You Can't Play Football There.......

[neilhoskins77]

Football Manager'14.

85 Nations. Over 250 Leagues.

Unfaking process completed

Sunday League Footballer set as Manager Experience

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This save started as something of a Challenge and has actually been running for several weeks now. It wasn't initially intended for the Forums. Conversations with friends and colleagues turns to FM not infrequently. What is your biggest achievement with a club? How far have you taken a club? How low have you started your career, and how high have you progressed? This save is a take on that I guess. The first job is to find a club that is scraping along in the grand scheme of football. I know where to find a club that meets that criteria, the Faroe Islands. With three divisions in that country playable, the Faroese Second Division is the lowest playable rung of the ladder in European football. This League has ten teams, three of them are clubs in their own right, the other seven are Second/Reserve outfits for clubs higher up the Leagues, apart from one, which is a Third string side. The club selected are MB, or to give them their full name, Midvags Boltfelag. An amateur club, they played in the Faroese Premier League in the first two years of it's existence. The club were initially founded in 1905, and merged with another club, SIF Sandavagur in 1993, forming FS Vagar. That club collapsed in 2004, and MB were back, but were in the Faroese Fourth Tier. After gaining promotion right away, MB have languished in the Third Tier ever since. The club have never won a Senior Title.

The Chairman, Jan Poulsen, assured me that I should ignore the critics who couldn't understand the appointment of an unknown, and inexperienced manager. He introduced me to my Assistant Manager, a 30 year old named Bogi Joensen. If you include myself, that was half of the clubs off-field staff right away. We employed a Head of Youth Development (Ossur Hansen), a Chief Scout, (Pall Lokin), and a Physio (Hogni Kjaerbo). That was it!

A look at the playing staff found it reasonably well stocked. Twenty players were employed by the club on Amateur contracts. The quality however, was looking pretty poor. Two members of the squad were 40 or over, and worryingly, they looked like two of our better players as well. I was shown around the facilities. The Midvagur Stadium in the town of Midvagur itself, could accommodate 1,000 people, but there are no seats. The pitch is a new type, soft synthetic surface. I hated it already. The club had basic facilities for Training, Youths and Corporate Hospitality. The club have little in the way of Youth Recruitment or Junior Coaching, possibly due to the fact that we didn't have a Coach. The enormity of the task was starting to hit home, and in my head, I was already trying to work out the quickest way to the airport. It was almost a relief when I discovered the club were expected to place bottom of the 10 team Division in the 2013 season!

The save started on Tuesday 29th January 2013. I'm informed that the Transfer Window closes in two days time. My squad is in need of a goalkeeper, as our only current goalie is a wet behind the ears 18 year old. A defensive midfielder was required, as was a centre midfielder, and some wide men. I was expecting to find a list of Free Agents who wouldn't be up to the job, but that we would have to make do with. But no, not at all. It was much worse. A scout search provided the names of exactly zero players who wanted to ply their trade at my new employers. Not one. What the hell have I let myself in for I thought. You can't play football here.....

[neilhoskins77]

.....and if a Mod could add a `b' into football in the Title for me please, that'd be bloody marvellous

[HorusFM]

I thought it was a pun. done.

[neilhoskins77]

I thought it was a pun. done.

Cheers Gav. I'm nowhere near clever enough to make pun's in my Title's haha

[neilhoskins77]

With no-one to bring into the club, I would have to search through the Under-21 squad for players to fill in the gaps. This squad consists only of 17 year old `greys'. With options limited, I had to put my faith in these teenagers. At least they would bring down the average age of my squad I guess. Seven of them are given Amateur contracts to play for the club's Senior side. Some of them actually looked like they would be good additions to the squad. A look at the staff situation see's the Board are happy for me to employ a solitary Coach to come in alongside the current backroom employee's. The overwhelmingly good candidate is John Petersen. Capped 57 times by the National side, and scorer of 6 International goals, he is also in talks with some other domestic clubs. We can only hope to god he takes pity on us. He did indeed take pity on us, and joined the club at the end of January. I wonder if he still has his boots? At 40 years of age, he's younger than a few of our squad members! Speaking of our older squad members, Jens Erik Rasmussen, our 44 year old forward, is suffering from tendonitis of the knee, and will miss the entire season. I have to wonder if we'll see the 25 times capped veteran again, surely he'll consider retirement?

I ask the Board to try and find us a parent club. I tell them the club can use this as an additional revenue source. They agree, but tell me it will take around a month to have some results. The club have a bank balance of £108 on the final day of January. We do get £6.25k in sponsorship money, but that deal runs out at the end of the season. We can't reasonably expect to make much money from season tickets and gate receipts. The club charges around £1 for a match ticket, or £9 for a season ticket, and last season had 25 season ticket holders. The Chairman comes back to me with the Board's verdict on finding a Parent Club. He tells me they see no benefit in it right now. I couldn't disagree with him more. The Faroese Trialists game has just taken place. Not one of the players has been signed or even received an offer four days after the match, yet not one of those lads is interested in coming to the club. Am I missing something here? Is our pitch on the site of a former land-mine area or something? Sky Bet release their odds for Promotion, they quote us at 40/1, the rank outsiders. They believe we will occupy the sole relegation spot into the Fourth Tier of Faroese football.

Monday 25th February 2013 - Pre-Season Friendly

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 1 Ardal FK (2) 2

Scorers : Henning Joensen (20)

Attendance : 26

Eli Poulsen (Gunnar Muller 64); Kristoffur Vidtfeldt (Wentzel Mouritsen 64), Magni Selfoss (Jens Sandberg Rasmussen 64), Bjarni Niclasen (Jack Johansen 64), Poul Meinhard Poulsen (capt - Niels Petur Fagraberg 64); Arnfinn Hansen (Mikkelsen Kari 64); Justinus Heini Krossla (Sveinur Ellefsen 64), Hans Bogi Ellefsen (Esmar Fagraberg 64), Kaj Mortensen (Poul Djurhuus 64); Henning Joensen (Arthur Djurhuss Djurhuus 64); Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 64).

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

Our opening pre-season friendly, or as it stands, our only pre-season friendly! We host Norwegian Third Division club, Ardal FK. They are just 10 years old, the club, not the players. They bring a pretty small squad across to the Faroe Islands for this match, but are still firm favourites to win the fixture, 1/4 at the bookies actually. We set up in a manner that wasn't intentionally negative, but that allowed us to pack the defence when we didn't have the ball, and use the quicker players in the lineup to break out when they got the chance. A flat back four, one defensive midfielder, three central midfielders, an attacking midfielder, and a striker. The full backs are asked to provide the width as and when the opportunity allows.

I mentioned that 18 year old keeper, Eli Poulsen, was a bit wet behind the ears to be a regular starting goalkeeper. I think his gloves were wet as well, Johann Traustason's cross in the 11th minute went straight through his hands and into the net. We badly need a new keeper. He couldn't do too much about the second one in the 19th minute. Traustason slung over another cross from the right, and striker, Alexander Straume, nipped in between our centre backs to slide home a close range finish. In fairness, we weren't doing too bad a job, we were sticking to the plan defensively, and they weren't getting too many clear shots in. And we stole a goal back of our own just a minute after their second goal. Krossla launches a free kick forward, Rubeksen heads it back down, and Henning Joensen volleys home from 20 yards out. We get a foothold in the game, and as half time approaches, we get a flurry of corners, but the whistle comes just when we don't want it.

The players are asked to keep working hard, reminded this is a pre-season outing. The second half was a bit of a non-event truth be told. Defensively, we looked better than I expected. At the other end we got as many shots on target as the opposition, but with only 40% of the ball. On the counter attack, we looked like we could cause problems. Even when all the changes were made with around 25 minutes to go, we didn't look outclassed. On the whole, it was an encouraging outing.

[neilhoskins77]

My assistant manager is let go. He was left in charge in training, and almost to a man, the players have complained about the training schedule. With him being on an amateur contract, we can let him go, and replace him with 34 year old Frodi Clementsen. The new assistant manager does more work in a day than his predecessor managed in several weeks, arranging us two home friendlies. However, he hasn't as yet managed to magic up any players for us to bring in. It looks like we'll need some wins and show we won't be the League whipping boys before anyone see's the club as a worthy of consideration.

Saturday 16th March 2013 - Pre-Season Friendly

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 Hagalandet SV (0) 1

Scorers : None

Attendance : 24

Eli Poulsen (Gunnar Muller 63); Kristoffur Vidtfeldt (inj - Wentzel Mouritsen 63), Magni Selfoss (Jens Sandberg Rasmussen 63), Bjarni Niclasen (Jack Johansen 80), Poul Meinhard Poulsen (Niels Petur Fagraberg 80); Arnfinn Hansen (Mikkelsen Kari 80); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 80), Justinus Heini Krossla (Sveinur Ellefsen 63), Kaj Mortensen (Poul Djurhuus 63); Henning Joensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 80), Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Otto Emanuel Jacobsen 63).

Man of the Match : Rene Johansen (Hagalandet)

More visitors from Norway, this time in the form of non-Leaguers, Hagalandet. We're touted as favourites for the game, but with players still finding fitness, and being played out of position, it's more about the performance than the result. The fact that both were below average is disappointing. Ultimately, this is a team we should be putting away, and we couldn't get the job done.

Chances were at a premium for both sides, with the formations cancelling each other out on the whole. Neither side created a worthwhile opening in the first half. For me, I was happy to see that in defence, we looked comfortable, as that is likely to be important this season. At half time I stressed to the players that the fitness aspect was important, and that I wanted to see the effort continue. We suffered a blow shortly after the hour. Kristoffur Vidtfeldt is a left back who is being used as a makeshift right back, as we simply don't have one at all. He was doing a half decent job there too, but suffered an injury. With a change required, we made some more changes alongside it. A free kick was taken right after the changes, and Otto Emanuel Jacobsen headed home, but was offside in the view of the assistant, a decision that was disputed, so much so that Sveinur Ellefsen earned himself a booking. And in the 73rd minute, we were caught out on a set piece, Dogan Helgeland rising highest in the penalty box to head home a corner kick. We made our remaining changes with 10 minutes to go, but in truth we didn't look like getting an equaliser. Defences prevailed primarily on this day, both sides only getting one shot on target. After the game, we find out that Kristoffur Vidtfeldt will miss up to 8 weeks with a twisted ankle. Before our next Friendly, the Under-21's win 1-0 in extra time at home to Royn Under-21's in the First Round of the Faroese Under-21's Cup. They'll travel to HB, the leading club in the country, for their Second Round tie in May.

Monday 25th March 2013 - Pre-Season Friendly

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 Norborg (0) 0

Scorers : None

Attendance : 16

Eli Poulsen; Wentzel Mouritsen (Jack Johansen 86), Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen (Poul Poulsen 86), Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen (inj - Mikkelsen Kari 76); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 76), Justinus Heini Krossla (Sveinur Ellefsen 86), Kaj Mortensen (Poul Djurhuus 76); Henning Joensen, Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Poul Heri Selfoss 76).

Man of the Match : Wentzel Mouritsen (MB)

Our final pre-season game is against another Non-League club visiting from Norway. The musical chairs at right back continues, with Wentzel Mouritsen the latest to be given a try there. Jens Sandberg Rasmussen is sidelined with an injury, Poul Poulsen comes onto the bench. Striker Poul Heri Selfoss hasn't had any pre-season game time yet, so he comes onto the bench as well for this game.

There really wasn't much to say about this game. It took Mouritsen a little while to get into his stride at full back, unsurprisingly. He had a pretty major misunderstanding early on with Bjarni Niclasen, and that gave Einar Sildnes a run in on goal, but he fired wide. Mouritsen settled down, and showed a bit of promise, jumping upfield to provide us with some width when needed too. Our formation and tactics are not exactly promoting crowd pleasing action, but as we don't have much of a crowd anyway, I'm not going to let that bother me too much. With less than 2 weeks till the League action starts now, this is what we're going with, and hopefully we can grind out some results.

[neilhoskins77]

The Faroe Islands are beaten 3-0 at home to Sweden in a World Cup Qualifier. Some guy called Zlatan Ibrahimovic got a pair of goals, but I don't think he has much of a career in the game. With pre-season done, the League season is about to start for us. No Cup football for us this season. The National Cup is called the Logmanssteypid Cup. Only 16 teams enter, and I couldn't even begin to guess the criteria, as some clubs in the First Division are not entered, while some clubs, notably NSi, have both their Senior and Reserve sides in the competition. Anyway, it's time to introduce you to the players who will be turning out for MB in this season's Faroese Second Division campaign.

Goalkeepers :

Eli Poulsen. Aged 18. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'3. Amateur. Goalkeeper.

Career Appearances : 1. Career Goals : 0.

Our first choice keeper. Still has a lot to learn, but the coaching staff think he could come good for us. Started his career with our club in MB, before leaving for Premier League side, 07 Vestur. Made one appearance for them in the First Division last season after they were relegated, rejoined MB for this season.

Gunnar Muller. Aged 17. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'0. Amateur. Goalkeeper

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

One of the `greys' promoted from the Under-21 squad at the start of pre-season. Not ready for First Team football, will be a back up to Poulsen, and hopefully will play for the Under-21's when the opportunity arises.

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Defenders :

Magni Selfoss. Aged 23. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'10. Amateur. Left Back.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

The best left back in the squad, and will be the starter when the season begins. A steady looking guy, defends well, could do with improving his crossing to help us out going forward.

Jens Sanberg Rasmussen. Aged 25. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'2. Amateur. Left Back, Left Wing Back, Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 17. Career Goals : 0.

Our deputy left back, started his career with SiF, before joining MB initially in 2010. Left for Premier League club, 07 Vestur after making 16 appearances, but never got an outing with them, and came back to us at the end of the 2011 season.

Jack Johansen. Aged 31. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'11. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 174. Career Goals : 7.

Much like Rasmussen, he joined from SiF, coming to us in 2008. He played 38 games in two seasons, scoring 4 goals, before leaving for 07 Vestur. Also never played for them, and came back to MB. One of our more experienced players.

Poul Poulsen. Aged 33. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'0. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 199. Career Goals : 19.

Played for Royn for ten seasons before joining, you guessed it, 07 Vestur! Joined MB in 2008. Is not likely to be first choice at the club this season, and has already earned himself a warning for missing training during pre-season.

Wentzel Mouritsen. Aged 30. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'0. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 78. Career Goals : 7.

Started his career with 07 Vestur in 1999. Left to join Si, where he established himself, before returning to the Premier League club. Spent 2010 with Giza/Hoyvik, before returning to 07 Vestur once again. This will be his first season at MB, and he is currently slated to be our starting right back due to our chronic lack of options there.

Bjarni Niclasen. Aged 32. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'0. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

A latecomer to Senior football, Niclasen has yet to make his Senior debut. Will probably be first choice to start this season, but he will have plenty of competition for his place when everyone is fit.

Mikkelsen Kari. Aged 27. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'10. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Another who has yet to taste Senior action. With our options at centre back pretty healthy, Kari is currently training to learn the defensive midfielder role, as we have no cover at all in that position, and he has the attributes to look promising in that position.

Poul Meinhard Poulsen. Aged 21. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'4. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

This is his first club, and first season of Senior football. One of the tallest player in the team, He looks likely to be a first choice at centre back after impressing in pre-season. I anticipate us having issues keeping hold of him.

Niels Petur Fagraberg. Aged 26. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'4. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Again, no Senior football experience for Fagraberg, but he looks pretty capable. May find his chances in the First Team limited unless those in front of him have a dip in form.

Kristoffur Vidtfeldt. Aged 29. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'9. Amateur. Left Back, Left Wing Back.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Another with no Senior football despite not being a young player. Currently injured, and will miss the start of the season, a real shame as he is currently training to be our first choice right back. A quick lad, good defensively, looks capable of putting in some good crosses too.

[neilhoskins77]

Midfielders :

Arnfinn Hansen. Aged 17. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'1. Amateur. Left and Central Defensive Midfielder, Central Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Hansen begins his first season of Senior football as our first choice, and only, defensive midfielder. Promoted from the Under-21 squad and offered a contract as a `grey', he has acquitted himself well in pre-season.

Justinus Heini Krossla. Aged 17. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'9. Amateur. Central Midfielder, Right Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Another `grey' promoted to a Senior contract. Krossla looks to be one of our best players despite his tender age. He already has very high ratings for flair, fitness and dribbling. The youngster has already been made our dead ball specialist. I'd like to say he will be an MB stalwart for years to come, but in reality, one of the bigger clubs will take him from us sooner rather than later.

Esmar Fagraberg. Aged 23. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'0. Amateur. Central Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 75. Career Goals : 4.

Joined MB as a teenager in 2006, but has lost his place in recent seasons, not appearing for the First Team since 2010. May get more involved this season with us currently opting to play three central midfielders.

Hans Bogi Ellefsen. Aged 30. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'10. Amateur. Central Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 39. Career Goals : 2.

Started his career at SiF in 1999, moved on to Si in 2004. He spent one season there, before joining MB in 2005. Has been at the club ever since, and has been named as Club Captain for this coming season.

Sveinur Ellefsen. Aged 20. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'9. Amateur. Right Midfielder, Right Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

About to begin his first season of Senior football, primarily a right winger, but as we are not currently deploying any wingers, he will be asked to adapt his game to a central role. Doesn't possess the defensive capabilities to be converted to a right back.

Poul Djurhuus. Aged 17. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'0. Amateur. Left Midfielder, Left Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Another of the `grey's' who were promoted to the Senior squad. In a similar situation to Sveinur Ellefsen, but as a right footer, it's quite possible this young lad could make the transition into a right back in the future.

Jens Erik Rasmussen. Aged 44. 25 caps, 2 goals. Faroese. 5'8. Amateur. Left and Centre Midfielder and Attacking Midfielder, Striker.

Career Appearances : 328. Career Goals : 134

Started his career in 1991 here at MB. This is his third stint at the club. Has made over 150 appearances in the Premier League, and as recently as 2009 and 2010, notched 29 goals in 52 outings for 07 Vestur. Will miss the entire season with knee tendonitis, and remains to be seen whether he will return to action in the future.

Kaj Mortensen. Aged 17. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'9. Amateur. Central Midfielder, Central Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Promoted from the Under-21 squad as a `grey', Mortensen has the fitness to be an effective box to box player, and is already looking to cement his place in the First Team for this campaign.

Henning Joensen. Aged 21. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'7. Amateur. Central and Right Attacking Midfielder, Striker.

Career Appearances : 43. Career Goals : 8.

Started his career here in 2008, and after a good debut season, left for 07 Vestur in the Premier League. Was a regular for them in 2010, but after less outings recently, is now back at MB. Named Vice-Captain for the forthcoming season, and could be one to watch.

Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus. Aged 17. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'2. Amateur. Central and Right Attacking Midfielder, Striker.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Yet another `grey' promoted to the Senior squad. Looks to have the size and strength to perform a hold up role particularly effectively. Is a noted penalty taker, and could have a part to play in the First Team this season.

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Strikers :

Suni Fridi Barba. Aged 40. 2 caps, 0 goals. Faroese. 6'1. Amateur. Striker.

Career Appearances : 257. Career Goals : 166.

The other veteran forward of the squad, who has also played International football. An outstanding domestic goalscoring record, all but 31 of his outings have been at the top level of Faroese football. Hopefully he can show that ability to put the ball in the net when he gets outings for MB this season.

Thomas Hans Rubeksen. Aged 26. 1 Under-21 cap, 0 goals. Faroese. 5'11. Amateur. Striker.

Career Appearances : 120. Career Goals : 41.

Another striker with a wealth of experience at a higher level. Started his career at B36, and also played for AB, HB and Giza/Hoyvik. Spent the last three seasons with B71, two of them in the Premier League, and last season in the First Division. Is likely to be first choice this season, but will need to find the net as all our strikers appear to be of similar ability.

Otto Emanuel Jacobsen. Aged 27. Uncapped. Faroese. 6'1. Amateur. Striker.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

A big lump of a striker who has yet to play any Senior football. Looks capable of causing opposition defences problems, particularly in the air.

Poul Heri Selfoss. Aged 24. Uncapped. Faroese. 5'9. Amateur. Striker.

Career Appearances : 0. Career Goals : 0.

Another player with no Senior football experience. Offers something slightly different to the other strikers, as he is more of a pacey player. Could offer a useful alternative from the bench if we're struggling to break teams down.

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 6th April 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Gundadalur, Torshavn

Undrid (0) 0 MB (2) 2

Scorers : Justinus Heini Krossla (10), Henning Joensen (11)

Attendance : 93

Eli Poulsen; Wentzel Mouritsen (inj - Jack Johansen 87), Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 87), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Otto Emanuel Jacobsen 87).

Man of the Match : Justinus Heini Krossla (MB)

The domestic season begins on a wet Saturday afternoon in the capital of the Islands, the city of Torshavn. Our opponents, are one of the teams we are expected to be fighting against in the relegation battle they insist we will be a part of. So we have an early opportunity to strike a blow against one of our rivals. Wentzel Mouritsen continues in the right back role as the formation and tactics remain the same as those used in pre-season.

A pair of goals within a two minute spell, a feat that looked unlikely after our pre-season performances, gave us an opening day victory, and even more pleasing was it that was two of our young squad members that got the goals. Justinus Heini Krossla was sent into space down the right by Wentzel Mouritsen. The youngster cut back towards the goal, and sent a low cross-shot goalwards. Thomas Hans Rubeksen was closing in on the keeper, who appeared to spill the ball into his own net while trying to collect the low ball in, but Krossla was credited with the goal. Krossla was involved again less than two minutes later, collecting the ball around 25 yards from goal, and sliding a pass into Henning Joensen, who cleverly feigned to shoot with his right, cut back outside to his left foot, and drilled a shot just inside the post.

It would be fair to say I was over the moon at the break, but I wanted the lads to finish the job they had done so well up to the half time point. I encouraged them to keep their heads, and I can't have any complaints about the job they did in the second half. Once again, the shots on target count for both sides was very low, just two each, the difference being that we scored ours. The only sour note was the curse of the MB right back continuing, Wentzel Mouritsen forced off with an injury late in the game. He has twisted his knee, and will be out for around a month.

Saturday 13th April 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 2 FC Suduroy Reserves (0) 0

Scorers : Henning Joensen (13), Magni Selfoss (90+2)

Attendance : 77

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 72), Justinus Heini Krossla (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 85), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 72).

Man of the Match : Magni Selfoss (MB)

Our first home game of the season sees us take on FC Suduroy Reserves, their Senior team are a semi-professional First Division side. It's hard to know what to expect when we play these Reserve teams. The clubs with larger squads seem capable of putting out pretty strong sides, but if the Senior sides suffer injuries or suspensions, the Reserve sides would be weakened you would expect. Our main selection dilemma was to decide who would become the latest incumbent of the right back slot. 20 year old Sveinur Ellefsen was given a run out there, getting the nod over Poul Djurhuus, who played for the age group team in midweek and didn't look fit enough to last a full 90 minutes. Suni Fridi Barba comes onto the bench for this one as our spare striker.

The visitors came out with a 5-3-2 formation, and seemed keen to keep possession of the ball in the early stages. They had the ball in the net too, Reidar Dahl Joensen appeared to head home a cross from close range after 8 minutes, but an eagle eyed assistant spotted that the striker had in fact used his hand to guide the ball in. For reasons known only to himself, the referee did not see fit to give him a yellow card for that. Five minutes later, and a namesake put us in front, Magni Selfoss did a good job not only of getting forward, but then staying onside, taking control of a pass from Arnfinn Hansen, and finding himself with time and space, delivering his cross into the 6 yard box, where Henning Joensen headed back across goal and into the net to continue his good start to the season.

I told the players that I believed they had it in them to up their performance even more, and put the visitors away in the second half. While we controlled possession of the ball for large spells, FC Suduroy Reserves managed to carve out some chances. Reidar Dahl Joensen flicked the ball onto strike partner, Arthur Tausen, who lashed the ball home, but the offside flag halted his celebrations. The same man drove another shot goal bound from outside the box, young goalkeeper, Eli Poulsen, pushing it away with a stretching fingertip save. Substitutions were made as fitness issues crept in for a few players, and our hand was forced. But with the clock running down, and the opposition still finding it difficult to take the ball from us, Magni Selfoss made another deep overlap run into the left channel. Kaj Mortensen fed the ball to him, and the left back looked like he would keep the ball near the corner flag. Instead he attempted a cross that skewed off his foot somewhat and looped over the keeper at his near post, sealing another good performance, and three more points in the bag.

[neilhoskins77]

The club have fallen over £3k into debt. The Board want me to raise funds by selling players, totally ignoring the fact that as an Amateur club, any other club can simply come along and offer a contract to our players, and they can leave for free, so there is zero chance of actually selling any of them. Poul Poulsen goes missing from training again, and is given a warning. As he isn't being paid, I can't really do anymore than that. It would be silly to sack him knowing I can't get anyone in to replace him.

Saturday 20th April 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Svangaskard, Toftir

B68 Reserves (0) 1 MB (1) 1

Scorers : Henning Joensen (26)

Attendance : 198

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 89), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 78), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen (Suni Fridi Barba 90+1); Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Sunvard Hansen (B68 Reserves)

We set off on our travels again, this time to Toftir, to take on the Reserve side of First Division club, B68. It's an unchanged side, Sveinur Ellefsen doing enough in the last game to earn another start at the right back spot. The pitch isn't in good condition, bumpy and muddy, and it's still raining when the game kicks off as well. The media and bookies can't agree on this one. The media think we'll win easily, the bookies have B68 as short price favourites.

We actually had some away fans at this game, though it's quite possible they were fans from other clubs just hoping to see a B68 side get beaten. Either way, they were on their feet in the 26th minute, some nice passing play found Henning Joensen just outside the box with the ball at his feet. He looked like he was going to slide Thomas Hans Rubeksen into space, but the striker held his run, and played the ball back to Joensen, who rounded the keeper and netted for the third League game in a row.

The home side were in the ascendency for the majority of the second half, Eli Poulsen making two smart stops within a few minutes. Sveinur Ellefsen continued to earn his stripes as a budding right back, heading off the line after one of the home centre backs connected with a header from a corner. But with just a few minutes left on the clock, we were finally opened up. Nonklett lifted a long ball over the top in the 87th minute, Clemmensen and Meinhard Poulsen both jumped and missed, Bjarni Niclasen's attempt to head the ball back to his keeper was pretty awful, and Sunvard Hansen ran in and slotted it low into the bottom corner to earn the home side a point. I'll take that, we played pretty well again today.

Saturday 27th April 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (2) 3 NSi Reserves (1) 1

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (12,27), Henning Joensen (88)

Attendance : 99

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclases, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 74), Kaj Mortensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 74); Henning Joensen (inj - Jack Johansen 88); Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (MB)

Our biggest crowd of the season watch what turned out to be our best performance of the season to date, eventually. With no need to change a winning side, Sveinur Ellefsen continues at right back for now, though Kristoffur Vidtfeldt is back in training after his injury, and will be pushing for the place soon. NSi are a Premier League team, so it's reasonable to expect their Reserve outfit to be reasonably strong.

We actually fell behind early in this game. In the 3rd minute, NSi Reserves played a bit of keep ball on the right wing. The trio involved must have played 20 passes between themselves without going anywhere, but it made us switch off momentarily, and Sveinbjornsson cut us open with a diagonal through ball, Gunther Jacobsen threw himself into a slide to divert the strongly struck pass into the path of Allan Gordon Sorensen, and his shot was low and powerful, Eli Poulsen getting a piece of it, but not able to stop it hitting the net. We were lucky not to ship another quickly after that, Gunther Jacobsen finding the net, but the assistant belatedly raising his flag, Jacobsen clearly a yard or two offside.

That early blow gave us a bit of a wake up call, and we started to control possession and territory, pinning the visitors back into their own half for long spells. As such, it was no surprise when we levelled the game in the 12th minute. Some nice passing down the left as Magni Selfoss came forward, and Henning Joensen dropped back to literally over-run the NSi midfield. They weren't quite sure who to mark, and Justinus Heini Krossla found himself in plenty of space, picking out the skipper, Hans Bogi Ellefsen on the edge of the box. A deft flick from him got the ball to Thomas Hans Rubeksen, and he showed no signs of being a striker who was under pressure to start finding the net, he lashed the ball high into the roof of the net to square the game. His first goal for the club was followed by his second just a quarter of an hour later. Sveinur Ellefsen beat his man in the air to break up an attempt to raid down the left, and found his namesake, Hans Bogi Ellefsen. He spread the ball wide to Krossla, who lofted a long range shot over a desperately backpedalling keeper. The keeper tried to push it over, but didn't get enough on it, and simply pushed it into the air. The ball was still heading goalwards, and was virtually on the line about to go in when Rubeksen arrived and headed it in to make sure, or steal the goal from Krossla, whichever you prefer.

At the break I asked the players to stick to the gameplan and continue to close down the opposition quickly. They were paying attention, and did a great job, especially in our defensive third of the pitch, NSi forced to take shots from range, and none of them particularly troubling Eli Poulsen, he did make one fingertip save to push a shot over the bar, but it looked like one for the cameras. I didn't have the heart to tell the lad there weren't any. Rubeksen came close to getting his treble as the game neared a close, arriving at the far post to reach Magni Selfoss' cross, but trying to put too much power on it and the ball went the wrong side of the post. With the final change about to be made with about 3 minutes to go, scheduled to be Arnfinn Hansen replaced by Jack Johansen to shore up the back, Henning Joensen crashed to the floor after an aerial challenge. With him slow to get to his feet, I told the assistant to switch the change and bring the forward off instead. He looked like he was struggling as Sveinbjornsson tried to switch the play for NSi, and Esmar Fagraberg intercepted the ball and strode forward, Arnfinn Hansen and Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus combined in the middle and the latter sent a through ball between the defenders to try and send Rubeksen into space, the ball hit a heel and came right to Henning Joensen, who took a touch to set himself up, and crashed a shot in off the underside of the bar, before jogging to the touchline to come off. Thankfully, he isn't going to miss any time, he's fast becoming a cult hero on the terraces of Midvagur Stadium as we return to the top of the League. Not many people predicted that at the start of the season!

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 4th May 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 1 IF Reserves (0) 0

Scorers : Justinus Heini Krossla (34)

Attendance : 92

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen (Esmar Fagraberg 77); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 89); Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 90).

Man of the Match : Justinus Heini Krossla (MB)

While it still feels like a `new season', the short football calendar here in the Faroe Islands means that after this fixture, we're just one game away from reaching the one third mark of the League season. This game sees the top of the table face the bottom of the table, as Premier League club, IF, send their Reserve side to Midvagur Stadium.

Our once again unchanged line-up have to do some defensive work in the early going of this game, IF Reserves have some tall players, and a series of corners had us under some pressure. Once we settled down and got into our rhythm, it didn't take too long to establish that this wasn't a particularly strong side, and we started cutting them open with some good, precise, short passing. It was a spell of such passing that lead to the opening goal, short passing dragging a cluster of IF players back and forth across the pitch, and Magni Selfoss took them out of the game when they dived in to block a cross, but the left back cut back inside instead, and found Henning Joensen on the edge of the box. He was closed down quickly, but moved the ball on to Justinus Heini Krossla, and the teenager hit a curling shot across goal and over the keeper, and it went in off the underside of the bar. Goals always look more spectacular when they go in via the cross bar, but this really was a fine effort from the youngster.

The second half never really got going. Arnfinn Hansen took a few knocks during this match, and as the match started to be played out more in the centre of the park, he picked up a booking for a clumsy challenge. Not wanting him to risk getting another booking, easily done to mistime a tackle when you've got a knock, he was taken off, Hans Bogi Ellefsen filling in the defensive midfield role. We made a couple of last changes for no other purpose than to run down the clock, and IF went route one late on, trying to bomb the ball into the box without success.

Sunday 12th May 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Skala Stadium, Skala

Skala Reserves (1) 2 MB (1) 3

Scorers : Henning Joensen (34,50), Esmar Fagraberg (90+2)

Attendance : 128

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 82), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 82); Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 82).

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

We're last up to play on this particular weekend, with games in the League spread across Friday's, Saturday's and Sunday's. By the time we play our match, we have a three point advantage at the top, and an opportunity to increase that to six points with a trip to the First Division clubs Reserve team that are now bottom of the table with just four points to date. Our team remains unchanged once again.

Sunday football is good! Sunday football is far more entertaining that our usual games. This was the best game we'd been involved in this season so far, and we had to work hard to earn the win. Our early hard work wasn't rewarded until the 34th minute, Sveinur Ellefsen's long pass into the right channel was headed infield by Justinus Heini Krossla, and found Henning Joensen. He cut inside his marker and sent the ball across goal, where Thomas Hans Rubeksen appeared to have a simple finish. He wanted a touch instead of hitting it first time, and a defender took it off his toe, but Henning Joensen had continued his run, the ball ran into his path, and he smashed it home, low inside the near post. We couldn't keep the advantage until the break though, conceding the equaliser a few minutes before the break. Magni Selfoss tried to send a long throw in down the line, and Skala took possession of the ball, switched it to the left and Edvin Jacobsen delivered a cross into the six yard box where Jorleif Djurhuus connected with a bullet header to square the game up.

It only took 5 minutes of the second half for us to re-establish our advantage. Henning Joensen was keen to make up for not scoring in the last game, getting his second of the match. Once again the build up came down the right channel, Sveinur Ellefsen fed the ball into Krossla who made for the byline, then cut back inside. His left footed pass across the goal found Henning Joensen, who once again beat the keeper on his near post. The Skala defence were furious, claiming that Krossla was offside in the build up. The officials weren't interested in their protests. Skala got themselves back into the game for a second time before the hour, Eli Poulsen judged to have handled the ball just outside his penalty box near the byline. He was booked for that, and from the free kick, Djurhuus centred, Arnfinn Hansen failed to clear his lines facing his own goal, and Jakup Jacobsen fired home from close range to bring the match level for the second time. We made our changes with less than ten minutes remaining, but a draw looked the likely outcome. Deep into injury time, we put a series of passes together, and found a path through their defence. Suni Fridi Barba held up the ball and rolled his marker, finding Henning Joensen with a short pass. With two markers marshalling the forward, he looked short of options, but Esmar Fagraberg overlapped and took a short pass, lifting the ball over the keeper and just inside the far post to pinch the points. I can't hand on heart say we deserved all three points, but I won't complain.

[b][i][u]Faroese Second Division - Up to & Including Sunday 12th May 2013[/u][/i][/b]

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
[b][color="#000080"]| 1st   |       | MB           |       | 6     | 5     | 1     | 0     | 12    | 4     | +8    | 16    | [/color][/b]

| 2nd   |       | AB (FRO) 2   |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 7     | +2    | 10    | 
[color="#FF0000"] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [/color]
| 3rd   |       | FC Suðuroy 2 |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 8     | +1    | 10    | 

| 4th   |       | Giza/Hoyvík  |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 8     | 7     | +1    | 10    | 

| 5th   |       | Undrið       |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 11    | 11    | 0     | 10    | 

| 6th   |       | KÍ III       |       | 6     | 3     | 0     | 3     | 7     | 9     | -2    | 9     | 

| 7th   |       | B68 2        |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 6     | 4     | +2    | 7     | 

| 8th   |       | NSÍ 2        |       | 6     | 2     | 0     | 4     | 5     | 7     | -2    | 6     | 

| 9th   |       | ÍF 2         |       | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 5     | 9     | -4    | 4     | 
 [color="#FF0000"]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [/color]
| 10th  |       | Skála 2      |       | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 7     | 13    | -6    | 4     | 

[neilhoskins77]

Sunday 19th May 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Djupumyra, Klaksvik

Ki 'C' (1) 1 MB (1) 2

Scorers : Henning Joensen (10,87)

Attendance : 2,829

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen (Jack Johansen 82), Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 82), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 82).

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

Ki have a team in each of the top three tiers of Faroese football, and it's their 'C' team, or Thirds, that play in our Division. I don't know if they were letting people in for free, but it was an unbelievable crowd that turned up for this game. This team have an average attendance only just under the 3,000 capacity of this ground. If you added together the attendance of each of our other 17 League games, we probably wouldn't get to this total. Hopefully the players don't freeze in front of a crowd like this.

The home side came out firing, and it was on the counter attack that we caught them napping and took the lead in the 10th minute. We're a passing side, we play quite nice football, despite the fact that we are not what you would call an 'attacking' team. The goal was certainly more along the lines of 'route one' though. After breaking up an attacking just outside our own box, Bjarni Niclasen took possession of the ball and simply lifted it long downfield. Henning Joensen seemed to accept that the defender was underneath it, and halted his run, but the defender misjudged it entirely, and it bounced over his head and into the space. Joensen was on it in a flash, outpacing the full back to reach the ball, then arcing his run into the box, and firing across the keeper. He got a piece of it, but couldn't keep it out, and first blood went to us. Ki weren't giving up that easily, and missed a whole array of chances to get themselves back on terms. Hogni Petursen's header back across goal from a corner was just the wrong side of the post, and Eli Poulsen made a smart low stop from a close range header from Mads Andrias Hansen. Just before the break, Hansen eventually got the breakthrough for Ki, a corner delivered to the near post from Edmundsson, and Hansen did a good job of holding off the defenders, and sweeping the ball in from a couple of yards out. All square at the break.

The second half continued with Ki forcing the issue, despite seeing considerably less of the ball than us. Early in the second half, Edmundsson played Thorsteinsson into the left channel and he broke the offside trap. His first touch was poor, and he sent himself a little bit wide, a shooting chance becoming a crossing opportunity instead. Magni Selfoss headed the cross away unconvincingly, Justinussen blasting the loose ball way over the bar. Not long after, Hansen got above Magni Selfoss to head at goal. Eli Poulsen could only push it away, Benjaminsen missing the target from the rebound when it looked more difficult to do so than to score. With a draw starting to look inevitable, we counter attacked and caught them out once more. Substitute striker, veteran Suni Fridi Barba sent Henning Joensen away and in the clear with a through ball that left the entire Ki defence flat footed. Joensen surprised everyone by taking the shot early, going for power rather than precision. Ki goalkeeper, Ingi Jacobsen, got two good hands to the ball, but he was right at the edge of his six yard box, and his attempt to push it over didn't have enough on it, the ball dropping agonisingly just under the bar for the keeper and almost all of the near capacity crowd. Joensen celebrated his second goal of the game, and his eighth goal in seven League matches, and we have quite literally stolen three points on this breezy Sunday afternoon.

To me, it's quite unbelievable that no-one has come in for any of our players yet. A relegation tipped team that are playing out of their skins, approaching the halfway stage of the season. I'm delighted that we've been able to keep this side together, but I'm all too aware that there is a transfer window only around one month away. If we can keep everyone here till the end of the season, an unexpected promotion might just convince the Chairman that it would be worthwhile going semi-professional to compete in the Second Tier. We have a run of three home games coming up. If we can stay unbeaten through that spell, promotion would look to be almost ours. There are still no available players for the club to sign, and I can now only conclude this is down to our Amateur status.

[neilhoskins77]

Poul Poulsen comes to the office to discuss his First Team football, or lack of to be more precise. I remind him that he is only regarded as a back up member of the squad, and it's not reasonable for him to expect to be starting games. He states his desire to leave the club, and I tell him he can go at the end of the season. He insists he doesn't want to wait that long. He's on an Amateur contract, and can leave whenever he likes, but it's up to him to walk as far as I'm concerned, I can't be seen to be allowing players to leave when we don't have much in the way of experienced back up.

Saturday 25th May 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 1 Giza/Hoyvik (1) 1

Scorers : Hans Bogi Ellefsen (50)

Attendance : 116

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen (inj - Kristoffur Vidtfeldt 45), Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (inj - Suni Fridi Barba 82), Kaj Mortensen (Esmar Fagraberg 82); Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Hans Bogi Ellefsen (MB)

A return to Saturday football after a few Sunday games. Our visitors, Giza/Hoyvik, start the day in 5th place, but the Torshavn club, who were only founded a year ago, are very much part of the pack chasing us. It's an unchanged starting eleven, though on the bench, Kristoffur Vidtfeldt was named, with Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus dropping out of the matchday squad, which turned out to be a very good move. We get a three figure attendance at home for the first time, hardly an earth shattering stat, but a step forward nonetheless.

Sveinur Ellefsen has been a revelation at right back, slotting in and doing a better than solid job while learning the position. But I suppose it was inevitable that there would be tough games for him, and there were signs in the last game or two that those days may be approaching, hence the decision to put Vidtfeldt onto the bench. Frits Eid was the left winger facing Sveinur Ellefsen today, and Eid absolutely tormented him early on. And in the 15th minute, Eid checked into the box, and Sveinur Ellefsen left his trailing leg there, and the referee pointed to the spot. Centre back, Johannes Faerd blasted the spot kick low and hard into the bottom corner. It was probably our worst half of football so far this season, and I tore into the players at the break. Sveinur Ellefsen's first half of misery was capped with a knock, and he was replaced.

The team talk certainly had the players fired up and we went out looking for them at the start of the second half. The equaliser wasn't too long in coming. Hans Bogi Ellefsen and Justinus Heini Krossla controlled the ball in the centre of the park just inside the opposition half, and quickly spread the ball right to bring Vidtfeldt into the game. Krossla went our wide to provide him with an option, and the teenager cut the ball back across goal. Henning Joensen must have got the shout from the skipper, as he let the ball run, and Hans Bogi Ellefsen arrived at speed to blast home his first goal of the season and tie up the game. It was anyone's game from there, but the finishing from both teams was off key. The only shot's on target today were the ones that went on the scoreboard. The visitors go up to 3rd place, while we keep out six point advantage at the top. Sveinur Ellefsen and Justinus Heini Krossla have both suffered gashed legs, and both will be out for 3 to 4 weeks.

Saturday 1st June 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 AB Reserves (0) 2

Scorers : None

Attendance : 86

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen (Jack Johansen 79), Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Esmar Fagraberg (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 79), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 79).

Man of the Match : Teitur Joanesarson (AB Reserves)

Two changes to the team are forced upon us, as Kristoffur Vidtfeldt starts in place of Sveinur Ellefsen, and Esmar Fagraberg comes into the side to replace the injured Justinus Heini Krossla. The replacements on the bench that step up are Poul Djurhuus, and Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus. The Reserve team from Premier League club, AB, are currently second in the table, and will be our toughest opponents by the look of it as we reach the midway point of the season.

It would be fair to say that this was comfortably our worst performance of the season so far. We were outplayed for large parts of the game, and where the players are used to having the lions share of possession, we were starved of that this afternoon. AB missed two good chances in the first half, while we were forced to shoot from distance.

I asked the players to up their game, but for the first time this season, I didn't get a response from them. Edydunsson plays a long ball over the defence, or to be more precise, over Bjarni Niclasen, who made a real hash of judging it, and jumped underneath the ball. Dan Petersen was behind him and clean in on goal, going into the box from the left wing, and drawing the keeper before slotting past him. My last chance of getting anything from this game is to make some changes. I use all three substitutes at once, but within a minute of those changes, the game is settled. Hojgaard attacks at pace down the left channel, his cross into the box should have been easily cleared, but Arnfinn Hansen kicks fresh air and Danish striker, Nikolaj Eriksen slots easily home and we are handed our first defeat of the campaign. We remain top of the League, but our season will now depend on how we react to this first blow.

[neilhoskins77]

Giza/Hoyvik win on the Friday night in the opening game of Round 10 of fixtures, allowing them to go top of the table, for the time being at least....hopefully. For me, the start of the second fixtures against teams signals the start of the run in. Nine games remaining in this short Faroese season, and we need to be in the top two. We were the overwhelming favourites for relegation at the start of the season a few months ago, but the lads have got us this far, and if we can get our momentum back and push on, promotion could help the Chairman progress the club, and a good start would be keeping hold of some of these players, and not lose them to bigger clubs.

Saturday 8th June - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 2 Undrid (1) 2

Scorers : Arnfinn Hansen (50), Hans Bogi Ellefsen (58)

Attendance : 102

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Byarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Esmar Fagraberg (Poul Djurhuus 79), Kaj Mortensen (inj - Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 69); Henning Joensen (inj - Suni Fridi Barba 79); Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Hans Bogi Ellefsen (MB)

One of the other promotion contenders come to Midvagur to take on our unchanged side. With both teams evidently conscious of the repercussions of a defeat, and losing ground at a vital stage of the promotion chase, it was no surprise that the game had a nervy and tetchy beginning. Both teams were guilty of misplacing passes and wasting opportunities with crosses going astray. The visitors settled down, and took the lead in the 13th minute. Vidtfeldt and Fagraberg contrived to lose the ball down the right channel and Undrid countered swiftly and effectively. Elttor and Poulsen came down the left at speed, before sending the ball to the centre outside the box, Hansen and Patursson worked the ball into the box, and the latter set up Fles who drove his shot low, and Eli Poulsen couldn't get enough on it to keep it out. Right at the end of the first half, the visitors keeper, Winthereig takes a knock. We need to be all over that in the second half if he isn't replaced.

It's not very often I've had to lay down the law to this team so far in the season, but at half time they were told that the performance to this point wasn't even close to being acceptable. This time I did get a response. Arnfinn Hansen curled a corner in towards the near post. Poul Meinhard Poulsen and Thomas Hans Rubeksen both escaped the attention of their markers and moved in on the goal. In the confusion and melee that followed, Hansen's corner curled directly into the net and levelled the game. Within 10 minutes, we were in front, and the game had been turned on it's head. Henning Joensen picks off a misplaced pass inside his own half, and finds Rubeksen. The forward didn't hold the ball up as he usually does, instead spinning right and setting off at pace down the right flank, outpacing his marker, and then out-tricking a defender who was waiting for him to move the ball to a team-mate. Rubeksen curled a knee high cross into the near post, Hans Bogi Ellefsen arriving and stooping to head the ball past the keeper and inside the near post. We looked a different team to the one that were out of sorts in the first half, but Undrid were resilient too, and they found an equaliser in the 68th minute. Kaj Mortensen went into a challenge with Hvannastein that left the MB midfielder on the floor. Patursson and Fles joined in the link up play, and Hvannastein's diagonal through ball picked out Johannes Jacobsen, who lifted it over the keeper and sent the game back to stalemate. There was no surprise from the media that the game had ended as a draw, and we are still top of the pile, but we have just a single point advantage over two teams now, and there are sure to be many more up's and down's in the remaining 8 weeks of the season. Henning Joensen has bruised ribs and will miss between 10 days and 2 weeks.

There is an International fixture list before the next game, the Faroe Islands playing Egypt at home in a Friendly, where they were beaten 3-0. The Under-21 side did only slightly better, only managing a 0-0 draw at home to Hong Kong in a Friendly.

Saturday 15th June 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Vesturi a Eidinum, Vagar

FC Suduroy Reserves (0) 1 MB (1) 1

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (27)

Attendance : 206

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vildfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen, Justinus Heini Krossla (inj - Esmar Fagraberg 10), Kaj Mortensen; Suni Fridi Barba; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Kaj Mortensen (MB)

A trip to 5th placed FC Suduroy Reserves follows. Both Sveinur Ellefsen and Justinus Heini Krossla are back in training, Ellefsen makes the bench, Krossla comes straight back into the team, with Esmar Fagraberg going to the bench. Henning Joensen misses out with his injury, Suni Fridi Barba plays in the attacking midfield role in his place.

Krossla's return was a pretty brief one, the midfielder lasting just 10 minutes before needing to be replaced, and Esmar Fagraberg coming on in his place. We had almost total control over the home side in the first half, it was almost all one way traffic. We got a breakthrough in the 27th minute, their defence were set up to deal with our short passing game, but Kaj Mortensen lifted a long ball right over the top of the defence, and Thomas Hans Rubeksen was on it in a flash, firing his shot low and in off the far post. We hit the woodwork twice in the first half too, Arnfinn Hansen hitting the bar with a free kick, Hans Bogi Ellefsen hit almost exactly the same spot with an snap shot from an awkward bouncing loose ball.

The second half continued with much the same script. We passed the ball neatly, and kept possession well, finishing the game with 72% in fact, but we couldn't find the second killer goal. And with a certain air of predictability, we paid for that with just 3 minutes left on the clock. Askham delivered a corner into the near post, and Michael Berg Lagabo clipped it into the net from close range. This was a game we really should have won, but all the other games played on the Saturday also ended in draws, so we remain as we were at the top of the table. We'll just have to hope the two points dropped don't cost us down the line.

[neilhoskins77]

Nothing makes sense in the Faroese football leagues, as the League now goes on a break of around 10 weeks. Maybe the players just don't want to waste their precious summer by playing football? The transfer window is about to open too, there almost certainly won't be any incomings at the Midvagur Stadium, the most important business we do will be trying to keep our young players here for the rest of this season at the very least.

Faroe Islands get a home win in their second game of the International break, beating Chinese Tapei 2-1. The visitors are one of the few nations in world football that sit below them in the FIFA World Rankings. At the monthly Board Status review, the club declare themselves delighted with our season to date, and my Job Status is upgraded to Untouchable. However, they still have concerns over the clubs finances, and the debt is now just over £5.5k. I literally have no way to improve the situation other than try to help the club achieve promotion.

EB/Streymur are in the First Qualifying Phase of the UEFA Champions League. They face Fotbal Club Lusitans of Andorra, winning the first leg away from home convincingly, 4-0, and winning 3-0 in the second leg. They draw Elfsborg of Sweden in the Second Qualifying Phase, losing 4-0 away in the first leg, and 4-1 at home in the return to exit the competition. Meanwhile, IF are in the First Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League, but they are handed a tough draw against Swedish heavyweights, Malmo. They lose 4-2 at home in the first leg, and 4-0 away in the second leg. HB do a better job against Macedonia's, Metalurg Skopje, earning a 0-0 draw, giving them an opportunity to progress if they can steal an away goal. They couldn't losing 1-0, ending the Faroe Islands interest in the Europa League for the 2013/14 season.

The transfer window comes, and goes, and we lose no-one from our squad. I'm relieved, losing any players from our relatively small squad would have been a huge blow with the run in to the end of the season due to restart in a few weeks.

[neilhoskins77]

On the 1st of August, the club announce a new major one year kit sponsorship deal, worth £6k per year to us. With that money banked, the club now has a debt of £25. John Petersen has left the club, he had an offer to join TB as their Under-21's Manager, and we couldn't convince him to stay unfortunately. Jens Erik Rasmussen, who we were told would miss the entire season, is back in training, and may be available for the later fixtures. Whether he can force his way into the team is another matter. The National side put in a gutsy performance in a Friendly at home to Uruguay, but are ultimately beaten, 3-1.

We need a replacement coach to replace John Petersen, but have very little applicants to choose from. The new coach will be 49 year old Romanian, Eugen Voda. He had a playing career that peaked with Universitatea Craiova, and also took in Skala here in the Faroe Islands. This will be his first backroom job, but on the plus side, he brings a big uplift in our scouting knowledge, which will come in handy if we get promoted and upgraded to Semi-Professional.

Saturday 24th August 2013 - Faroese Second Division

vid Lokin, Runavik

NSi Reserves (0) 0 MB (1) 2

Scorers : Henning Joensen (7), Suni Fridi Barba (90)

Attendance : 197

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 82), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (inj - Suni Fridi Barba 65).

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

We'd already had some good news before this match started, fourth placed Undrid are beaten at home on the Friday night as the Second Division restarted. That result means that we would jump 6 points clear of them with a win against NSi Reserves, while the second and third place sides play against each other at the same time as our game. We go into our game with our full strength team, which right now, as I see it, is with Sveinur Ellefsen at right back.

On paper, this should have been a tough game, NSi were starting to find their feet a little, and a win for them would take them up towards the top half of the table and give them some space on the teams in the relegation zone. In reality however, we dealt with the home pretty comfortably, and at no point was I concerned we would drop points in this game. We got ourselves off to a great start, going in front in the 7th minute. It was a passing move of real quality, and Kaj Mortensen supplied the killer pass from the edge of the box, Henning Joensen took control, first touch taking it out of the defenders reach, the second slamming it home from 10 yards out. We could have had a quick second too, but Thomas Hans Rubeksen lost his composure and blasted over the bar from near the penalty spot.

At the break I reminded the lads to keep working hard, and they did just that, taking control of the game by smothering the oppositions attacks before they even got into the final third of the pitch, and keeping hold of the ball with a nice, neat, short passing game. Rubeksen took a knock nearly midway through the second half, and was replaced with veteran striker, Suni Fridi Barba, and the substitute put the icing on the cake as the clock turned to 90, sliding in front of the defence to turn home Esmar Fagraberg's free kick from wide on the right, notching his first goal of the season. The game between AB Reserves and Giza Hoyvik ends in a 1-0 win for the visitors, and the race for promotion continues to hot up.

 [b][i][u]Faroese Second Division - Up to and Including Sunday 25th August 2013[/u][/i][/b]

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 

[b][color="#0000CD"]| 1st   |       | MB           |       | 12    | 7     | 4     | 1     | 20    | 11    | +9    | 25    | [/color][/b]

| 2nd   |       | Giza/Hoyvík  |       | 12    | 7     | 3     | 2     | 19    | 9     | +10   | 24    | 
[color="#FF0000"]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 3rd   |       | AB (FRO) 2   |       | 12    | 6     | 3     | 3     | 16    | 11    | +5    | 21    | 

| 4th   |       | Undrið       |       | 12    | 5     | 4     | 3     | 21    | 18    | +3    | 19    | 

| 5th   |       | FC Suðuroy 2 |       | 12    | 5     | 2     | 5     | 16    | 18    | -2    | 17    | 

| 6th   |       | B68 2        |       | 12    | 4     | 2     | 6     | 11    | 9     | +2    | 14    | 

| 7th   |       | ÍF 2         |       | 12    | 4     | 2     | 6     | 13    | 15    | -2    | 14    | 

| 8th   |       | NSÍ 2        |       | 12    | 4     | 1     | 7     | 13    | 16    | -3    | 13    | 
[color="#FF0000"]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 9th   |       | KÍ III       |       | 12    | 3     | 2     | 7     | 11    | 22    | -11   | 11    | 

| 10th  |       | Skála 2      |       | 12    | 2     | 3     | 7     | 13    | 24    | -11   | 9     | 

[neilhoskins77]

In the next round of League games, there are two Friday fixtures. Giza/Hoyvik win at home against IF Reserves to go top of the table. In better news, third placed AB Reserves are thrashed 4-0 away to Ki 'C'. This means that if we can win our game this weekend, there will be a nice gap forming between ourselves along with Giza/Hoyvik, and the rest of the teams that are in contention for promotion.

Saturday 31st August 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (2) 2 B68 Reserves (0) 0

Scorers : Henning Joensen (9), Thomas Hans Rubeksen (35)

Attendance : 92

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 82), Kaj Mortensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 85); Henning Joensen (Suni Fridi Barba 86); Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Justinus Heini Krossla (MB)

We were heavy favourites for our home fixture with B68 Reserves. Once again, the team remains unchanged. One of the benefits of our compact squad is that I've had very little disruption from players who haven't got a game, they have generally accepted they are back up players in the squad.

We looked comfortable through the course of the game, and another early goal set us on the right track, and it was a familiar goalscorer, Henning Joensen netting for the 10th time this season. Kaj Mortensen played in Justinus Heini Krossla just outside the box. The teenager once again showed his talent, belying his young years with a superbly weighted through ball into the box for Henning Joensen to run onto to, and he fired across goal and inside the far post to send us on our way. The teenager thumped the cross bar with a free kick as we turned the screws and set about cementing our position as the dominant team in the match. And that was helped when Thomas Hans Rubeksen netted our second goal ten minutes before the break. Krossla got himself a second assist of the afternoon, chesting down a short cross from Sveinur Ellefsen, then cutting the ball across goal to the edge of the six yard box, Rubeksen calmly sending the ball back where the keeper had moved from as he scrambled across goal.

With the advantage on the scoreboard, I kept the team talk straightforward. Just keep doing what you did in the first half lads. And for the most part, they did. In fact, they nearly added another within two minutes of the restart, Hans Bogi Ellefsen tried his luck from 20 yards out, a little unfortunate to see his shot bounce back off the upright. As the clock ticked on, we looked more inclined to sit on what we had, and I employed the age old trick of staggering my changes to take a little bit more time off the clock. A satisfying victory, and Undrid are held to a draw at Skala Reserves, our next opponents. We're now 7 points ahead of 3rd place AB Reserves, and promotion is now a very real prospect for the club. With August at an end, and the season due to end in early October, we're only a matter of weeks away from discovering our fate.

Was I saying something about the players who weren't in the team being understanding of their role's as a backup? Within the space of four days, Jack Johansen, Niels Petur Fagraberg and Poul Heri Selfoss all come to the office to voice their concerns regarding their lack of first team action. All are unimpressed with what they hear, and all now think it's time they thought about leaving the club. In reality, Jack Johansen is the only one of the trio likely to see an upturn in their game time, he's regularly been on the bench for us this season, but hasn't been used a great deal. The draw is made for the First Round of UEFA's Under-19's European Championship Qualifiers. The Faroe Islands are drawn with England, Iceland and Slovakia. The Under-21's play the second game of their Group 1 Qualifiers for the same tournament in the next age group up. They lost 3-0 in Spain in their opener, and lost their first home game by the same score against Italy in Toftir. The Senior side resume their World Cup Qualifiers with a trip to Koln to face the Germans. They are beaten 4-1, a hatrick from Mario Gomez doing most of the damage.

Saturday 7th September 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 1 Skala Reserves (0) 1

Scorers : Henning Joensen (16)

Attendance : 105

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen (Esmar Fagraberg 82); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 82), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Johan Bergsson Johansen (Skala)

Our penultimate home game of the season see's us face bottom of the table, Skala Reserves. They are adrift at the bottom, and another defeat might be fatal for them. It's an unchanged side yet again, and the now almost compulsory opening goal from Henning Joensen. Kaj Mortensen pushed the ball into the box, Justinus Heini Krossla did a good job to stop the ball going out of play, and then managed to stand up a cross to the far post, Joensen arrived to plant his header into the net.

Unlike the other games though, we weren't able to kick on, and the players looked nervous, with passes going astray and mistakes being made. Skala looked dangerous when they got the ball in our half, and an equaliser looked on the horizon. And that goal duly came midway through the second half, Arnfinn Hansen initially did a good job of being in the right place to break up Skala's attack, but then all that work was undone as he shunned a pass forward, and tried to send the ball back to Sveinur Ellefsen. His pass was well overhit, and Eli Thomsen was onto it, sending it inside to Johan Bergsson Johansen, who shot inside the near post. It would have been a hammer blow, but Giza/Hoyvik are beaten 1-0 at home to Undrid. This means that with four games remaining, we have a two point advantage at the top over Giza/Hoyvik. They in turn are four points clear of Undrid, but AB Reserves are not necessarily out of it, they have a game in hand. The sting in the tail for us, is that we play away from home in three of our four remaining games. So the three teams that were expected to prop up the table, hold the top three places as the promotion race continues.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

I've thought about trying my hand with a Faroese team myself. Your story makes it seem like it would be a lot of fun. I'll be following.

[neilhoskins77]

Cheers Bobby, glad you're enjoying the story. Good to have you along.

Another flurry of International games saw mixed fortunes for the Faroe Islands. The Under-19's were beaten 2-0 at home by Bulgaria in a Friendly at our own stadium in Midvagur. The Under-21's fared better, with a surprise 2-1 home win over Armenia in their European Championships Qualifier in Toftir. The Seniors visited Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup Qualifier, not disgracing themselves in a 3-0 defeat.

Saturday 14th September 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Flotugerdi, Fuglafjordur

iF Reserves (1) 1 MB (0) 1

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (62)

Attendance : 168

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (MB)

This weekend, we play before Giza/Hoyvik, and if we can get ourselves a win we would sneak a bit closer to getting ourselves promoted, while piling the pressure on our promotion rivals. There was no compulsory opening goal today from Henning Joensen, the opener was scored by one of his team-mates, but in the wrong net regrettably. Askham did good work down the left flank for the home side, and sent a teasing cross into the near post. A trio all converged on the ball, keeper Poulsen, striker Davidsen and defender Meinhard Poulsen. The latter won the race, but didn't seem to have too much of an idea what he was going to do when he got there, and slid the ball straight into his own net. We spent the remainder of the first half chasing the game, with no reward, and for the most part, very little clue either.

The dressing room was a quiet place to be at half time, well, for the players anyway, I had plenty to say though, and not a lot of it was complimentary. With my words ringing in their ears, they set about their task in the second half. The equaliser was worth the wait, build up play down the right from Sveinur Ellefsen, who was carrying a knock at this stage, combining with Henning Joensen. His first attempt at a cross was cleared, but when he got a second opportunity, he successfully located Thomas Hans Rubeksen, who had found himself a yard of room despite all four defenders being in the vicinity, and smashed the ball low into the bottom corner. We were in the ascendency, and were looking for the winner. Enter Kaj Mortensen, with the most ridiculous two footed challenge you've ever seen. It was so unnecessary that he may have broken the long jump record with the challenge. He was lucky to only get one red card. That scuppered our attempt to chase the win somewhat, and in the end, we were a little fortunate to secure the draw, as iF Reserves had us pinned back in the last 5 minutes. The number of draws are stacking up now, and we need to do more to convert those into wins. Sveinur Ellefsen is out for 4 to 5 weeks with a groin strain. He will miss the remainder of the season. As will Kaj Mortensen, who's automatic ban for a straight red card is punished with a further two game ban. We can have no complaints, the midfielder is given an official warning.

Giza/Hoyvik would play twice before we had our next game. The first of those two games was a trip to B68 Reserves on the Sunday afternoon, where I'm happy to report that our main promotion rivals were thumped 5-1. They played again on the Friday evening, a 1-0 home win over Skala Reserves brings them level on points with us, though we have a game in hand. That game in hand is our final home game of the campaign against Ki 'C' team.

Saturday 21st September 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 1 Ki 'C' (0) 0

Scorers : Henning Joensen (61)

Attendance : 184

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen (inj - Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 57); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Jens Erik Rasmussen 85), Esmar Fagraberg (Suni Fridi Barba 85); Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Justinus Heini Krossla (MB)

A larger than usual crowd turn up at Midvagur Stadium for the clubs final home game of the campaign. Promotion is possible today, but it's a long shot. Both Undrid and AB Reserves need to drop points in their game, and ourselves win our game for that to happen. We have to make two changes, Kristoffur Vidtfeldt comes in at right back in place of the injured Sveinur Ellefsen while Esmar Fagraberg takes the spot vacated by Kaj Mortensen. That leaves one free place on the bench, and that is taken by returning 45 year old, Jens Erik Rasmussen, who is in the matchday squad for the first time after recovering from knee tendonitis.

We created chance after chance in the first half, Rubeksen, Joensen, Krossla, Selfoss, they all came close to breaking the deadlock. But the key wouldn't turn in the opening 45 minutes. In fact, we nearly went in behind at half time, a cross shot from the right wing caught out Eli Poulsen who couldn't get back across his goal in time, fortunately the ball bounced back off the post.

I could only encourage the players at the break, they had done everything right apart from put the ball in the net. Arnfinn Hansen suffers an injury and is forced from the field in the 57th minute, Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus comes on, and our midfield has a pretty unfamiliar look about it now, with Hans Bogi Ellefsen moving back into the defensive midfield role. We continued to dominate the game, and surely a goal wasn't far away. It duly arrived just after the hour mark, and there are no prizes for guessing the scorer. The goal came from a long ball upfield from Eli Poulsen which picked out Esmar Fagraberg. His square ball went to Justinus Heini Krossla, and he again supplied the ammunition for Henning Joensen, a through ball for him to run onto, and a great finish struck across the keeper. We made some more changes with around 5 minutes to go just to add some fresh legs, and at that point, it looked like we would be promoted today, Undrid losing, and AB Reserves also behind. But the latter produced two goals in the final five minutes to pick up the points, and we can't yet celebrate. Two draws in our final matches would be enough to send us up now. We have 25 goals in the League this season, Henning Joensen has 12 of those. We'd have been in trouble without him this season. Arnfinn Hansen has broken his wrist, he will now also be out for the remainder of the season. I'm glad the season is nearly done, we're running low on cover. Hopefully we can limp, literally, over the line.

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 28th September 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Gundadalur, Torshavn

Giza/Hoyvik (0) 1 MB (1) 1

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (19)

Attendance : 113

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Esmar Fagraberg (Wentzel Mouritsen 84); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Jens Erik Rasmussen 84), Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus (MB)

The top two meet in the Islands capital city on the penultimate day of the domestic season. A win for either side guarantees them a place in next season's First Division lineup. A draw could send up both teams depending what happens in the game between 3rd place club, AB Reserves, and fourth placed side, Undrid. Those two play at the same time as our game. With Arnfinn Hansen out, Esmar Fagraberg goes into the defensive midfield role, and Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus steps into the three in the centre. Wentzel Mouritsen is on the bench for the first time in a League game.

The game started well for us, and we got ourselves in front. Justinus Heini Krossla hits a free kick from some distance out. It curled and swerved, and keeper Jensen only just got enough of it to touch it onto the crossbar, but the ball just dropped into the six yard box, and Thomas Hans Rubeksen reacted quickest to slam the loose ball into the net in front of the away support. We had two other chances to extend the lead too, Henning Joensen toe poked wide from close range when he would have been expected to hit the net. Magni Selfoss had few options when he cut inside late in the half, and with his weaker foot, hit a driven shot that just cleared the crossbar.

I was satisfied with our display, and asked the lads to keep the effort going, we are playing for promotion after all. They didn't let me down, and kept their game going, but they shipped an equaliser in the 64th minute. Clementsen delivers a corner towards the edge of the box, Petersen heads it goalwards, and Bjartur Lagabo helps it on the way and levels the game. Ten minutes later and we're handed a golden opportunity to take the lead again. Magni Selfoss feeds a ball into the box, but it has too much pace on it, and looks to be running out of play. Henning Joensen's chance to try and keep it in is halted by a bodycheck from goalscorer Lagabo. The ref points to the spot, and Krossla steps up. His penalty is struck hard and low to the right, but Jensen goes the right way and pushes the ball away. From that point a draw was always on the cards, and both teams seemed to settle for that result.

Meanwhile, Undrid have won 2-0 at AB Reserves with goals at the end of each half. This leaves us five points ahead of the new third placed side, and with just one game remaining, confirms that we're promoted to the Faroese First Division. We hold a three point lead over Giza/Hoyvik, and know a point from our trip to AB Reserves next weekend will make us Champions. If Giza/Hoyvik fail to win at Ki 'C', we'll be Champions regardless of our result.

The fans are ecstatic with our surprise promotion and party long into the night. The Board describe the season as unbelievable and state their hope that the success continues for many seasons to come. Even some of the players get in on the act, notably our young maestro, Justinus Heini Krossla, who declares himself delighted with the clubs achievements this season.

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 5th October 2013 - Faroese Second Division

Blue Water Arena, Argir

AB Reserves (1) 4 MB (1) 2

Scorers : Bjarni Niclasen (21), Thomas Hans Rubeksen (70)

Attendance : 234

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Esmar Fagraberg (inj - Wentzel Mouritsen 78); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla, Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Ari Johannesen (AB Reserves)

The season draws to a close in the opening weekend of October, the weather already on the turn on the Islands, with the final round of games played in a steady drizzle of rain. There is still plenty to be decided to bring the 2013 season to a close. Who will be Champions? Who is taking the remaining promotion spot? A point for us would make us Champions. Even if we lost, Giza/Hoyvik would need to win, and also overhaul a goal difference of five goals to steal the title from us. They were in pole position to take the remaining promotion place. A win would guarantee them going up. A draw would also be enough, provided Undrid only won by one goal. Undrid and AB Reserves are also mathematically capable of going up, but they need to win their games comfortably, while other results also go their way. At the bottom, the game is up for Skala Reserves, they are already relegated and will drop out of the Third Tier next season.

I really wanted to win the title, it would be a great reward for the players for their hard work this season, and would be the final word in proving wrong those he vocally predicted we'd be bottom of the table this season. I have few options to change my side with injuries and suspensions, so it's the same starting eleven and squad that secured promotion last weekend. It won't be an easy game, AB Reserves still having that outside chance of going up themselves.

It wasn't exactly the best of starts, as we fell after just 5 minutes, Mohr pinging a long ball forward from the centre circle that cleared our back four, and Einar Jensen sped onto it, and hit a looping shot over Eli Poulsen to put AB ahead. We dragged ourselves back into the game, and levelled shortly after the 20 minute mark. We haven't been particularly effective from corners this season, but Magni Selfoss delivery was right under the crossbar, and the keeper's flailing attempt to push it away was ineffective, allowing much criticised defender, Bjarni Niclasen to arrive and head in his first goal of the season.

All square at the break, and we hear that it's still nil-nil in the game involving Giza/Hoyvik. We started the second half badly, and were behind again quickly as the home side scored less than a minute after the restart. Mohr took possession of the ball about 25 yards from goal, and with options on both sides, our defenders stood off him. Big mistake. He rifled a driven shot in the top corner to put AB back in the lead. Knowing it was still scoreless in the other game, I didn't want my players to go chasing the game. We still have the goal difference buffer, so there wasn't a big worry. And we got ourselves level for the second time in the 70th minute. Henning Joensen is played into the right channel nicely by Kristoffur Vidtfeldt and his cross found Thomas Hans Rubeksen, but his header lacked both power and direction. He caught a lucky break though, as it hit a defender on the shins and bounced back to him, and he didn't make a mistake with his second attempt, a left footed swivelling shot that found the bottom corner to give the striker his 7th goal of the campaign. Still no score at the other game, and we look to be home and dry as far as the title is concerned. But not in this game, as we fall behind for a third time, Draganstein lofting the ball forward, Eydunsson flicking it on, and Johannesen racing in and finishing with a low shot. Again, I see not benefit in making a change, and we ship another goal deep into stoppage time. Again, it's a ball lifted over the defence that causes a problem, Johannesen is cut down at the knees by a chasing back Poul Meinhard Poulsen just inside the box. He gets a red card, and Johannesen dispatches the spot kick, sending Poulsen the wrong way.

We hear that the other game has finished as a scoreless draw, and that Undrid have won, but by 2-1 only. So Giza/Hoyvik will join us in the First Division next season, and we are crowned as 2013 Faroese Second Division Champions. If the Board were ecstatic with promotion, they were even more impressed that we have the Title to go with it. The players celebrated with the fans, and again plaudits come our way. Henning Joensen finishes as top goalscorer, Justinus Heini Krossla is the top assister, and the pair are second and third respectively in the best average rating chart. I jump straight into 9th place in the Faroese Football Hall of Fame. That achievement would look more impressive if the guy in 10th place wasn't the manager who had just won the Under-21's league with FC Suduroy!

[b][i][u]2013 Faroese Second Division - Final Table[/u][/i][/b]

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 

[b][i][color="#0000CD"]| 1st   | C     | MB           |       | 18    | 9     | 7     | 2     | 28    | 18    | +10   | 34    | 
[/color][/i][/b]
| 2nd   | P     | Giza/Hoyvík  |       | 18    | 9     | 5     | 4     | 23    | 16    | +7    | 32    | 
[color="#FF0000"] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 3rd   |       | Undrið       |       | 18    | 9     | 5     | 4     | 31    | 24    | +7    | 32    | 

| 4th   |       | AB (FRO) 2   |       | 18    | 9     | 4     | 5     | 23    | 20    | +3    | 31    | 

| 5th   |       | NSÍ 2        |       | 18    | 7     | 2     | 9     | 22    | 24    | -2    | 23    | 

| 6th   |       | KÍ III       |       | 18    | 6     | 4     | 8     | 22    | 26    | -4    | 22    | 

| 7th   |       | ÍF 2         |       | 18    | 6     | 3     | 9     | 21    | 24    | -3    | 21    | 

| 8th   |       | FC Suðuroy 2 |       | 18    | 6     | 3     | 9     | 20    | 26    | -6    | 21    | 

| 9th   |       | B68 2        |       | 18    | 5     | 2     | 11    | 22    | 24    | -2    | 17    | 
[color="#FF0000"]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 10th  | R     | Skála 2      |       | 18    | 3     | 7     | 8     | 23    | 33    | -10   | 16    | 

[neilhoskins77]

With the domestic season done, another round of International fixtures takes centre stage. The Under-19's side deserve great credit after going down 2-1 to their opponents and hosts from Slovakia in the opening game of the Under-19's European Championship Qualifiers. In the equivalent tournament in the Under-21's, the Faroe Islands again acquit themselves well before losing 3-1 in Serbia. While it's encouraging to see the age group teams at least being competitive in their games, it's only going to be some good results from the Seniors that will help the profile of football in the country, and they are beaten by Austria in their latest World Cup Qualifier in Torshavn, losing 1-0. The Under-19's lose their second game of the Qualifying tournament, going down 2-0 against Iceland, meaning they play their final game against England already knowing they won't progress. Once again, they lose 2-0. They certainly haven't embarrassed themselves in Slovakia. The Under-21's play their counterparts from the Republic of Ireland in Toftir, losing 3-0. The Seniors play their final World Cup Qualifier of the campaign in the same town, losing by a single goal to Kazakhstan.

HB win the Premier League Title, their 22nd and their first for three years. Runners-Up, IF, were 11 points back from the Champions, and along with third placed club 07 Vestur, have qualified for the Europa League Qualifiers. They will have company in the form of EB/Streymur, who won the Logmanssteypid Cup by defeating B68 in the Final, 3-0. The bottom two in the Premier League are relegated, and will be in the First Division with us next season, that will be TB, who finished last, and 9th placed B36. Replacing them in the Premier League will be newly crowned First Division Champions, FC Suduroy, who strolled to the title with just 2 defeats from 27 matches. Also promoted are Skala, who had to win away from home on the final day to secure their place in the Premier League. B36 Reserves finished last in the First Division, and make the drop to the Second Division, along with TB Reserves, making it a miserable season all round for the Tvoroyri based club, who see both of their teams drop down a level. Their Senior team sack their manager, Pall Gudlaugsson. The media install me as second favourite to replace him. When questioned on the rumours by the media, I tell them I have no comment to make and ignore their questions.

Early November sees the clubs end of season Youth Intake announced. It's a large group, 16 players arriving and hoping to earn a shot with either the First Team or Under-21's. I'm happy to see a few right backs in the new group, and we might have to look at fast-tracking one of them through if we remain Amateur and still have no opportunity to sign anyone.

The next round of Internationals come around in mid-November. The Senior side are thumped 5-1 in Croatia in a Friendly. The Under-21's however, gain a 2-2 draw at home to Spain in a Qualifier in a fantastic result. The Under-19's are beaten at home by Belgium by 2-1 in a Friendly. They earn themselves a win the following midweek, winning 2-1 in Liechtenstein. The Under-21's put up another good showing, but are beaten 2-1 in Italy. The Seniors earn a very respectable 2-2 draw at home to Colombia, only denied a win by a very late equaliser.

A week before the end of the month, we have word that the Chairman is looking to step aside, and sell up to a local businessman. At this point there is no information on the businessman who is looking to take control of the club. All I hope for is that he, or she, moves the club forward and allows us to compete in the First Division.

[neilhoskins77]

December arrives, and my name is linked with two more jobs that have come up. B71 finished 5th in the First Division and have elected to part company with their manager. Once again, I'm second favourite for the job. I continue with the same tactic as previously, opting to say nothing at all. I have no contract at Midvagur, and my preferred option is certainly to stay, but I want to see what will happen with a potential new Chairman coming in. All I want is the club to be made semi-professional so we can fight on an even playing field with the other clubs at our new level. Our rivals from last season, Giza/Hoyvik have let their manager go due to his refusal to sign a new contract. I'm third favourite for this one, behind the favourite for the B71 job, and the man that B71 have just let go.

The Transfer Window is open, and will be open now until the end of January. I hope if there is to be a takeover, it happens quickly and smoothly. The playing staff needs to be strengthened, of that there is no doubt. Head of Youth Development, Ossur Hansen firmly believes the answer lies within our Youth players, and offers all sixteen of our intake amateur contracts at the club. On Sunday 15th December, the club is officially placed under a Transfer Embargo while the talks regarding a takeover are held. On the same day, Giza/Hoyvik employ B71's old manager as their new man in charge.

On Christmas Eve, the takeover is completed, and the new Chairman is Gunnar Langgaard. It's not encouraging news from the new boss. He says he has no plans to invest any money in the club right now, in fact, he has taken a loan of £4.25k to assist with the debt and clubs running costs. He has put the prices at the turnstiles up too. The average ticket price has doubled from £1 to £2. Season ticket average prices are up from £9 to £16. I have a chat with the new Chairman and ask him to look at finding us a parent club. This was something that was discussed with the previous Chairman, who decided it wasn't financially worthwhile, a decision I simply didn't understand. I also asked for a Trial Day to be arranged so we could look at bringing in some new players. He agrees to arrange this, though whether anyone shows up and would be prepared to consider signing for us while we still have Amateur status, remains to be seen. The answer came quickly, an email on New Years Eve to tell me that the planned Trial Day is cancelled, with a lack of interest cited as the reason. Very disappointing. I've spent a month watching Second Division clubs sign players that would have been an asset to our club. The lack of ambition is disheartening, and I know that when the players report back for pre-season in a weeks time, and then once the new season is scheduled are dates that need to be marked on the calendar. If there is no progress from the club, I'll have to start questioning how far forward we can realistically go together. This is a challenge career after all. Matters are not made any better when Langgaard returns a verdict of 'no go' to finding a parent club, stating that he sees no point in it.

[neilhoskins77]

With the end of January approaching, and the Transfer Deadline looming, there is no news from the club on their plans for the new season. I get offered an interview for a job that I didn't apply for. The suitors are back in the UK, and are Tring Athletic, a semi-professional club from the Spartan South Midlands Premier League. They currently sit 16th in that League, but it's not a job I'm particularly interested in at this point, and decline their invite to the interview. I also get an invite from Ardley United of the Hellenic Premier League. They also get the same answer. The Transfer Window slams closed at the end of January and there are no new arrivals at the Midvagur Stadium. There are still no players who are willing to consider joining our club right now, which I find an astounding situation for a club seemingly on the up in domestic football.

As we get into mid-February, the club get mixed financial news. They face a tax bill of £1k based on our financial records and accounts over the past year. However, the club sign not one, but two, new kit sponsor deals. We have a new main kit sponsor that is worth £6.25k for one year, the same amount that we got last season. But we also get an additional kit sponsor, they sign for 2 years at £6.25k per season. This news puts the club in the black to the tune of just over £12k. With this happening on Wednesday 12th February, and the new season due to be scheduled on the Saturday, maybe this could be enough to convince the club to take the step forward. The draw is made for the European Championships Qualifiers, and the Faroe Islands are placed in Group E. They will face Belgium, Sweden, Israel and Wales. The matches are due to start in September.

Finally, on Saturday 15th February, I get the news I've been waiting for. The club turn semi-professional. And they want to start contract talks with me right away. The talks were brief, they offer a one year contract at £85 per week. I ask for 2 years at the same wage, and they agree right away. I'm delighted that's done, I just wish it hadn't taken so long, our first of two pre-season games takes place in just four days time. Henning Joensen is voted the Fans' Player Of The Year for 2013. He is one of the first to be offered a part time contract. The Board haven't actually decided what the wage budget is going to be yet, but I can't afford to wait around any longer, and need to start getting some of the current players signed up to contracts. The fact we've gone part time hasn't made a great deal of difference to the players interested in joining us, apart from a few teenagers who are without a club, there still isn't much interest in players coming to Midvagur. Four players sign part time contracts the day before our first pre-season friendly. Magni Selfoss, Kaj Mortensen, Justinus Heini Krossla and Henning Joensen are the first group to be offered deals, and they all sign on the dotted line. Selfoss and Joensen will both earn £120 a week on their new deals. Krossla will be on £30 a week, and Mortensen just under that at £25 a week. These players are seen as a big part of the clubs future, and all sign 3 year deals. Five of last years squad leave the club on free transfers. Poul Poulsen, Mikkelsen Kari, Niels Petur Fagraberg, Otto Emanuel Jacobsen and Poul Heri Selfoss are all let go.

[neilhoskins77]

Wednesday 19th February 2014 - Pre-Season Friendly

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 Stryn (1) 1

Scorers : None

Attendance : 21

Eli Poulsen (Gunnar Muller 45); Sveinur Ellefsen (Hanus Ellingsgaard 45), Magni Selfoss (Jens Sandberg Rasmussen 45), Bjarni Niclasen (Jack Johansen 45), Poul Meinhard Poulsen (Wentzel Mouritsen 45); Arnfinn Hansen (Kristoffur Vidtfeldt 45); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Runi Poulsen 45), Justinus Heini Krossla (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 45), Kaj Mortensen (inj - Esmar Fagraberg 5 (Jens Erik Rasmussen 45)); Henning Joensen (Rene Hansen 45); Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 45).

Man of the Match : Petter Omberg Tornqvist (Stryn)

We finally get back to action on a wet and windy Wednesday night at our own stadium. The visitors are from Norway's Third Division, and they are expected to overwhelm us. The result isn't important tonight, but the performance is, we only have two pre-season games scheduled, so the players need to get into their stride pretty quickly. The starting lineup is our lineup that played the majority of last season for us. With no new signings, a few of the new intake are on the bench for this one and will have a chance to play themselves into the First Team setup.

Even for a pre-season game, this was a quiet one. We lost Kaj Mortensen early on with a knock, but with a ready made replacement in Esmar Fagraberg, it shouldn't affect the teams flow in any way. Still, we never got going, and failed to register a shot on target in the game despite having the lions share of the ball. The visitors got the only goal midway through the first half. Petter Omberg Tornqvist lifted a lofted ball into the penalty box that Eiknes controlled, but was forced wide. From the byline, he cut the ball back, and Tornqvist had made up the ground and swept the ball home with a low left footed shot. I'm not too concerned by the defeat, we lost our pre-season games with Norwegian visitors last season, and that didn't turn out too shabbily.

Arnfinn Hansen and Hans Bogi Ellefsen both sign part-time contracts with the club. Hansen signs for 3 years and will be paid £25 per week. Club captain, Ellefsen, signs for 2 years at £120 a week. And they are joined by the first player signed by the club since I took over 13 months ago. The dubious honour falls to 16 year old Faroese left footer, Lars Hansen. He's a wide midfielder, but will be converted into a centre midfielder, and possibly used as left back cover too. Despite his young age, he is 6'0 tall and good physical attributes, combined with good passing and crossing abilities. The youngster will be paid £85 a week for the next 3 seasons.

Monday 24th February 2014 - Pre-Season Friendly

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 Selje IL (0) 0

Scorers : None

Attendance : 27

Eli Poulsen (Gunnar Muller 76); Sveinur Ellefsen (Hanus Ellingsgaard 45), Magni Selfoss (Jens Sandberg Rasmussen 76), Bjarni Niclasen (Jack Johansen 45), Poul Meinhard Poulsen (Wentzel Mouritsen 76); Arnfinn Hansen (Kristoffur Vidtfeldt 76); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Runi Poulsen 76), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 76), Kaj Mortensen (Lars Hansen 45); Henning Joensen (Rene Hansen 76); Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 76).

Man of the Match : Ilir Ahmeti (Selje)

The Board have already increased the season ticket price from £16 up to £21, but I hope they are not too reliant on the product on the park contributing too much to additional sales. We're never going to be classed as great entertainers, lets be real, we're an underdog team trying to claw our way up the ladder and make the larger teams sit up and take a bit of notice. We play in a manner that suits our underdog status. We won't apologise for that.

Our second, and final, pre season visitors are a Norwegian non-League side. Despite their lowly status, they are still heavy favourites to come to our little patch of the Islands and take a comfortable victory. It didn't quite work out that way though. We more than held our own against our opponents. We once again took the majority of possession, and came close to scoring in the first half with a period of heavy pressure, including four successive corners that the visiting defence had more than just a little trouble dealing with.

The changes were staggered, with a few made at the interval, and the remaining done with around a quarter of an hour to go. The visitors had a good chance from a corner of their own, but the header was from distance and lacked power. Our best chance in the second half was created by our new lad, Lars Hansen, who turned his marker nicely in the centre circle, before using the outside of his left foot to put a through ball for Thomas Hans Rubeksen to run onto. The pass was pace, and did push the striker a little wider than ideal, but he cut back inside well, unfortunately only managing to find the side netting with shot. A goalless draw, not a spectacular game by any stretch of the imagination, but the clean sheet is always an encouragement.

[neilhoskins77]

There are some new arrivals at Midvagur Stadium, as the backroom staff is increased. The first through the door is 43 year old Romanian coach, Daniel Huza. A duo of Faorese scouts also join the backroom, 38 year old Solvi Lokin and 36 year old Hergeir Eldveig. 38 year old Kaj Joensen will be the clubs new Under-21's Manager. On the goalkeeping front, Eli Poulsen wants to be the highest paid player at the club, and I'm not convinced in any way that he merits that, so for now at least, he will remain on an amateur contract. His back up, Gunnar Muller, does sign a part time contract for two seasons at £25 a week, and a new goalkeeper arrives at the club. He's 17 year old, Hedin Olsen, the 6'2 stopper signing for three seasons at £25 per week. Also joining the playing staff is 17 year old central defender, Niels Danielsen. We will be the 6'6 teenager's first club. He'll earn £90 a week for the next three years.

The ticket office let us know that 26 season tickets have been sold for the new season, an increase of one from last year. There is an International break in early March. Faroe Islands Under-19's throw away a 2-1 lead at home to Serbia in a Friendly, losing 5-2. The Under-21's are also at home to Serbia, losing 1-0 which means they are out of contention to Qualify for the European Championship Finals. The Seniors play a Friendly in Bulgaria, losing 4-0. Our Under-21's outfit start their League campaign, gaining a credible 0-0 draw at top domestic side, HB.

The new domestic season is upon us. The bookies see nothing other than relegation for us as they issue their Title odds for the upcoming season in the Faroese First Division.....

1/5 - HB Reserves

1/4 - EB/Streymur Reserves

1/3 - TB, B36

4/6 - B68, Vikingur Gota Reserves

Evens - B71, Ki Reserves

100/1 - MB

300/1 - Giza/Hoyvik

Saturday 15th March 2014 - Faroese First Division

vid Stora, Tvoroyri

TB (1) 1 MB (0) 0

Scorers : None

Attendance : 190

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Jack Johansen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 72), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 72).

Man of the Match : Asmund Hansen (TB)

Our opening game of the season is a tough looking trip to one of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season. The media and bookies are both in agreement that we could get an opening day hiding. Poul Meinhard Poulsen is suspended, so Jack Johansen steps into the team as his replacement. Apart from that, we're sticking with the team that got us through the majority of last season. New goalkeeper, Hedin Olsen, is our substitute keeper.

We start pretty well, passing the ball around crisply, and frustrating the home team. But we concede a goal in the 18th minute, and the manner of that goal annoys me greatly, a simple corner delivered into the near post, and Asmund Hansen rifles home the ball from close range. If we're to keep ourselves out of the relegation zone, we'll need to be doing a better job from set pieces. The confidence deflated right out of our lads, and we looked beaten as soon as that ball hit the net. The closest we came to earning ourselves a point was a second half free kick from Justinus Heini Krossla, who forced the keeper to scramble across goal and tip the ball over the crossbar.

It's an opening day defeat, but we can't afford to be too disheartened. We kept one of last seasons Premier League clubs to a solitary goal away from home. If we can start finding the net ourselves, while still doing our good work defensively, there is optimism that we can compete in this campaign.

[neilhoskins77]

After that game, the Board announce that our weekly wage budget will be £1,655 per week. I find that amount high, and a look at the finances shows that the club project they will be nearly £50k in debt by the end of the season. They appear to be mortgaging the club's future. At this point, our weekly wage bill is around £820. With this news, I restart negotiations with keeper, Eli Poulsen. I convince him that his future lies here, and get him to sign a 3 year contract at £110 a week. I think he can benefit as much, if not more than the other members of the squad from the increased training time that a part time contract will bring.

Wednesday 19th March 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (2) 3 B71 (1) 1

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (13), Henning Joensen (44,63)

Attendance : 89

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen (inj - 83), Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen (Esmar Fagraberg 81); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Lars Hansen 81), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (inj - Suni Fridi Barba 42).

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

Our opening home game is a Wednesday evening match, which I'm hoping is part of the reason for the lower than expected attendance. With 27 games in the season at the higher level, the team will need to work on their fitness, they won't be used to playing two or three times a week. Poul Meinhard Poulsen returns to our lineup, with Jack Johansen going to the bench.

We had every reason to fear the worst from our position on the bench when we shipped the opening goal in the 10th minute. Sjurdor Ellefsen lines up a free kick out on the touchline. Eli Poulsen seems fine with letting the wall guard that side of the goal, and situated himself on the other post. Big mistake. Ellefsen struck the ball over the ball, and Poulsen's attempt to get across goal was always destined to fail. Unlike on Saturday, the heads didn't fall this time, and we were level within three minutes. If there was commentary on the game, you could have almost heard them remarking how the passing was pretty, but quite ineffective, as we weren't getting anywhere. Sveinur Ellefsen had clearly had enough, so swung in a cross. It was headed out as far as Hans Bogi Ellefsen, who quickly found Thomas Hans Rubeksen, the striker shooting low on the turn to square the game back up. Rubeksen didn't make it as far as half time, he was injured a few minutes before the break, replaced by Suni Fridi Barba. He would have been about halfway down the tunnel to the changing room when we took the lead, Magni Selfoss playing the ball down the touchline and into space for Hans Bogi Ellefsen to run onto. The cross went to the near post, while Barba went to the far post, put Henning Joensen was alert, and got himself to the ball in front of the defender and slot his shot inside the near post.

I went for the half time option of praising the players, an attempt to build up their confidence and spirit for the second half. As it turned out, the players were actually pretty focussed anyway, and despite B71 having a spell of pressure, they kept their heads well and I'd made a couple of little tweaks to the set piece defending which they adhered to well. There were some slight adjustments to the attacking set pieces too, and they paid off a little after the hour, Arnfinn Hansen delivered the corner, and Henning Joensen ran from deep to escape any marking and glance in a near post header. We had one more bullet to dodge, Sveinur Ellefsen forced off the park with an injury a few minutes after our final changes had been made. Esmar Fagraberg had to fill in as emergency right back. We come through unscathed to get off the mark for the campaign.

The media have an article the day after the game, stating that the jury is still out on my reign as MB manager. They state that my lack of activity in the transfer market and failure to bring any further quality to the squad, plus 'only' winning half of my games in charge, mean that the future could go either way for me. I'm baffled. We weren't expected to be anywhere near the promotion hunt last season, much less finish as Champions. They must have done work experience at some British newspapers!

[PeeDub]

Love these lower league stories! Quite tempted myself ....

[neilhoskins77]

PeeDub, I find the lower leagues much more fun to play than higher divisions to be honest. I can highly recommend it.

Saturday 22nd March - Faroese First Division

Serpugerdi, Gota

Vikingur Gota Reserves (0) 0 MB (1) 2

Scorers : Hans Bogi Ellefsen (18), Henning Joensen (88)

Attendance : 198

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen (Niels Danielsen 76), Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Esmar Fagraberg 76), Justinus Heini Krossla (Lars Hansen 58), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

Our third game in a week, not something this squad are used to, and it was showing as well. We had two options, a massive squad rotation and hope we can dig something out of the game, or travel to Gota with our first choice team and be very careful with our substitutions, against a side who are bottom of the table with two defeats already on their record. With the knowledge that we don't have another game for a week, I go for the latter. It won't be an easy task, most of our outfield players start the match with a fitness level of lower than 75%.

I don't know if it's correct to label our performance in this one as a 'counter-attacking masterclass', when we had 58% of the possession, but it describes how we went about our work. The opener was a quick counter from an opposition corner. Justinus Heini Krossla gets the second header at the corner and clears it out of the box, where it finds Henning Joensen. He picked out Thomas Hans Rubeksen, who sets off down the right channel, but doesn't go for pace, he was happy to hold the ball up there as our other players made their way forwards. He played a one-two with Joensen, before sending the ball into the box where Hans Bogi Ellefsen smashed a volley against the upright, but got to the rebound first and placed it into the bottom corner to give us the advantage.

I didn't have too much to say at half time, I think some of the players took a nap, they looked like they could do with the rest. I was pretty sure that we were going to come under some major pressure in the second half, and I was mindful that the changes would have to be carefully thought out. The first was Krossla, he was out of gas before the hour mark, and Lars Hansen provided the fresh legs. Shortly after that change, Vikingur got their best chance of the game, Bjarni Niclasen just failing to cut out a through ball, and it was Poulsen vs Poulsen as their striker went in on goal, but fired wide of the target. From there, they were pretty much held to long range shots, though one of those from Kjaerbo, did clip the top of the bar on it's way over. We wrapped up the game late on with another counter, a familiar name on the scoresheet. Bjarni Niclasen cut out the through ball this time, and lifted a long ball down the centre of the park that actually bounced over their backline, and Henning Joensen was in on goal, drawing the keeper out, and slotting beyond him into the bottom corner to seal the win.

We suffer a few injuries before our next game. Reserve keeper, Hedin Olsen, has strained his heel stretching in training, and will miss two or three weeks. A bigger miss will be Justinus Heini Krossla, who has twisted his knee turning awkwardly the following day, and will be out for around a month. Both Suni Fridi Barba and Jens Erik Rasmussen announce their intentions to retire at the end of the season. Barba stated he wanted to finish up before he's forced to play at a lower level. If he plays any lower than this, they'll actually have jumpers for goalposts.

Saturday 29th March 2014 - Faroese First Division

Svangaskard, Toftir

B68 (0) 1 MB (0) 0

Scorers : None

Attendance : 262

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss (Niels Danielsen 79), Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen (inj - Esmar Fagraberg 62); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Lars Hansen, Kaj Mortensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 79); Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Kristian Anthon Andreassen (B68)

Our toughest challenge of the season to date is a trip to Toftir to face the club who missed out on promotion to the Premier League by a point, and lost in the Cup Final. Lars Hansen steps into the team in place of the injured Justinus Heini Krossla, while Gunnar Muller is the keeper on the bench. We coped quite well with our more illustrious opponents, without ever really causing them any problems in the first half. We were clearly succeeding in frustrating B68 though, as the high foul count showed.

They got the goal they were looking for 10 minutes into the second half. They moved the ball from right flank to the left quickly, and our defence failed to move across the park to cover them off, Andreassen easily finding substitute Frodi Johannesen, who had the space and time to turn and drill his shot low past Eli Poulsen. I'm not too disappointed, it's not a game we were expected to pick anything up from, and we gave them a good contest. We've got a 50% record from our opening four games, which is a good base to build upon as we seek to establish ourselves in this League. Arnfinn Hansen suffered bruised ribs during the game, and will miss up to two weeks.

[neilhoskins77]

We move into April, and start the month with a pair of home fixtures against Reserve teams. These fixtures are often tough to call, as it's hard to know what kind of team the opposition will bring into the game. It could be an opportunity to put a bit of distance between ourselves and the teams struggling at the bottom of the table in the early going of the season.

Saturday 5th April 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (2) 2 HB Reserves (1) 2

Scorers : Henning Joensen (2), Poul Thomas Dam (38 o.g)

Attendance : 89

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss (Kristoffur Vidtfeldt 84), Bjarni Niclasen (Niels Danielsen 84), Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Esmar Fagraberg; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Lars Hansen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 84), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen, Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Kari Joensen (HB Reserves)

I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that we couldn't win this one. Esmar Fagraberg took over the defensive midfield role in the absence of Arnfinn Hansen. We grabbed an early lead to settle the nerves of the home fans, and possibly make them feel a little bit better about coming out to watch the game in the teeming rain. Sveinur Ellefsen collected the ball down the right and sent the ball into the box with a low pass. Henning Joensen did a good job of rolling his marker, and sent a shot across goal that keeper Hansen got a hand to, but couldn't stop it creeping inside the far post high into the net. HB Reserves weren't concerned about our Joensen, they have one of their own, and he ran across goal in front of Bjarni Niclasen to hook home a swinging cross, his celebration cut short by the linesman's flag, and a few gestures from the home fans to go with it. However he got his own back in the 18th minute, Niclasen needlessly barged him over when he had his back to goal, and the ref was quick to award the penalty. Kari Joensen found the corner and levelled the game. It was back to our Joensen to at the other end, though he had a great deal of help with this one. Magni Selfoss sent a cross from the left into the six yard box, it was just over Henning Joensen's head, but hit unfortunate defender Poul Thomas Dam right on the shins, and trickled past the keeper to hand us a half time lead.

I asked the team to keep working hard to see out this game, but they were pegged back to an all square match just over five minutes into the second, Arge curling in a cross that Kari Joensen got to in front of Niclasen, touched it past him, and rounded the keeper before sliding the ball into the net. The visitors went into their shells a bit after that, and we had a good level of control over the game, but we weren't able to force the winner. The best chance came five minutes from time. Kaj Mortensen sent Thomas Hans Rubeksen into the box, and he had two choices. Either take a shot himself, or square it for an unmarked, Henning Joensen. He went for the secret third option of, well, neither. He messed around too much, and a combination of keeper and defender took the ball off him. After the game, the press actually called our 6th place, 'disappointing'. I'd call their report, 'baffling'.

Wednesday 9th April 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 Ki Reserves (1) 1

Scorers : None

Attendance : 85

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Bjarni Niclasen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Esmar Fagraberg; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Lars Hansen, Kaj Mortensen (Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 73); Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Olavur Joensen (Ki Reserves)

Another home game, and we renew our hostilities with Ki, but this time it's against their Reserves instead of their 'Thirds'. Now that, dear readers, is progress! Arnfinn Hansen is back in training, but isn't fit enough for a return, and is left out of the matchday squad.

While the draw with HB was tough to take, this defeat wasn't, because we didn't deserve anything. We had 64% of the ball, but created the square root of zero. We kept the ball well, but in the final third of the park, neither Henning Joensen or Thomas Hans Rubeksen were particularly at the races today. And once again, the opposition did have a 'Joensen' who could find the net. Annoyingly, it was from a set piece once again, a corner drifted into the near post, and Olavur Joensen glanced a header beyond the reach of Eli Poulsen and Magni Selfoss who was guarding the post.

I was forced to raise my voice at the break, telling the players their performance was unacceptable. I was hoping to shock them into some kind of a reaction, but I didn't even get that out of them. On this day, the visitors had our number. Our best chance came with 5 minutes remaining, but Rubeksen blasted it high over the bar.

[b][u]Faroese First Division Table - Up to & Including Wednesday 9th April[/u][/b]

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 

| 1st   |       | KÍ 2            |       | 6     | 4     | 1     | 1     | 12    | 8     | +4    | 13    | 

| 2nd   |       | B36             |       | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 9     | 2     | +7    | 12    | 
[color="#FF0000"]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 3rd   |       | B68             |       | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 11    | 4     | +7    | 10    | 

| 4th   |       | TB              |       | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 8     | 7     | +1    | 10    | 

| 5th   |       | Giza/Hoyvík     |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 9     | 0     | 7     | 

[b][i][color="#0000CD"]| 6th   |       | MB              |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 7     | 6     | +1    | 7     | [/color][/i][/b]

| 7th   |       | EB/Streymur 2   |       | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 8     | 12    | -4    | 6     | 

| 8th   |       | Víkingur Gøta 2 |       | 4     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 7     | 11    | -4    | 3     | 
[color="#FF0000"]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/color] 
| 9th   |       | HB 2            |       | 5     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 7     | 10    | -3    | 2     | 

| 10th  |       | B71             |       | 5     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 4     | 13    | -9    | 1     | 

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 12th April 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 2 Giza/Hoyvik (1) 2

Scorers : Henning Joensen (21 pen), Thomas Hans Rubeksen (78)

Attendance : 81

Eli Poulsen; Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bjarni Niclasen; Arnfinn Hansen (Jack Johansen 76); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Suni Fridi Barba 76), Esmar Fagraberg (inj - Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus 57), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Arthur Tausen (Giza/Hoyvik)

I've had a look at the Faroese Football rulebook, and it does indeed state that MB will only be permitted to play games when it's chucking down with rain. If it wasn't for the plastic pitch, we'd never get any gamed played, though I still hate the damned thing. Once again, we're in a position where we are playing our third game in a week, and the players are feeling the pace again. This time I do make some changes. Kristoffur Vidtfeldt comes in at right back to allow Sveinur Ellefsen a rest. Niels Danielsen gets a start at centre back, going on to the right side of the pair, Bjarni Niclasen shifted to the left, Poul Meinhard Poulsen goes to the bench. Arnfinn Hansen returns in the defensive midfield role, Esmar Fagraberg moves into the right slot of the midfield three, Lars Hansen is left rested and left out today.

We fall behind in this one, a counter attack goal, the kind that we have been quite adept at ourselves of late, but we were sucker punched from a corner of our own. The ball is cleared to Arthur Tausen who gains ground down the left, before finding Frits Eid. He cleverly switched play to the right and Hojgaard attacked the space, sending a cross over that Tausen didn't connect with particularly well, but it found the net. We were playing ok, and a leveller looked odds on. Sure enough, it arrived, Arnfinn Hansen delivered a corner to the near post, Faerd got it clear, but the linesman had his flag up and drew the refs attention to the fact he had used his hand to help him do so. Henning Joensen sent the keeper the wrong way from the penalty spot.

All square at the break, and I was reasonably happy with that. We were creating chances, and as is normal for us now, having the majority of the possession. But I was aware that some of our players were already struggling to keep pace, and I needed to be careful with my changes. The first one was forced upon me, Esmar Fagraberg was injured in a tackle that earned Frits Eid a booking. With no direct replacement on the bench, I had to go with Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus, so good that they named him twice. I was still happy with how it was going, but 20 minutes into the second half, we found ourselves behind again. Niels Danielsen had been doing a pretty solid job at the back, but the tall defender showed his inexperience with a clumsy challenge that he didn't need to make, and the ref pointed to the spot once more. Eli Poulsen elected to go to his left, but Tausen blasted it down the middle to notch his second of the afternoon. It would have been a bit of a blow to lose to the club directly above us, and who we were looking to emulate this year after piping them to the Title last season. And it was pretty satisfying to earn a point with just over ten minutes to go. Thomas Hans Rubeksen could be considered guilty of wasting too many chances, but he didn't waste this one, playing a good build up role too. He was running in and out of the back four of the visitors, and they were struggling to keep track of his whereabouts. He ran back beyond them just as Kaj Mortensen played a through ball into his path, and he picked it up near the penalty spot, checked inside a defender to get back on his right foot, and drove his shot across goal and into the net.

The Board now appear to have discovered the big black hole at the bottom of our bank account. The £12k that we got from sponsorship and had put us in the black has turned into a red balance of nearly £8k within a matter of months. With them being uncooperative to any of my ideas to make some money, like a fan day, or a parent club that we can get some cash from, they instead ask me to sell players to raise money. Well, this time, there is at least an option to sell some of them, but the truth is, if we sold every part time player for his market value, we'd only half the debt, and be playing with a team full of kids and facing certain relegation. There is no option to tell the Board that they are clueless, and just playing at running a football club, so all I can do is carry on doing what I'm doing. However the prospects long term, do not look good at Midvagur I'm afraid.

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 19th April 2014 - Faroese First Division

Gundadalur, Torshavn

B36 (2) 3 MB (0) 0

Scorers : None

Attendance : 339

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen (Poul Meinhard Poulsen 75), Bjarni Niclasen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Esmar Fagraberg (Lars Hansen 75), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 75).

Man of the Match : Johannes Jacobsen (B36)

After three home games in a row, we resume our travels, and a trip to the capital to face league leaders, B36. With our recent form, and team morale starting to dip, the media and bookies were concentrating more on how many goals we were going to lose by, rather than a debate on the destination of the points. Sveinur Ellefsen returns at right back, Kristoffur Vidtfeldt drops to the bench.

I hate it when the press are right. I hate it even more when the bookies are right! The simple fact is, we did a decent job of holding our own for around half hour. Then the breaches were broken, and we never looked like staying in the game. What makes it worse, was that the first goal was handed to the home side on a plate, and served with a side of fries. Holgar Durhuus received the ball back after a short throw in, and didn't really look like he had much of a clue what to do with it next. He send it into the box with a diagonal ball that one of their forwards made a move towards, but looked very much second favourite for. Eli Poulsen didn't necessarily see it that way, and convinced that the forward was going to get a touch, propelled himself forward off his goal-line, and was unable to get anywhere near it when it simply bounced behind him and into the far corner. That one was a real head in hands moment, and turned out to be Durhuus only real contribution to the game, as he went off just before the break with a knock. By the time his colleagues joined him in the changing room, they'd had a second goal to celebrate. Ari Olavsson Ellingsgaard sent a corner into the six yard box, and defender Johannes Jacobsen arrived with impeccable timing to bullet his header back across goal and into the net.

I didn't ask for too much from the players in the second half, they looked beaten and deflated, but we had some travelling support with us and I wanted a bit of effort from them as a bare minimum. I got that, they redoubled their efforts defensively, seemingly keen to make sure that the score didn't get out of hand at the very least. But the home side did notch another in the 58th minute, Mortensen with another corner delivery, Midjord headed it against the cross bar, Magni Selfoss attempted to hack it clear, but managed only to smash it against Niels Danielsen, and ball rebounded into the net. That now five League games without a win. The press described us as 'hapless'. The press conference centred mainly around questions of relegation. I had to remind the media that we're not even a third of the way through the season, and we're not actually in the relegation zone, we're four points clear of the dotted line right now.

Saturday 26th April 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 1 EB/Streymur Reserves (0) 0

Scorers : Henning Joensen (4)

Attendance : 100

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bjarni Niclasen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt - Justinus Heini Krossla 74), Esmar Fagraberg (Lars Hansen 84), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (Suni Fridi Barba 74).

Man of the Match : Magni Selfoss (MB)

We return home, and have an opportunity to try and break the poor run of form against visitors, EB/Streymur Reserves. They currently sit above us in the League, but as a squad, we view games against Reserve sides as a chance to pick up valuable points. Justinus Heini Krossla is fit, and returns to the matchday squad, sitting on the bench, along with Lars Hansen. This at least gives us some viable attacking options from the bench if needed.

An early goal was exactly what we needed, and getting one was a huge boost for the lads. Magni Selfoss and Sveinur Ellefsen were really getting themselves forward and it was Selfoss who curled in a cross from the left, which Henning Joensen couldn't quite reach, but the ball hit a defender and dropped right in front of our leading scorer. He let it bounce, before putting his foot through it and smashing the ball high into the net, much to the delight of the biggest crowd we've had for quite a few games. We had a few chances to increase that lead, playing our best half of football for a long time. But at the break, it was just the one goal separating the teams.

The half time talk was brief, telling the guys that I thought they could do even better. The visitors came out of the changing rooms fired up, and they nearly got a leveller within moments, Jonstein Magnussen attempting to apply the finishing touch to a good team move, but striking the post. I was keen to get Krossla a bit of game time, I believe his value to our squad is underestimated, and his return is important. We were under a bit of pressure in the last couple of minutes, Eli Poulsen coming up with a big save from a free kick, and the visitors wasted a final chance to steal a point. The win takes us into a top half position, as we leapfrog our opponents and Giza/Hoyvik to jump to fifth. The fans take their opportunity to have their say too, commenting to the media that they're happy with the job that's being done at the club, and they had every faith we would snap the winless run sooner rather than later.

[neilhoskins77]

Wednesday 30th April 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 1 TB (1) 2

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (31)

Attendance : 101

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen (Poul Meinhard Poulsen 79), Bjarni Niclasen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 79), Kaj Mortensen (Lars Hansen 79); Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Ragnar Tausen (TB)

We're now a third of the way through the season as April draws to a close, and we start the second round of fixtures. That kicks off with a midweek home fixture against third placed club, TB, who defeated us on the opening day of the season. Justinus Heini Krossla is back in the starting lineup, with Esmar Fagraberg dropping to the bench. The customary rain for an MB home fixture looks to be a little heavier today.

The opening stages went well for us. Our passing was nice, the ball kept on the deck well, and everyone getting involved, which appeared to be frustrating the visitors. When they did get the ball, they attacked at pace, and we had a few moments where it looked like we might crack, but Bjarni Niclasen was having one of his better games, and was steady in the backline, while Eli Poulsen looked to be playing with confidence in goal. When the visitors did break us down, our defence were perhaps a little guilty of allowing the defensive line to sit a little high upfield, and Jonleif Hojgaard slipped a through ball in behind them, Ragnar Tausen timing his diagonal run of a defender's shoulder well, and shooting across goal and inside Eli Poulsen's far post. I was disappointed that we went behind, but delighted with the response, as we equalised straight from kick off. Kaj Mortensen tried to play in Thomas Hans Rubeksen, and TB defender, Jorgensen and Bech, both went for the same ball. In the confusion, Rubeksen dispossessed Bech by taking the ball off his toe, and drilled his shot low home from 15 yards.

I'd seen enough in the first half to believe we had a shot at taking the spoils in this one, and I told the players just that during the half-time break. They didn't seem daunted by that, and set about taking the game to TB, increasing their already high possession stats, and creating some decent chances. Henning Joensen had the best of those chances, albeit from a pretty narrow angle, his shot slamming into the side netting unfortunately. It was the pace of Tausen that cost us ultimately, Erland Danielsen collecting a long clearance from keeper Stojkovic into the left channel, and his ball into the box was a good one. Substitute defender, Poul Meinhard Poulsen, saw the danger, but couldn't match Tausen's pace off the mark, and the striker brought the ball down, rounded a committed Eli Poulsen, and tucked home what would turn out to be the winner. Gutted!

Saturday 3rd May 2014 - Faroese First Division

Sandur Stadium, Stadium

B71 (2) 3 MB (0) 2

Scorers : Thomas Hans Rubeksen (64), Henning Joensen (70)

Attendance : 96

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen (Poul Meinhard Poulsen 45), Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bjarni Niclasen; Arnfinn Hansen (Esmar Fagraberg 82); Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen.

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

The predictions and previews of this match make for very confusing reading. Fifth placed B71 are 1/6 favourites for the game with the bookmakers. However, the local media in Sandur state that B71's home form is horrible, and that sixth placed MB should record a comfortable victory. The two sides do have something in common though, neither has lost this season after scoring the first goal. Who doesn't love a good stat, right? That first goal should have been ours. Thomas Hans Rubeksen took control of the ball after a perfect diagonal pass from Henning Joensen in the 5th minute. He was 10 yards at goal, and no-one was near him, but he dragged his shot wide and into the advertising hoardings. Maybe I should use one of those boards to make public my need for a prolific striker?

Instead, it was the Joensen's that stole the first half limelight. Regrettably, none of them were called Henning. Instead it was Aron and Bartal, both wearing B71 shirts. They scored within six minutes of each other, the first once again showed up Eli Poulsen's weakness at free kicks that are taken from out on the touchline. I daresay Aron Joensen knew what he was doing when instead of swinging it into the six yard box, he fired directly at the near post, and found the net. The second came after Kaj Mortensen played an ambitious and not to mention risky pass in centre midfield. Three touches later and the ball was in our net again, Johannesen playing Bartal Joensen in, and he slotted home.

The half time chat was not pretty by any means. I gave the boys hell for that first half performance. They look fired up as they headed out for the second half, but it took a while for them to get any rewards. When we did finally get there, both goals came within six minutes, where have I seen that before? Rubeksen notched first, making some amends for his glaring early miss. A long goal kick was nodded on by Mortensen, skipper Hans Bogi Ellefsen did the hold up work, and with Henning Joensen running and taking defenders away from the centre of the park, the killer ball found Rubeksen, who, if I'm honest, looked a fraction offside, but didn't stop to ask questions, and found the corner of the net. Six minutes later and we were all square, Rubeksen playing a big part as he drove down the left channel, before laying off the ball to Magni Selfoss. His cross caused panic in the B71 defence, and defender Danielsen jumped in front of his keeper, preventing what would have been a very comfortable catch. Instead the ball spun into the air, and as it dropped right in front of the goal, Henning Joensen was the most alert and steered it in.

Twenty minutes to go, and a draw looked on the cards against a team around us in the League, and away from home. I'd have taken that, and a great deal of heart from the team's second half performance to turn the game around. I didn't get a chance to do that, as Aron Joensen played a ball down the left for Johannesen to chase. He got there just in time to stop the ball crossing the byline, and with our defence chasing back and mainly facing the wrong way, he cut it back across goal, where Janus Wiberg Mortensen had a tap in to snatch the points for the hosts. Our defenders pleaded for an offside flag, but that was never happening, the ball wasn't even played forward, it was a cut back. Oh, and the winner came, yep, six minutes from time to condemn us to defeat. Don't you just hate stats?!

[neilhoskins77]

We started the build up for our next game in a week, a home fixture with 9th placed Vikingur Gota Reserves, who we have already beaten away from home this season. We'll have to face that game, and possibly a few others, without our left back, Magni Selfoss. He injured his heel in training on the Tuesday, and will be out of action for around 2-3 weeks. Luckily, we do have a ready made replacement for him in the squad.

Saturday 10th May 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (1) 3 Vikingur Gota Reserves (0) 0

Scorers : Henning Joensen (10,79), Justinus Heini Krossla (68 pen)

Attendance : 95

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen (inj - 83), Kristoffur Vidtfeldt (inj - Bjarni Niclasen 79), Niels Danielsen, Poul Meinhard Poulsen; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 79), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Thomas Hans Rubeksen (inj - Suni Fridi Barba 20).

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

This was a game against what looked like one of the two weakest teams in the division, and I was desperate for the lads to put on a show, build up some confidence and morale in the camp, and push ourselves a bit further out of reach of the dreaded drop zone. We made just one change to the side, the forced change, Kristoffur Vidtfeldt lining up at left back in place of the injured Magni Selfoss.

The start was impressive, the players looked as keen as I did to put down a marker today and get those precious points on the board. There were just ten minutes on the clock when we notched the opening goal. We are a passing side, and we do it well, but even for a side of that type, the build up to the opener was pretty special. We went at them down the left, then switched play back across to the right. Sveinur Ellefsen and Justinus Heini Krossla teased and tormented the visiting defence, before going back into the middle. As their defence poured back in to close the gap, Hans Bogi Ellefsen sent it back right, and Krossla played a pass to Sveinur Ellefsen that gave him all the room he could ever need for a cross. It was a good one, and Thomas Hans Rubeksen threw himself at it, but from close range, his shot thumped the upright. No matter, Henning Joensen arrived to steer in the rebound and put us ahead. Rubeksen would be forced to leave the game just 10 minutes later with an injury, and was replaced by veteran, Suni Fridi Barba. That makes it a slightly different way to build up for us. Rubeksen comes into the space and links well with Joensen. That's not something Barba does, he's more of your big striker. At the break, we still had just a single goal to show for our efforts, but an impressive 76% possession.

I was looking for us to close out the game in the second half. A single goal lead is never guaranteed to be enough, it only takes a poor clearance or backpass, a harsh red card, or a soft penalty to mean you have to start your work all over again. But today, we were the recipients of the soft penalty award. Joensen looked like he had just barely got into the corner of the penalty box, and was checking back out of it as his marker made, what you probably describe, as an ill-advised challenge. I don't think there's too much doubt that Joensen made the most of it, but the ref gave the spot kick. Joensen took the ball, he has taken penalties for us this season, but he may have forgotten that Krossla was back in the team, and is in fact, our designated set piece guy, including pens. The teenager was assertive, and Joensen backed down and gave the kid the ball. Krossla stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to net his first of the season and double our advantage, and we looked home and done. With 10 minutes or so remaining, we got a third while in the process of making our final changes. Vidtfeldt had taken a knock, and I didn't want to risk him, while Krossla looked like he was running on empty by now. Both were involved in some more intricate short passing, that ended with Hans Bogi Ellefsen sliding a pass into Joensen, who lifted the ball over the advancing keeper and made it 3-0. The mood was dampened slightly by Sveinur Ellefsen taking a knock a few moments later. He came right off, leaving us to see out the win with 10 men.

Easily our best performance of the season so far, but it came at a price. Sveinur Ellefsen has a bruise to his head, and will be out around 10 or 12 days. But the news on Rubeksen was much worse. He's fractured his ribs, and our main striker is going to miss 2 to 3 months. With Suni Fridi Barba as our only other out and out striker in the squad, we're left with a choice of going with the 41 year old as a straight replacement, or move Henning Joensen up into the striker's role, and rejig the midfield and attacking midfield options. While I haven't made up my mind which way to go, I call up Rene Hansen and Arthur Djurhuus Djurhuus from the Under-21's squad to train with the First Team, and make a decision from there. It's shame that we're having to worry about injuries, we should be happy about the fact that we're now 5 points above the relegation zone, and only 2 points away from 4th place.

[b][u]Faroese First Division Table - up to & Including Friday 16th May 2014[/u][/b]

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   |

| 1st   |       | B36             |       | 11    | 8     | 3     | 0     | 22    | 8     | +14   | 27    |    

| 2nd   |       | B68             |       | 11    | 7     | 1     | 3     | 27    | 13    | +14   | 22    |  
[color="#FF0000"] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color] 
| 3rd   |       | TB              |       | 12    | 6     | 3     | 3     | 24    | 19    | +5    | 21    |    

| 4th   |       | B71             |       | 11    | 5     | 1     | 5     | 20    | 23    | -3    | 16    |   

| 5th   |       | EB/Streymur 2   |       | 12    | 5     | 1     | 6     | 17    | 20    | -3    | 16    |   

| 6th   |       | KÍ 2            |       | 12    | 4     | 4     | 4     | 16    | 16    | 0     | 16    |    

[b][color="#0000CD"]| 7th   |       | MB              |       | 12    | 4     | 2     | 6     | 16    | 16    | 0     | 14    | [/color][/b]  

| 8th   |       | Víkingur Gøta 2 |       | 11    | 2     | 4     | 5     | 15    | 24    | -9    | 10    |   
[color="#FF0000"]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color] 
| 9th   |       | Giza/Hoyvík     |       | 11    | 2     | 3     | 6     | 16    | 25    | -9    | 9     |    

| 10th  |       | HB 2            |       | 11    | 1     | 4     | 6     | 17    | 26    | -9    | 7     |

[neilhoskins77]

The fans, backroom staff and the Board are all concerned that we are weak at centre back. It seems there is very little faith in Bjarni Niclasen or Poul Meinhard Poulsen. While it's true that they both have errors in them from time to time, they play a lot of football. The opportunity presented itself to bring in another centre back. He's 36 year old free agent, Bergleif Solsker. He joins as a Player/Under-21 Coach on a £100 a week contract until the end of next season.

Saturday 17th May 2014 - Faroese First Division

Gundadalur, Torshavn

HB Reserves (0) 2 MB (0) 3

Scorers : Suni Fridi Barba (50,59), Henning Joensen (82)

Attendance : 140

Eli Poulsen; Niels Danielsen, Kristoffur Vidtfeldt, Poul Meinhard Poulsen, Bergleif Solsker (Bjarni Niclasen 78); Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 78), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Suni Fridi Barba.

Man of the Match : Suni Fridi Barba (MB)

We make a return to Gundadalur, around a month after being dismantled here by B36. This time, we are here to face the bottom of the table side, HB Reserves. They held us to a draw at our place, I'm keen that we take the points from them today. If we're going to survive, and I believe we can, this is one of the teams we will be fighting against. New signing, Bergleif Solsker jumps straight into the centre back pair, while Niels Danielsen goes out to right back with Sveinur Ellefsen missing. Suni Fridi Barba steps into the striker slot with Thomas Hans Rubeksen injured.

The first half was a tight one. We didn't command possession as we usually do. Eli Poulsen looked nervous in goal, spilling a corner delivered right into his hands, having to rely on Kristoffur Vidtfeldt to hack the ball clear. The Henning Joensen/Suni Fridi Barba combination up top looked like it would need a little while to find it's feet.

With the game still goalless at the break, I implored the guys to keep pushing, I told them this game was there for the winning. And five minutes into the second half, we opened them up. Vidtfeldt bombed a long throw to the corner of the six yard box, Suni Fridi Barba held off a challenge, and from a very acute angle, found the top corner right under the crossbar to get his first goal of the season. He didn't take long to get his second, less than 10 minutes in fact. He collected a cross from Henning Joensen near the penalty spot with his back to goal, but spun his marker and slammed a low right footed shot into the bottom corner. The veteran was showing he was more than capable of leading the line here.

However, the bottom club weren't about to throw in the towel, and they got a goal back right away. Ellingsgaard found room down the left flank, and he floated a cross into the middle, where Andreas Heinesen arrived to glance a header home and bring HB back into the game. New boy, Solsker, was starting to show his lack of match fitness, and some changes were being made. The ball went out of play and the changes went ahead as HB prepared to take a corner. I know full well that changes shouldn't be made when you're about to defend a set piece, but they went ahead, and we paid. Johanessen headed a half cleared ball back into the box, Tunga headed it down, and Poul Thomas Dam smashed it in. I was furious, throwing away a 2 goal lead was not cool. I didn't have too long to reflect on that, as we snatched the lead back in double quick time. Barba turned provider this time, sending Kaj Mortensen into the clear. Lacking the pace to go alone, he cut back inside and sent it across goal, where Henning Joensen was on hand to sidefoot the ball into the net. I wasn't taking any chances this time. There has been almost zero changes in tactics and formations since I took charge here. I push the players into a defensive formation, 5 across the back, with Arnfinn Hansen jumping into that line, Hans Bogi Ellefsen sitting in the hole, and Henning Joensen dropping back into the middle three, with Barba left up top alone. HB had plenty of the ball in those final moments, but they simply couldn't break down our defence, or find any gaps to get around us. It's a second successive win, and three more valuable points on the board.

On the coach on the way home, I speak to Suni Findi Barba. I ask the 41 year old to reconsider his retirement plans. Maybe I haven't shown enough trust in him in the past, despite his excellent scoring rate in his career. In this one afternoon in the capital, she showed me I was wrong. He said he'd take some time to think about it, but that I shouldn't get my hopes up, as he hadn't been playing regularly lately. Well, that will be changing, let's hope he has a change of heart.

Saturday 24th May 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 B68 (1) 2

Scorers : None

Attendance : 100

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bergleif Solsker; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla (Esmar Fagraberg 74), Kaj Mortensen (inj - Poul Meinhard Poulsen 89); Henning Joensen; Suni Fridi Barba (Rene Hansen 74).

Man of the Match : Per Gregersen (B68)

B68 visit Midvagur, hoping to overtake B71 and go top of the table. Now halfway through the season, it's clear that at this level, there are games we can win, and there are games that are against teams a level above us, and that we'll struggle with. This one falls into the latter category. Sveinur Ellefsen returns at right back, and Magni Selfoss takes his spot at left back. Niels Danielsen and Bergleif Solsker will be looking to strike up a partnership at centre back.

The visitors took the lead with the first attack of any real note in the 17th minute. Gregersen had too much pace on the right wing, as he evaded Kaj Mortensen, and left Magni Selfoss for dead. His cross wasn't bad either, picking out his striker, Aron Sorensen, who headed back across goal and into the far corner. We managed just a single shot on target in the first half, Justinus Heini Krossla playing Henning Joensen into space in the box, but the keeper dived at his feet and blocked his shot well. Sorensen had a great chance for a second before the break, but with plenty of time to place the ball, he didn't get any power on the shot and Eli Poulsen caught it comfortably.

The game could, and should have been over a few minutes into the second half, Sorensen went in on goal, but instead of shooting, squared the ball to Hjollum, but he steered his shot wide with at least half a goal to shoot at. B68 did get their second to put the game to bed just after the hour mark. Johan David Hojgaard swung a corner to the far post, Oddur Arnason Hojgaard beat Kaj Mortensen in the air and headed it back across the goal, and it seemed to be heading wide, but Gregersen to arrived to knock it home, and we were done. We never looked like getting the one goal, two was far too much of an ask for us here.

[neilhoskins77]

Giza/Hoyvik have stolen our Coach. Eugen Voda was offered the assistant manager role by our rivals. I tried to talk him out of it, but he didn't take particularly kindly to that. He has upped and left, and while I could understand fully, I'm disappointed to lose someone who has helped us a great deal. We find a replacement, Welsh Coach, Jonathan Stazicker. While we're at it, we get ourselves an upgrade in the Assistant Manager role too. Romanian, Eusebiu Suvagau takes over the role, replacing Frodi Clemmensen, who leaves the club with immediate effect, his Amateur contract cancelled.

Saturday 31st May 2014 - Faroese First Division

Djupumyra, Klaksvik

Ki Reserves (1) 4 MB (0) 3

Scorers : Justinus Heini Krossla (63 pen), Jakup Helgi Olsen (76 o.g), Henning Joensen (78)

Attendance : 185

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bergleif Solsker; Arnfinn Hansen; Hans Bogi Ellefsen (capt), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen; Suni Fridi Barba.

Man of the Match : Henning Joensen (MB)

The trip to Klaksvik saw every emotion visited, often more than once. It was a roller-coaster afternoon, as we looked to leapfrog the hosts, they started the afternoon in 6th place, while we were snapping at their heels in 7th. An unchanged team took to the field for this one.

Our control of possession in the first half was superb. We spent large spells holding the ball and passing our way around, and through, the Ki defence. Yet it was the hosts who went in front, with four minutes remaining in the first half. A cross was headed clear by Arnfinn Hansen, but only as far as Lervig, who fed the ball back into the box, where Olavur Joensen curled a left footed shot around Eli Poulsen and put Ki in front at the break. The relative calm of the first half would mask what would soon become the bedlam of the second half.

Even when the hosts went two ahead in the 58th minute, there was no sign of what was to come. Justinus Heini Krossla tried a through ball that Henning Joensen got his studs to, but couldn't control it. Lisberg could though, and he set off down the right, sending the ball infield to Hans Jacobsen, who's shot from quite some distance out, dipped, swerved and curled beyond the reach of Poulsen and into the net, once again sparking questions in the young keeper's ability to stop shots from range. At two down, half hour left and away from home, the travelling fans would be forgiven for thinking we were done. I know I certainly was.

In the 63rd minute, Suni Fridi Barba collected the ball in the box with his back to goal. He paused, holding the ball up, waiting for his team mates to arrive in support. He certainly caught the defender unaware when he turned him sharply, and when he down over the defender's trailing leg, there was a brief pause before the ref awarded the penalty kick. Krossla didn't waste any time in sidefooting it into the bottom corner, and we had a way back. We pushed, and pushed, causing Ki some huge problems at the back, the goal galvanizing the team. And we broke them down, Sveinur Ellefsen went down the right at pace, but then caught out the defence by cutting back, and sending a low cross towards the penalty spot. Henning Joensen scuffed his shot somewhat, and I don't even know if it was going on target. If it was, the keeper was well on his way to dealing with it, until Jakup Helgi Olsen swung a boot to clear it, and sliced it straight across his own goal and inside the post. We were level, and the players celebrated in front of the away supporters. Two minutes later, they celebrated some more, Magni Selfoss broke up play on the edge of his box and launched a swift counter attack. He sent to the ball to Kaj Mortensen, who passed forward to Suni Fridi Barba. His through ball was perfectly weighted, and Henning Joensen arrived to steer it beyond the keeper and into the far corner. Unbelievable, we were in front!

In my head, the thought process was clear. I'll give it a couple of minutes, and I'll switch us to a defensive formation, and we can park the bus, before getting right back on it with three points in the bag. I was distracted slightly by a knock to Hans Bogi Ellefsen, and was keeping an eye on my skipper to see if he needed to be replaced. He seemed ok, but by the time I reached that conclusion, I'd missed the bus, so to speak. Dam delivered the corner, Nielsen knocked it down, Lisberg knocked it in with 83 minutes on the clock. I was gutted that we'd been hit with a set piece again, but I was ok with us stealing a point that looked highly unlikely 25 minutes ago. But we would be denied that too. Inside the final of the three minutes injury time, and another corner was delivered, this time right under the crossbar. In the melee that followed, the ref's whistle blew, and no-one had any idea what he had given, apart from a crestfallen Sveinur Ellefsen, who had pushed the ball off the whitewash with his hand, and been spotted by the eagle eyed assistant. We could do nothing but watch as Uni Petersen drilled his spot kick low and hard just to Eli Poulsen's right, and we've got no reward for our efforts.

It turns out that Hans Bogi Ellefsen wasn't fit enough to carry on. I mean, he did finish the game, but he shouldn't have done. He's suffered a thigh strain, and will miss up to 5 weeks. It's possible that I might not even be his manager when he gets back. I'm finding myself browsing through the 'jobs vacant' section of football websites more and more frequently these days. The certain knowledge that there is financial doom coming to a football stadium near me soon, means that sooner, rather than later, I'll have to move on from here to avoid being stuck on what I fear will become a sinking ship. That black hole in the bank account is getting larger by the week, and we're now well over £25k in debt.

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 7th June 2014 - Faroese First Division

Gundadalur, Torshavn

Giza/Hoyvik (0) 0 MB (0) 1

Scorers : Suni Fridi Barba (90)

Attendance : 87

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bergleif Solsker; Arnfinn Hansen; Esmar Fagraberg (Jens Erik Rasmussen 86), Justinus Heini Krossla (Lars Hansen 86), Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen (capt); Suni Fridi Barba.

Man of the Match : Bergleif Solsker (MB)

It's a big day for us as we move into June. Giza/Hoyvik are quite firmly entrenched in the relegation zone right now, and if we can pick up the win today, we'll put ten points between them and ourselves, making us a good bet to stay up, and giving them some big problems in staying up this campaign. Hans Bogi Ellefsen missing, Esmar Fagraberg comes into the line up, with Henning Joensen taking over the captain's role.

Shots were at a premium, Sverri Solheim Ellingsgaard missed the home sides best chance after a quarter of an hour. He got in clear from the corner of the penalty box, and opted for the power option with his finish, but it went just the wrong side of the post and into the side netting. The fans on the opposite side thought it was in. With midfield's dominating, we hadn't managed anything other than shots from distance. That changed in the 79th minute, when we created an absolutely golden opportunity. Arnfinn Hansen found a yard of space, and pushed the ball through to Suni Fridi Barba. The veteran striker did a good job of holding up the ball, and the home defence were clearly concerned about Henning Joensen, which left Justinus Heini Krossla unmarked and sent through on goal. 8 yards out, with the goal at his mercy, he dragged his shot wide as he shot across goal. The youngster had his head in his hands, and he wasn't the only one.

The game looked set for a stalemate. In the final minute, Magni Selfoss combined well with Kaj Mortensen down the left flank, and Mortensen found Suni Fridi Barba just inside the box. He evaded a tackle, before blasting his shot at the goal. The keeper fought off the effort, but the ball went straight back to Barba again. As he prepared a second shot, defender Olsen launched himself into a tackle that knocked Barba off his feet. Almost to a man, the team appealed for a penalty, but the ref was having none of it, and the ball was forced behind as our players surrounded the official. But Barba wasn't to be denied. The corner was collected by the keeper and cleared, but only to Bergleif Solsker. He drilled the ball down the middle of the park, and Barba was onto it, beating his man to get into the box, and smashing his shot right under the crossbar, before celebrating in front of some very annoyed home fans. That's a pretty big win for the club.

My mission to try and get myself a move away from Midvagur wasn't going too well. It's not an easy job convincing potential employers that you can make the move up from the second tier of Faroese football into a more 'illustrious' League. Add to that my preference for a club to be at least semi-professional, and it wasn't going to be an easy task. With the August-May Leagues all in their pre-season, there were jobs to apply for. I went for jobs in Sweden, Iceland, Belarus and Scotland without managing to secure an interview. What looked a good opening appeared when Premier League club, iF, sacked their manager. I was named as early third favourite for the job, and applied for the role. Unfortunately, they were unwilling to pay the compensation required to get me to the club. With me not being willing to resign, with no guarantee that I would be offered the job, we reached a deadlock unfortunately.

Saturday 14th June 2014 - Faroese Football Division

vid Margair, Eidi

EB/Streymur Reserves (0) 0 MB (1) 1

Scorers : Esmar Fagraberg (22)

Attendance : 175

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bergleif Solsker; Arnfinn Hansen; Esmar Fagraberg (Jens Erik Rasmussen 79), Justinus Heini Krossla (Lars Harsen 79), Kaj Mortensen (inj - Kristoffur Vidtfeldt 86); Henning Joensen (capt); Suni Fridi Barba.

Man of the Match : Esmar Fagraberg (MB)

Our third consecutive away game, and once again we find ourselves facing the side directly above us in the table. A win against our hosts would take us above them, and depending on results elsewhere, we could even sneak into the top half of the table. The team remains unchanged from that side that stole victory last time out.

Any fans looking for an action packed match, would have been hugely disappointed with this one. It was a day where the defence's prevailed on the whole, with the shooting massively wasteful. In fact, there was just one shot on target between the two teams throughout the whole game, and that shot brought the winning goal. Sveinur Ellefsen sent Justinus Heini Krossla into space down the right. Instead of trying to get into the box, he circled out towards the corner flag, before sending the ball to the edge of area. Esmar Fagraberg appeared set to hit it, but got a shout from Kaj Mortensen to leave it. Mortensen was quickly closed down, and sent the ball sideways where Fagraberg got a low drilled shot through a group of players. The keeper saw it late, and his despairing dive was fruitless, as the ball hit the bottom corner of the net to get Fagraberg off the mark for the season.

Maybe it was the arrival off summer at last, the day after the start of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but it wasn't sunshine football by either side particularly, as that was to be the only on target shot, and we scored our second consecutive away victory. With other results going our way, we push up to 5th place with 10 games remaining in the season. Eleven points away from the relegation zone, I'm pretty confident that we'll be safe now, that's if we don't go bankrupt. It's nearly £30k in the red now.

 [b][i][u]Faroese First Division Table - Up to & Including Sunday 15th June 2014[/u][/i][/b]

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 

| 1st   |       | B36             |       | 17    | 12    | 5     | 0     | 34    | 11    | +23   | 41    | 

| 2nd   |       | B68             |       | 17    | 12    | 1     | 4     | 37    | 16    | +21   | 37    | 
[color="#FF0000"] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 3rd   |       | TB              |       | 17    | 9     | 3     | 5     | 35    | 26    | +9    | 30    | 

| 4th   |       | B71             |       | 17    | 7     | 4     | 6     | 27    | 28    | -1    | 25    | 

[b][color="#0000CD"]| 5th   |       | MB              |       | 17    | 7     | 2     | 8     | 24    | 24    | 0     | 23    | [/color][/b]

| 6th   |       | KÍ 2            |       | 17    | 6     | 4     | 7     | 23    | 27    | -4    | 22    | 

| 7th   |       | EB/Streymur 2   |       | 17    | 6     | 2     | 9     | 22    | 26    | -4    | 20    | 

| 8th   |       | HB 2            |       | 17    | 3     | 6     | 8     | 26    | 36    | -10   | 15    | 
[color="#FF0000"]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/color]
| 9th   |       | Víkingur Gøta 2 |       | 17    | 2     | 6     | 9     | 18    | 37    | -19   | 12    | 

| 10th  |       | Giza/Hoyvík     |       | 17    | 2     | 5     | 10    | 20    | 35    | -15   | 11    | 

[oche balboa]

Are you in the cup?

Good work btw

[neilhoskins77]

No Cup football for us this season, not sure what the criteria is for us to be in next season. Thanks oche balboa, good to have you along again.

Saturday 21st June 2014 - Faroese First Division

Midvagur Stadium, Midvagur

MB (0) 0 B36 (2) 3

Scorers : None

Attendance : 111

Eli Poulsen; Sveinur Ellefsen, Magni Selfoss, Niels Danielsen, Bergleif Solsker; Arnfinn Hansen; Esmar Fagraberg (Jens Erik Rasmussen 82), Justinus Heini Krossla, Kaj Mortensen; Henning Joensen (capt); Suni Fridi Barba (inj - Lars Hansen 60).

Man of the Match : Simun Joensen (B36)

Our final game before the season goes into it's break, a visit from top of the table, and still unbeaten this season, B36. With confidence high after our wins on our travels, there was a belief that maybe today was the day we could take the scalp of one of the big sides in this League. As it turns out, we're still not even close to being good enough.

It only took us four minutes to get that sinking feeling too, Ari Ellingsgaard plays the ball into a huge gap down the right flank, Duurhuus got there to keep the ball in, and then produced some cross, getting it right into the far post, where Simun Joensen was unmarked, and scored with an easy header. Number two didn't take too long either, some nice passing through midfield, and Duurhuus was again the provider, slipping a pass out to the wide edge of the box, Ari Ellingsgaard went for a flair finish, lifting the ball over the stranded Eli Poulsen, who had come out to narrow the angle. It could have been three pretty quickly, Midjord hitting a shot on the turn that thumped the underside of the crossbar and was headed clear.

I wasn't particularly happy at the break, and I let the players know that. I was hoping it might get some kind of reaction from them. Just like our shooting from range, my team talk appeared to be wide of the mark, as just 5 minutes after the break, the visitors got their third. Henning Joensen tried to force a pass that was blocked, and the speed of B36 counter was far too much for us to cope with. Simun Joensen was free down the right, and he played a ball into space that not just one, but two defenders could, and should have dealt with. Neither did, and Holgar Duurhuus got involved again, latching onto the ball and guiding it inside the far post. We failed to manage a single shot on target, despite having just a tick under 60% of the ball. I'm disappointed, and struggling to see how we're going to get to the next level. And that level isn't promotion, it's competing with the clubs that are in the upper echelons of this Division.

Bjarni Niclasen and Jack Johansen both announce that they are retiring from professional football at the end of the season. They both intend continuing playing semi-pro though. I'm not sure why they felt the need to announce this, as neither is actually playing professional football. In fact, technically, neither is really playing at all right now.

Spain continue their domination of World Football by winning the World Cup in Brazil to retain their World Champion status. There were few shocks in the opening Group Stages. In Group D, England finished bottom of the pile after a defeat against the Ivory Coast, and draws with Argentina and South Korea. In the Second Round, Brazil were easy winners against Belgium, while Russia were beaten 4-3 by the USA. Argentina were surprisingly beaten by Uruguay after a penalty shootout, while Ivory Coast continued to show the progress of African football, claiming a 3-0 win over Cristiano Ronaldo's, Portugal. The following day brought wins for France and Italy, the latter beating Holland in a heavyweight clash. In the last of the Second Round clashes, Spain squeezed past Japan, while Germany needed a shootout to dispatch Mexico.

The Quarter-Finals were split into two very different days. A quirk of the draw and Qualifiers meaning the first day featured the four remaining non-European nations, while the four Euro countries would do battle the following day. Hosts, Brazil, ended Ivory Coast's great tournament with a 3-1 win at the Maracana. The had to come from behind, and rely on two goals from Neymar in the last 6 minutes. In the later game, USA progressed to the Semi-Final with a 1-0 win over Uruguay. The four European nations went to battle the following day, with the Germans going through first, with a 2-0 win over France. Ozil opened the scoring early, Sven Bender added a late second shortly after Patrice Evra was sent off. In Belo Horizonte, a Juan Mata goal was the difference between Italy and Spain.

That set up a clash between the hosts and the World Champions, with Spain winning 3-2 after extra time. In the game of the tournament, Pique put Spain ahead from the penalty spot, before Hulk equalised 5 minutes later. Tournament Golden Boot Winner, Jo (yeah, really), put Brazil in front just before the break with Spain down to 10 after Jordi Alba earned a straight red card. With the Champions grip on their title slipping, Fernando Llorente headed them level, and nearly halfway into the extra 30 minute spell, Iker Muniain booked Spain's place in the Final. In Rio, the run of the USA finally came to an end at the hands of Germany. A 73rd minute strike from Thomas Muller set up an all-European Final in South America. The hosts took third place with a 2-0 win over the USA, and Fernando Llorente guided Spain to back to back World Cups with a 75th minute winner in the Final.

[oche balboa]

All 18 Senior teams should enter regardless of which position/division they are in

Looks like whoever created the file has done the cup all wrong

[neilhoskins77]

All 18 Senior teams should enter regardless of which position/division they are in

Looks like whoever created the file has done the cup all wrong

I can't say I'm surprised to be honest. There's no way of testing them without playing them in some manner, and I can't criticise, because I couldn't make these Leagues active.

[neilhoskins77]

With three and a half weeks remaining before the season restarts in the Faroe Islands, the transfer window is a week away from closing. It once again looks like a quiet window in Midvagur, there are still no players willing to join the club who will enhance the squad in any way at all. It's also all quiet on the job front. I'm regularly checking the jobs board, but it's very hard to get interviews for jobs that you would think are pretty safe bets.

The situation changes just as the Faroese season is about to start up again. Early August see's some more jobs come up, and this time, I do get an interview. I attend the interview with the clubs Board. They are asking for the club to gain a respectable League position, which looks a fair request. The only other stipulation is that they would like to see young players signed, and for them to get an opportunity to play for the First Team, which is also a very reasonable request. I leave the interview feeling things have gone well.

The interview had gone well, they offered me the job. The job offer came the day before the season restarted. I asked for a week to think things over, the main thing to consider being that the new club are an amateur club. With a game due for MB, I put my assistant in charge for their trip to TB, which they lost 1-0. I didn't attend the game, fuelling talk that I was about to leave. My prospective new employers came back to me a week later, eager to hear my response. I couldn't resist the chance to move, and accepted their offer. My reign at MB had come to an end after around 19 months. I have enjoyed my time at the club immensely, and in many ways, I'd like to have stayed longer. But the sense that the club will hit financial freefall sooner rather than later had been a big part of my decision. I'll be keeping an eye on my now former club, and I hope they can find a way to take the next step forward. But for me, my attention now switches to my new club, and the challenges that I face with them......

MB Record

29/1/2013 - 8/8/2014

GP 36. W 16. D 9. L 11. GF 52. GA 45. GD +7. Win Percentage 44%.

Honours :- Faroese Second Division Champions - 2013

[oche balboa]

Out of interest mate

Where did you get the Faroe Islands File from?

[neilhoskins77]

Out of interest mate

Where did you get the Faroe Islands File from?

I think it came from fm-base.

[neilhoskins77]

I packed up my small appartment in Midvagur, head to Torshavn, and wait for my flight. But where is my flight headed? Well, I'm staying in Scandinavia, but I'm headed from the west, to the east of the area, Finland in fact. My flight will take me to Helsinki, where I'll be met by a member of the club staff, and driven to the town I will now call home. My new club are called IFK Jacobstad, based on the west coast of Finland in a town known as Pietarsaari, but seemingly called Jacobstad by all who have heard of it. The club currently ply their trade in Group D of the Finnish Third Division, which is the Fourth Tier of football in this country. The town is populated by a bit over 200,000 people, but this football team is a new one, founded as recently as 2007. We share the town with the established team, Premier League club, FF Jaro. Surprisingly perhaps, there is no affiliation between the clubs at all. We do however share a stadium with them, the 5,700 capacity Keskuskentta Stadium, which includes 2,000 seats. The stadium was built in 1971, and is a bit outdated now, with the facilities all pretty basic. The pitch is horrendous, but I guess the positive is that it's not synthetic. Whether it will be good enough for the passing football I like my teams to play, is however, a different question.

The squad has 18 players in the Senior Squad when I arrive, one of them on loan. Three of those players are scheduled to retire at the end of the current campaign. Half of that squad are just 17 years of age. There are another half a dozen players in the clubs Under-19 squad. With less than 24 hours till the clubs next game, the assistant is in charge, and I take a seat in the stands, eager to see my new players in action. The game is away to FC Ulvila, who sit two spots below us in the League. The side do well, winning 2-1. There are 8 games left for me to run the rule over the players and staff at the club. The club is in a decent financial position at the moment, having a balance just under £25k.

I take my first press conference on the Monday morning. The press express their surprise that I applied for, and took this job. In fact, they all but accused me of a lack of ambition. I let them know that I'm very happy to be here at my new club, and I hope to steer them to new heights in the not too distant future. The media took the chance to trap the new boy too, asking me if I envisage it being a problem that I don't speak Finnish. I wasn't falling for that though, I'd done my homework and knew that a large percentage of the people in this area speak Swedish. I hate the press conferences, and when I get out on the training ground, I tell my assistant that he can deal with the press in the future. My assistant is a Finnish 32 year old by the name of Olli-Pekka Tuomi. He gave me some info on the players in the squad as we watched the training session. There are only three other members of staff, A Head of Youth Development, a Head Physio, and a Chief Scout. They are all told they will have until the end of the season to show what they can do, and I'll make a decision on their long term futures at the club in the close season.

I seem to have made a rival within a week of arriving in Finland, though this manager isn't even in my Division. The Brazilian manager of Kings SC, is a gentleman by the name of Silva. He has taken his team to the top of Third Division Group A, and expressed his shock at my arrival in Finland before I'd even had my press conference. Now on the eve of my first game in charge of IFK Jakobstad, he didn't take too much convincing to have another dig at what he perceived to be a 'dead end manager at a dead end team.' It's safe to say that I hope we get an opportunity to meet Kings SC, sooner rather than later.

 [b][u]Finnish Third Division, Group D. Up to & Including Friday 15th August 2014[/u][/b]

[i][b]| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | [/b][/i]
| 1st   |       | TP-47         |       | 18    | 13    | 4     | 1     | 38    | 9     | +29   | 43    | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
| 2nd   |       | Norrvalla FF  |       | 18    | 9     | 7     | 2     | 23    | 12    | +11   | 34    | 
| 3rd   |       | STPS          |       | 18    | 9     | 4     | 5     | 24    | 15    | +9    | 31    | 
| 4th   |       | KP-V          |       | 18    | 9     | 4     | 5     | 21    | 16    | +5    | 31    | 
| 5th   |       | Kajo          |       | 18    | 8     | 5     | 5     | 18    | 17    | +1    | 29    | 
| 6th   |       | Lahen Pojat   |       | 18    | 7     | 7     | 4     | 20    | 15    | +5    | 28    | 
[b][color="#0000CD"]| 7th   |       | IFK Jakobstad |       | 18    | 6     | 8     | 4     | 21    | 19    | +2    | 26    | [/color][/b]
| 8th   |       | LTU           |       | 18    | 5     | 5     | 8     | 18    | 20    | -2    | 20    | 
| 9th   |       | FC Ulvila     |       | 18    | 3     | 9     | 6     | 14    | 21    | -7    | 18    | 
| 10th  |       | Team Vanpa    |       | 18    | 3     | 9     | 6     | 11    | 21    | -10   | 18    | 
| 11th  |       | FC Korsholm   |       | 18    | 4     | 5     | 9     | 18    | 20    | -2    | 17    | 
| 12th  |       | YlöR          |       | 18    | 5     | 1     | 12    | 14    | 26    | -12   | 16    | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
| 13th  |       | EuPa          |       | 18    | 3     | 6     | 9     | 13    | 27    | -14   | 15    | 
| 14th  |       | Sibbo V       |       | 18    | 3     | 4     | 11    | 12    | 27    | -15   | 13    | 

[neilhoskins77]

The transfer window in Finland is open until the end of August, and I have my scout working hard. As you're about to see, the squad lacks depth, and I'm hoping to address that in the next few weeks. The plan is to implement the formation I used at MB, allowing the players to get used to it and be ready to hit the ground running next season. Hopefully, if I can do most of my business in this window, it means that any new players will get the same time to get used to what I ask of them. But with the day of my first game in charge arriving, it's time to introduce you to the players who are currently at the club.

Goalkeepers.

Pasi Katajamaki. 39 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 6'4. Amateur. Goalkeeper.

Career Appearances : 32. Career Goals : 0.

His second season with the club, and it will be his last, as the veteran goalkeeper is planning to retire at the end of the season. Has never been a number one choice in his career, but has shared keeper duties this season.

Anders Nilsson. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 6'3. Amateur. Goalkeeper.

Career Appearances : 7. Career Goals : 0.

His second season at the club, and he has had his first Senior football. But the youngster's season is over, he has knee tendonitis and is out for up to 8 months. With Pasi retiring, a new keeper is high on the shopping list.

--------------------------------------------

Defenders.

Mathias Emet. 25 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'10. Amateur. Right Back.

Career Appearances : 42. Career Goals : 3.

One of the clubs better players this season. Joined the club last season and has been a regular ever since. He has five man of the match awards this season to date, but only one assist, which should be a higher for a player of his crossing ability.

Daniel Snellman. 40 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 6'0. Amateur. Striker, Central Defender, Right Back.

Career Appearances : 211. Career Goals : 20.

Veteran Daniel is also scheduled to retire at the end of this campaign. A natural striker, who as his goalscoring record suggests, is a better defender. Our lack of depth at the back means he has to be used as a defender right now.

William Catenacci. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'7. Amateur. Right Back, Right Wing Back.

Career Appearances : 8. Career Goals : 1.

A promising teenage right back who is currently in the Under-19's, but has had a bit of First Team experience this season. A born leader, this lad is projected to be a future club captain by the backroom staff.

Christian Gerth. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'11. Amateur. Right Back, Right Wing Back.

Career Appearances : 4. Career Goals : 1.

Another teenage right back prospect. He has a goal and an assist in his four Senior games this season. Also part of the Under-19 squad right now, but it's clear that we're ok for right back's at the moment.

Daniel Lindvall. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'8. Amateur. Left Back.

Career Appearances : 13. Career Goals : 0.

Daniel is the only left back at the club right now, and it's been a tough baptism season for the youngster. It looks like he has been out of his depth a little at times, and it would be beneficial to bring in another left back so he can be developed properly.

Jonas Sandlin. 36 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 6'1. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 103. Career Goals : 4.

The current Club Captain, Jonas is the heartbeat of the club right now. A born leader, but now entering the twilight years of his career. Can cover at left back and defensive midfield, which should help him see some game time.

Emil Pettersson. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'11. Amateur. Central Defender.

Career Appearances : 3. Career Goals : 0.

Has had a couple of games this season, but if I'm being honest, that says more about the lack of defensive depth than it does about Emil's ability. A hard working, team player, but not First Team ready yet, and again shows our need for reinforcements at the back.

Anssi Markkula. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 6'1. Youth Contract. Central Defender, Defensive Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 13. Career Goals : 0.

On loan from Premier League club, VPS. Has four appearances at the top level to his name. Looks a good player, and I'll be looking to making the most of having him at the club.

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[neilhoskins77]

Midfielders.

Magnus Ekstrom. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'10. Amateur. Defensive Midfielder, Central Midfielder, Left Winger.

Career Appearances : 10. Career Goals : 0.

A versatile young midfielder who has featured occasionally for the First Team this season, but hasn't yet made any real impact. I think my system may suit his game more than the previous manager's.

Dennis Boklund. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'7. Amateur. Defensive Midfielder, Central Midfielder, Striker.

Career Appearances : 11. Career Goals : 0.

A youngster who has been in and around the First Team squad all season, but has yet to settle down and find his niche. Hasn't been particularly effective to date, and will struggle for game time I think.

Daniel Fellman. 24 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'8. Amateur. Left Midfielder, Left Attacking Midfielder, Central Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 76. Career Goals : 12.

Has played in the Premier League in the past for cross town rivals, FF Jaro. His second season at the club, he looks to have several good attacking qualities.

Ulf Wikman. 39 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'10. Amateur. Central Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 33. Career Goals : 0.

A late comer to Senior football, as he had never played at this level until joining us last season. He is due to retire at the end of the campaign, but has been a regular this season for the club.

Joel Kaitfors. 20 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'9. Amateur. Central Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 36. Career Goals : 3.

The club's newly appointed Vice-Captain. Picked out by the staff as one of the stand out players at the club. Certainly looks to be one of the better passers of a ball that I've inherited, and my system could be right up his street.

Jacob Nilsson. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'9. Amateur. Central Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 3. Career Goals : 0.

A promising looking midfielder who can also operate in a more advanced attacking role too. Looks a very steady type of player, and not shy of making a tackle by the look of it.

Simon Bengtsson. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 6'3. Amateur. Central Midfielder, Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 15. Career Goals : 0.

A big, strong and aggressive teenager who isn't afraid to use his size in the middle of the park, but isn't as good in the air as you'd expect from a player of his size. Has been used off the bench primarily this season.

Mathias Smeds. 28 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'8. Amateur. Left, Central, Right Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 16. Career Goals : 3.

I'm told that Mathias is one of our best players. Looks to be the equivalent of Henning Joensen back at MB, capable of sitting behind the striker and creating and scoring goals from there.

-------------------------------------------

Strikers.

Pontus Frick. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'8. Amateur. Striker, Left Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 8. Career Goals : 2.

The young striker has all the attributes of a quality striker, but is a little lacking in size. His pace will be a great option against tired defences, and he has bagged his first Senior goals this season.

Mikko Venetpalo. 28 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'11. Amateur. Striker, Central Attacking Midfielder.

Career Appearances : 37. Career Goals : 9.

Has fallen down the Leagues in recent years in an attempt to find a home where he can make his mark. The club's top scorer this season with 6 goals to date, looks a decent all-round striker.

Jens Lindgren. 17 years old. Uncapped. Finnish. 5'10. Amateur. Striker.

Career Appearances : 9. Career Goals : 1.

His first year at the club has seen him break into the First Team setup and net a goal. I think a big striker will be sourced, the club have a record of barely over 1 goal per game average right now, and Lindgren's opportunities may be limited for now.

[oche balboa]

I think it came from fm-base.

Cheers mate

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 16th August 2014 - Finnish Third Division, Group D

Keskuskentta Stadium, Pietarsaari

IFK Jakobstad (1) 1 YloR (0) 0

Scorers : Arto Sariola (39 o.g)

Attendance : 204

Pasi Katajamaki; Mathias Emet, Daniel Lindvall, Jonas Sandlin (capt), Anssi Markkula; Magnus Ekstrom; Daniel Fellman (Ulf Wikman 81), Simon Bengtsson (Jacob Nilsson 76), Joel Kaitfors; Mathias Smeds; Mikko Venetpalo (Pontus Frick 81).

Man of the Match : Daniel Lindvall (IFK Jakobstad)

The sun was shining for my first game in charge of IFK Jakobstad, and the visitors were YloR, who were only just outside the relegation zone, and had lost their last 5 consecutive games. The lads had done some hard work in training this week, getting the new formation and tactics drilled into their heads. With set piece routines to learn as well, it was a long week for the players. As well as that going on, I was busy alongside the Chief Scout, going through the players he already had knowledge of, and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of reports he had already. Some offers of amateur contracts have been made, and we'll see what happens with them next week.

On the pitch, the performance was considerably more impressive than the scoreline suggested. It was about as dominant a 1-0 win you will ever see. Pasi Katajamaki made the first save of the game, tipping over a swirling cross that threatened to loop over his head and under the crossbar. After that, he was basically a glorified sweeper for us. The full backs were both looking impressive, relishing the opportunity to get forward and provide the width, in particular Daniel Lindvall on the left, who earned himself man of the match, and threw down the challenge to any left back who should sign for the club. In midfield, Joel Kaitfors stole the show. The goal came from a set piece, which is always nice after working hard on them. Kaitfors delivered a corner, and on loan centre back, Anssi Markkula planted a header against the cross bar, but as it bounced down, it hit the shoulder of Arto Sariola, who was still on his post, and dropped into the net. I'm happy with that start, and we nudge up to 6th place. Our next 3 games are all against teams that currently sit above us.

First thing on the Monday morning, I get confirmation that a very keen, and very excited to be here, Johan Karlsson, has turned up at the training ground, clutching a signed copy of the amateur contract we sent him. The 17 year old is the `big striker' that I was looking for to try and hold up the ball and make a general nuisance of himself up front. This 6'3 lad is more than capable of that. He has been playing non-League football with Esse IK this season, netting 5 goals in 21 outings for them. The fact that he can also play in the attacking midfield role as well is an added bonus. Karlsson is quickly joined by a pair of defenders, who also return their signed contracts. 28 year old, Hannu Tuomi, is a 6'4 centre back, who can also play at full back on either side of the defence. He's been playing for Ajax Sarkkiranta in the Third Division Group A this season, and is exceptionally athletic for a big lad. Alongside him, is 22 year old central defender, Knutur Samuelsson. He's even bigger at 6'6, and has been playing for Third Division Group C mid table side, FC Kuffen. A fourth player arrived in midweek, a much needed goalkeeper. 26 year old Matti Tervasmaki was comfortably the best option found by the scout when looking for a keeper, the 6'2 stopper has played 20 times this season for Third Division Group E club, IK, and was also their club captain. The final signing of the week is another defender, 20 year old Matias Kalliokoski. The 6'0 centre back is very mobile, quick, and superb in the air. He's been playing for Norvalla FF, who are currently 2nd in our Division, and we face them at the end of the month. He has played at a higher level, spending last season in the Second Division North with GBK.

[neilhoskins77]

Saturday 23rd August 2014 - Finnish Third Division, Group D

Kyronniemi, Savonlinna

STPS (1) 2 IFK Jakobstad (0) 0

Scorers : None

Attendance : 239

Pasi Katajamaki; Hannu Tuomi, Daniel Lindvall, Jonas Sandlin (capt - Knutur Samuelsson 86), Anssi Markkula; Magnus Ekstrom; Daniel Fellman (Jacob Nilsson 86), Simon Bengtsson (Johan Karlsson 72), Joel Kaitfors; Mathias Smeds; Mikko Venetpalo.

Man of the Match : Zakaria Abahassine (STPS)

We take a trip to face 5th placed club, STPS, or to give them their full name, Savonlinnan Seudun Jalkapallo. I can see why it's been shortened. A win today would send us above our opponents, and depending on other results, we could go as high at 3rd. Right back, Mathias Emet, is suspended after picking up a yellow card in the last game. His place is taken by new signing, Hannu Tuomi. Three of the other new signings are on the bench for this game.

We were second best throughout the majority of this game. Even though we had more of the ball, the hosts always looked more dangerous with it. In particular, their striker, Zakaria Abahassine, was causing us huge problems. He was constantly dragging our defenders around by pulling out wide, or dropping deep, creating room for his team-mates. He got the opening goal 5 minutes before the break. He was sent in on goal down the left channel after a through pass by Ikonen. He attempted to cut the ball back across goal, but Jonas Sandlin blocked it, however the ball dropped straight back to the striker, and he curled his shot into the far corner. We had an almost immediate chance to level. Mikko Venetpalo picked the ball up deep, and played a reverse pass in for Mathias Smeds. He was about 30 yards from goal, and didn't have the pace to go himself as the defence converged. He slipped the ball wide to Joel Kaitfors, but his shot was well off target.

I went for an encouraging team talk at the break, but there was very little response from the players on this occasion. The only real chance we created in the second half again fell to Smeds, this time around 20 yards out. He didn't appreciate how much time he had, and took his shot early, beating the keeper, but the shot rattled off the underside of the crossbar. I made a change with around 20 minutes to go, Bengtsson coming off, Johan Karlsson coming on for a debut, going into the attacking midfield role to try and get Venetpalo into the game more, with Smeds dropping back into the midfield three. But it wasn't to be, and just over 5 minutes later we were sliced open through the middle, with Abahassine through again. This time, Pasi Katajamaki made the stop, blocking his shot, but the ball bounced up perfectly for Marko Huttu to head over the prone keeper and into the net to secure the win for STPS.

Wednesday 27th August 2014 - Finnish Third Division, Group D

Keskuskentta, Pietarsaari

IFK Jakobstad (0) 0 KP-V (0) 2

Scorers : None

Attendance : 256

Matti Tervasmaki; Mathias Emet, Daniel Lindvall, Jonas Sandlin (capt), Anssi Markkula; Magnus Ekstrom; Jacob Nilsson, Simon Bengtsson (Daniel Fellman 71), Joel Kaitfors (Mikko Venetpalo 71); Johan Karlsson; Mathias Smeds (Pontus Frick 71).

Man of the Match : Vesa Koskinen (KP-V)

The second of the games we're expected to struggle in, and I make some changes so I can take a look at some different players, combinations, and some players in different positions as well. This will enable me to see if my players can move into other positions and perform to a decent level and be relied upon to cover those positions, or if I will need to go forward with a larger squad and have back up players around. New keeper, Matti Tervasmaki, gets his first opportunity to stake his claim to be first choice next season. Mathias Emet returns at right back, Jacob Nilsson starts in centre midfield with Daniel Fellman dropping to the bench. Teenager, Johan Karlsson, gets a start, going into the attacking midfield role, and asked to hold the ball up, and be willing to move into the channels to provide width and move their defenders around. I've seen enough of Mikko Venetpalo to work out why he has had to move down the Leagues, he doesn't look to me to have a strikers instinct. I give Mathias Smeds a shot at the striking role, Venetpalo drops to the bench.

I don't mind telling you that we were the better side in the first half. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that we bossed the game, giving third placed visitors, KP-V, all they could handle in the opening half. Their keeper, Ville Lempinen, made two really good stops to keep the game all square at the break. Simon Bengtsson drove down the right, linking well with firstly Mathias Emet, and then Mathias Smeds. He cut into the box, and drove a low left footed shot that the keeper not only stopped, but held as well. He was also alert to stop a good quick shot from Johan Karlsson. The teenage forward had looked pretty lively in the first half, and found the ball at his feet just before the break, shooting through the crowd, but Lempinen pushed it away. All square at the interval.

I was happy with the way things were going, but that wouldn't last long. Jacob Nilsson was looking very comfortable in his role in the centre of the three, and was putting in an impressive outing. He wasn't shy of making tackles, a perfectly timed sliding tackle on the edge of the centre circle, but Karlsson wasn't expecting the ball to run to him, and was dispossessed. The KP-V counter attack was lethal. Kusa lofted the ball forward, and Petteri Pajanen beat Anssi Markkula in the air to knock it on for Uusipaikka. He went past Jonas Sandlin with pure pace, and drilled a shot that Tervasmaki stopped tremendously. But the loose ball fell to the lethal Pajanen, and he adjusted his body well to keep the bouncing ball down, and strike the opener in the 50th minute. That gave the visitors confidence, and they started playing some lovely football. They got a second goal in the 70th minute. Kula's corner was partially cleared, and the ball was worked back to him. His second cross picked out defender, Vesa Koskinen, who volleyed his third goal of the season. It's an interesting goalscorer, as Koskinen is on our radar after being highlighted by my scout, and is currently considering a contract offer from us. If he joins, he'll have the upper hand in the dressing room banter stakes now. I made my changes after the second goal, but the damage was done. What have we learnt from this midweek game? Well, there is still plenty of work to do if we're going to compete with the top end sides in this Division next season, as only one of them is going to be promoted. The players have to train harder to learn the systems, as that is taking a while, with them only training a few times a week. Also, myself and my backroom team need to work harder to improve the quality of the players in the squad. There are however, some contract offers out on some decent players, and I'm hoping that reinforcements will be here sooner, rather than later, with the deadline for transfers on Sunday night.