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Turns out if we do manage to beat Luton in the FA Cup replay, we will get our home match. We would host either West Ham or Bolton in the Sixth Round.
Feb. 20, Match 35 v. #14 Sunderland
The Black Cats have rallied following a disasterous start to the season. A terrible first half results in a 0-0 game at halftime. I tell the team I am disappointed with them at halftime, and it seems to help, as we get a good shot on target in the first 30 seconds of half #2. The team goes flat shortly thereafter, and we try to help, bringing Hagman on in the 78th minute, but it makes no difference.
Draw, 0-0, remain 3rd – 3 pts. behind 2nd place Norwich
We remain 3rd on 61 pts., but there are 4 teams within 4 points of us… so we must defend against a lull here. We need to keep getting good results, and try to put pressure on the top 2 so we can avoid the playoffs. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and I hope we can avoid them and just go straight up.
Feb. 23, Match 36 @ #19 Queen’s Park Rangers
We come out in our 4-4-2 counter formation, with Kabongo and Hagman up front. Aime Lavie is called for a foul in the air on a cross into the box, and QPR get a penalty in the 8th minute… and convert it. Just 4 minutes later, Rangers strike again, and we’re in big trouble at Loftus Road. We switch to our attacking 4-2-3-1 just 15 minutes in. After a few close calls, we finally get a goal, as Tommy Spurr’s free kick from across midfield drops perfectly to the penalty spot for Hagman, and he volleys it in. 2-1 at the 41st minute. I tell the team that we’re still in the game at halftime, and we come out looking dangerous in the 2nd half. We have at least 3 shots parried by the keeper, but can’t get anybody to finish the rebounds. We bring on an extra striker, but Malcolm Christie almost seems like he’s missing out of spite at this point. We lose.
Loss, 2-1, remain 3rd – 4 pts. behind 2nd
We’ve hit a bit of a bad patch here… hopefully we can snap out of it before our mid-week encounter with Luton in the FA Cup replay.
Carling Cup Final
Tottenham H. 0:2 Chelsea
Feb. 27, FA Cup Fifth Round Replay v. Luton
In the 20th minute, we get on the board… Barragan’s cross is tipped away by the keeper, but Hagman is waiting behind him to tap it in. The Luton defenders are having all kinds of problems with Hagman and Jansen, collecting 3 cards in the first half hour. Luton equalize just after the break, after we gave the ball away much too easily in midfield. Luton switch to a 5-4-1 at the 60th minute, just trying to hold the draw through to extra time. Time is ticking away, and we’ve made all 3 subs by the 83rd minute… looks like we’re headed to extra time. In extra time, Luton are barely interested in scoring… they’re just sending long balls up the wings when they get possession. In the 108th minute, the crowd goes into raptures when Berg heads in a Borbely cross… but he was offsides. We go to penalty kicks after an uneventful extra 30 minutes.
Penalty kicks:
Round 1:
Hatters: Score
Posh: ST Simon Hagman - Saved
Round 2:
Hatters: Saved
Posh: M Andrej Mlinaric - Saved
Round 3:
Hatters: Score
Posh: D Aime Lavie - Score
Round 4:
Hatters: Need a stop here… but we don’t get it. Score.
Posh: D David Van Den Broeck… Score.
Round 5:
Hatters: We MUST have a stop here to stay in it. But Cuellar can’t make the save, and we fall to Luton, 4-2 on PK’s.
Loss, 1-1 (4-2 on PK’s), out of FA Cup
Our penalty taking is pretty awful. We only had 3 players on the field who rated above 10 during the penalty taking phase, and 2 of them were defenders. Hagman is only a 5, and Mlinaric was a surprise miss.
We finish February on a downturn, losing our last 2 matches, and going 2-2-3 overall, and 2-1-2 in league.
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