played in August, none of which we won, but when we were arguably finding our feet, we've won 12 out of 19. That's some going. Of our eight defeats, only two (at Exeter and Orient) were lost by more than a single goal. We've beaten Carlisle 4-0, and Northampton, Colchester and Mansfield by two-goal margins. Our goal difference is +7. We've got 39 points. Our attendances are averaging almost 3,000 (unthinkable ten years ago). Matt is still going to focus on reaching 50 points, but there can be scarcely any doubt that we'll be an EFL club again next season (whatever might happen in the transfer window). Realistically we need three more wins from our remaining 23 games to be safe. As has been pointed out in another thread, we've already got most of our more difficult-looking away fixtures behind us. Of the other seven clubs in the top third of the table, Port Vale and Swindon are the only ones we've still to play away. Our home form, particularly recently, has been pretty impressive; we've won our last four at GGL (five if you count the Papa John's), conceding just one goal.
2021 has been the most successful year in the club's history, and 2022 has started pretty well.
We're all loving the ride, but this is also real and it's serious. All that work over the summer to ready the club for EFL football is bearing rich fruit. 
