FM - Rise of Slovakia - Nitra's Power - COMPLETE?

[Abe Sargent]

As you can see Streda is right behind us with one point in 3rd, Slvan two points in 4th and Zilina has basically won.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Qual Game #6 – Home vs Senica – I begin standard. This time we have them at home, will it matter? Vrancic to Bruno, goal ,3rd minute. Looks like it might! They have a card a few minutes later. And then…. Nothing. Not until the late 30s. Half, we finish with 8 shots to their 3. Don’t get complacent. This is a team that beat us and tied us twice before. Don’t sleep on them. Pinter for Bilbao. Ederson for a poorly playing Jungr and I swap him and Yurchenko. Yurchenko with a card. I send in Kona for him I don’t wanna get two cards. This game is too tight as it is. 4 minutes. Can we hold? We do! Credit to them for playing so well. They have kept us to 1 goal in three games!

Streda lost to Slovan Bratislava

[Abe Sargent]

May

4th – Away vs Streda
11th – Away vs Trnava
18th – Away vs Zilina
25th – Home vs Slovan Bratislava

Good training – Bruno, Kamenik, Milic

That’s a rough ending to the quals.

Bruno was 2nd for Player of the Month

EURO Qual Game #7 – Away vs Streda. We begin defensive. We haven’t been in this game in the first 16 minutes but we’ve kept them from scoring. Jungr to Milovac for goal in the 17th. A few quiet minutes melt into the future. Jungr is booked. They get a card. I send in Ederson for Jungr. Krasic to Bruno, goal, extra time. We are up 2-0 at the half. Don’t get complacent! They get a 2nd yellow at the 62nd minute mark. I make my 11-10 changes. I send in Militosyan after Bruno gets a card. Ederson is injured and I send in Walkes. They get another card. We hold and win 2-0, MOM is Milovac.

That was a quality win!

Ederson is out for the rest of the season

We are now four points north of 3rd with that win and three games to go

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Qual Game #8 – Away vs Trnava. Can I get as good of a result away from home as I did previously at home? I begin countering. They push aside an early push by us. They score in the 17th. We lightly injure a Trnava player and then they get a card in the same minute. I put in Kona for an injured Jungr. Half, 1-0 them. They have 7 shots to our 8. Show me something else!!! We give away a PK in the 53rd and they sink in. Walkes for Vrancic. Walkes to Krasic for a goal in the 63rd and we are now down 1-2. Pinter for Bilbao who gave away the penalty. They get another card. In the 86th we give away another PK.


Well we didn’t have Trnava’s number that time! Well if you had told me we would get three points from our away matches against the tough Streda and Trnava, I would have guessed it, just the wrong results.

Zilina has won

What will they bring against us?

Jungr was only out for a few days.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Qual Game #9 – Away vs Zilina – This is the rough one. I begin defensive. Can we steal any points today? It’d help! We didn’t get any points when we hosted them. A quiet early part of the game. They score in the 12th. They score in the 13th. It’s going to be one of those days. I pull an injured Jungr for Kona. Again. Krasic to Bruno, goal, 31st minute. We are massively outclassed today. In the first half they have 14 shots to our 1. We injure one of their players in the 55th. Pinter for Bilbao. I pull Milanovic after he gets a car.d. Walkes heads in for him. Bruno to Kona, goal, 73rd minute. That ties things up! Can we hold and steal a point? Right now #3 Slovan Bratislava are beating Trnava so we would be tied if we lost today. Here they come! They get a card. 5 minutes of extra time. They score in the 93rd minute. It’s not meant to be. Bruno to Krasic, goal in the 95th minute! It is to be!!!!!!



Let me show you how crazy these stats are. 30 shots by them to 10 by us. Crazy.

Jungr will miss the final and we’ll start Kona at DMC and my stud Ukrainian at AMC.

We go into the final match being up by one point on Slovan Bratislava, so we can tie and get 2nd against them

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Qual Game #10 – Home vs Slovan Bratislava – I begin standard. Are you ready? Alons y! They get a card after tripping Wohlfarth at the 0:54 mark. We push aside their early momentum. Wohlfarth to Bruno on a nasty counter in the 21st. We each have drives that show nothing. Half 1-0 us. We have 8 shots, 5 on target to their 11 and 3. We have just 45% of the possession. Don’t. Get. Complacent. Pinter for an underperforming Mitrea. Kamenik for an underperforming Krasic. Walkes for Vrancic. Wohlfarth to Bruno, goal, 83rd. They score back in the 86th. That gives them a way back in. Five minutes of injury time.



We hold and win 2-1!

[Abe Sargent]

We secure 2nd place.



Here’s the table!

As you can see, Streda won their match and leapfrogged over Slovan Bratislava. We get another EURO qualification!

[Abe Sargent]

Here are my goals for the team:

1. Year 1 - Establish a youth squad. Nitra has very little – CHECK Year One!
2. Stay up this year – CHECK Year One!
3. Get a mid-table finish comfortably – CHECK Year One!
4. Year 2 - Next year get to the top half of the league and begin to play for EURO play in the playoffs – CHECK ONE YEAR EARLY!
5. Turn Nitra into a power that can rival the major team in this league – Slovan Bratislava, CHECK Year Two!!
6. Win a Slovak Pohar – CHECK Year One!
7. Win the Fortuna
8. Qualify for Champions play.
9. Turn Nitra into an Eastern European heavyweight on the level of a Sparta Prague or CSKA Moscow.
10. Secure Nitra well enough that it’ll survive after the manager leaves



We really pushed Slovan Bratislava around this year with three wins and one tie. We now can beat them reliably. I almost considered the EURO Heavyweight after our awesome EURO campaign but we need to win our division first.

[Abe Sargent]

Stats!

Keeping

GK Jimenez – 35 goals allowed, 5th best. 10 shutouts, 4th best. 66 saves held, 1st; 54 saves parried; 1st.

Good job Javi!


Defending

Tackles per Game – Ederson was 3rd with 4.87,,

Key tackles – Milanovic was 7th with 21; Bilbao 11th;

Key Headers – Mitrea 2nd with 61; Milanovic tied for 2nd with 61;

Interceptions Made- Milanovic 1st with 166; Mitrea was 4th with 140

Headers Won % - Milanovic – 5th with 92%

Shots Blocked – Milanovic 1st with 9; Bilbao 2nd with 7; Mitea 5th with 6


Offending

Goals – Bruno and Wohlfarth each had 14 and were tied for 5th; Jungr 7; Dodoi 6

Shots – Wohlfarth 8th with 75

Shots on Target – Wohlfarth 9th with 32

% Shots on target – Dodoi 13th with 50%

With 60 our team had the 2nd most goals

Asst -Krasic 2nd with 12, Wohlfarth 5th with 9, Bruno 10th with 7. Jungr had 6

Key passes – Krasic 11th with 37

Chances Created – Krasic 7th with 20

Pass Completion % - Yurchenko 2nd with 86%

Dribbles/Game – Krasic 9th with 2.37

[Abe Sargent]

Roster for Next Year Eval

GK Jimenez – 3 – He is locked in. He was my best acquisition this year,

DC Mitrea – 2 – Age keeps him at 2, but he’s a rock and was my 2nd best acquisition this year. I’m not looking to move him.

DC Milanovic – 3 – Late 20s rock. I have no desire to move from him,

DC Bilbao – 2- A full year of starts but never took over like his defensing partners.

DMC Yurchenko – 3 – A rock and super star.

MC Vrancic – 2 – Age at 33 means he is replaceable.

MR Krasic – 3 - Plays the game quite well

ML Milovac – 2 – Plays the game okay. I might move him to rotation, see below.

AMC Jungr – 1 – Actively looking to move on from Jungr

ST Wohlfarth – 1 – 34 years old, I move him to rotation. I don’t look to start him next year.

ST Bruno – 2 – We’ll be forced to sell him just like Dodoi and I need to have the next man up


We are losing:

Chovanec – retirement
Ederson – Contract end
Kona – Contract end

I will need these players:


1. A striker that looks like a good tag-team partner with Bruno.
2. An AMC strong enough to keep Jungr on the bench.
3. Either an ML good enough to bench Milovac or a young ML I can develop.
4. A player who can play all three inner center spots as Rotation good enough to start when needed.
5. A future MC for Vrancic I can learn.

I am set at GK, MR, DC, and DMC.

[Abe Sargent]

Bruno earned a salary hike to 850/week.

My budget next year is set at 65k/week and my transfer is 550k

Alright I take a look to see if any July folks are wanting to come our way.

I make offers to some young players that are scouting well. I’ll let you know if any are of a Kamenik or Bruno persuasion.

I am scouting some players coming free.

Tottenham 2-0 AC Milan for the EURO

Dodoi led the EURO with 15 goals.

I head to the board, I’d like more scouts and coaches. We get an extra scout and an extra coach!

Let’s find some good ones

I make an offer to Mathias Regal an Austrian scout

I make an offer to Serbian Fitness Coach Predrag Dodric


Bruno Scooped up Player of the Month

Man City won the Champions Cup



Our end of the season awards.

I hold a team meeting. We can qualify for the EURO again! They all agree!

[Abe Sargent]

The board agree to improve their training facilities. It’ll finish mid November.

My new coach arrives. And then the scout as well

Whoa!

I might have found a Kamenik for the left side. Someone I can groom under Milovac. He’s on a free. Let’s see if he signs and looks as good in real life as he does

These players were in the Fortuna Best Xi –

GK Jimenez
DC Mitrea
MR Krasic

My club made 5 mill last year. Much of that was EURO cash.




He signed! Say hello to Ross Ferguson, a 17 year old Scottish player on the ML side. Our scouts love his potential. You can see that he still need some work but I like him a lot as a future star on the left side of the pitch. I’ll give him the occasional game here and there to get him caught up. I also make him active for the youth matches.

[Abe Sargent]

Yes we did!

Jungr is back from his injury

June 16 0 the squad is back!

We draw Fola Esch in the first round of the EURO, a team from Luxembourg.

We are now affiliated with Lech and they can send us loanees.

Kona has announced his retirement

Chovanec has retired

[Abe Sargent]

Wanna see Kamenik a year later?



Dude’s good. I offer him a new deal. I’ve been working on his AMC spot. We extend him by two years increase his pay to 350 and increase his minimum release to the highest his agent will allow 1.1 mil.



Friendly vs Brno – We win 4-2. MOM is Jungr. Goals by Jungr, Krasic, Bruno and Wohlfarth

Kona retires

June 30th is here


I confirm my pitch size.

We lose a lot of talent that I inherited on the B squad and elsewhere.

[Abe Sargent]

July

4th – Home vs Ceske, Friendly
9th - Away vs Fola Esch
18th – Home vs Fola Esch
27th - Away vs Zdana


Good training – Begovac and Kamenik

I begin to hunt for new talent


My needs, once again, are:

ST
AMC
Sub that plays DM, M, and AM c.

Let’s do that in reverse order

I offer a trial to USA player Kyle Scott. I also offer a Trial to Azeri player Eddy as those can play all three spots

Now for a stud AMC. Or a wonderkid developing.

By comparison here is Jungr




He’s losing a step as you can see.

I think I found my AMC – I make an offer to a guy who’s name I can’t spell. He’s a 24 year old Kosovo international who has German citizenship.

He joins me on July 2nd



Here he is! Eroll Zejnullahu! We’ll call him Zej for short. As you can see he’s a 3.1k/week deal as a key player who just much better than Jungr and will be a big upgrade of quality. He was slumming in the 2nd German division and looking for a way to a bigger stage. I can run him out there in the EURO in a few days. He’s also young too. We have him with a 1.0 mill min release as that was the best I could do.

[Abe Sargent]

Jack Bruno wants a new deal after I deny a transfer and we agree with a 3 year 1.3k deal



Who are we losing? I offer to extend Milanovic. And some youth as well.

[Abe Sargent]

I look for a ST that can suit as the target man and I may have found my guy.

We sign him on the 3rd.



Here he is, Milan Djuric. Like Zej he plays for an international team and is German. He was the best heading and jumping that was feasible. He’s not fast but he can out jump defenders. I only signed him to two year deal so I won’t be forced to run him forever if he doesn’t work. He is older than I like but there isn’t much I can do about that. My options were limited.

[Abe Sargent]

Scott rejected the trial but Eddy is up for it so I let him join. I figured it would have been the opposite. We make him a rotation offer.


Friendly vs Ceske – We tie 2-2


Eddy signs for me!



As you can see, Eddy is a very versatile player who is good in every center place on the pitch save for Striker. I can run him out there in a lot of places. He’s my new Kona.

Milanovic signs his new deal!

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Round 1 Leg #1 – Away vs Fola Esch – Jungr is suspended. I begin countering. Pretty yellows tonight! We lightly injure one of their players early. And then another. We have the early initiative but they stop us. We dominated in the first half but no scores. Show me something else! I send in Wohlfarth to find a spark and then Pinter. In the 67th we finally score, Mitrea on a throw in to Krasic. Kotora for Milanovic. Krasic to Wohlfarth, goal, 78th. They get a card. Bruno to Krasic, goal, 87th. We hold and win 3-0, MOM is Krasic. Good job!



Bruno signs his new deal

I set high bonuses

I add Eddy to m EURO squad.

A Serie A team offers me an interview. No thanks!

I move our captaincy from Wohlfarth to Mitrea.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Round 1 Leg #2 – Home vs Fola Esch – I begin controlling. It’s all us. Vrancic to Bruno, goal, 4:06 mark. They turn aside a few of our subsequent attacks. They get a booking. Half. We re dominating this game and they are lucky to have allowed just one score. Mitrea DFK on target but stopped by the GK. Pinter spells Milanovic. They give a Pk and up steps Mitrea. In. Eddy for Zej. Kamenik for Vrasic. They get booked again. Game, we win 2-0 and 5-0 aggregate. MM is Bruno
 
We draw Malmo FF in the next round

We sold 2131 season tickets

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Round 2 Leg #1 – Home vs Malmo FF – I begin standard. They are playing two injured players. I was called away by an on call but I was playing the game while on call. I took a screenshot.




We win 2-1 and MOM is Bruno.

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #1 – Away vs Pohronie – I begin countering. We are in our pretty yellows and they have a injury. They turn aside two major attacks by us but a pretty quiet first half overall. 0-0 half, we have 6 shots to their 3. Show me something else! I send in Wohlfarth and Pinter. Then in the 73d Milovac feeds Bruno for cross and he scores. Can we hold? We injure one of their players and we go up 11-10. Eddy for a banged up Vrancic. 3 minutes and….. they get a booking. We hold and win 1-0 MOM is Bruno.

[Abe Sargent]

August

1st – Away vs Malmo FF
4th – Home vs Kosice
10th – Away vs Trnava
17th – Home vs Streda
24th – Home vs Slovan Bratislava
31st – Away vs Senica

Good Training – Kotora, Durak, Salsic

This is a rough month. The last four games are all against teams that were in the top qualifying bracket.

Bruno won Goal of the Month and I congratulate him.

I accept an offer to loan my future stud Ferguson to a fellow Fortuna club to give him starts.

EURO 2nd Round Leg Two – Away vs Malmo FF – We beat them in a close match at home 2-1 but we allowed a precious away goal so we’ll need to do well today. I begin defensive. We have the initial initiative turned aside. Then they do and we turn them away as well. Maybe our pretty yellows will be good luck token! We won last week with them on. They get a booking in the 19th minute. They score two minutes later to go up 1-0. That ties us but we need that away goal. Then in the 31st Djuric feeds Bruno for goal and we tie it here and go back up. Bruno has wasted a few 1:1 break away shots against the keeper. They are coming hard. Bruno keeps wasting shots. Half 1-1 us. Don’t get complacent! In the 47th Djuric feeds Krasic for goal. They aren’t so far! That is a key away goal! Mitrea’s DFK is lethally on target but they push it aside. Eddy for Vrancic. We are coming alive in the 2nd half and have multiple offensive pushes. Pinter for Bilbao. Jungr for Zej. They are booked again. They are coming hard. Just two minutes for Malmo glory. We hold and win! MOM is Djuric with his two assits. Wanna see?



We finish the aggregate 4-2. We only had 6 shots in the first half but finished with more on the day after an active 2nd half.

[Abe Sargent]

I was considering pulling Djuric for Wohlfarth since he was scoreless so far, but two assists in a key match like that is fine by me.


We draw Brondby IF in the next round. Apparently we are the anti-Scandinavia this time

A Danish team could prove harder than a Swedish one, but we’ll see. If we play like we have so far we’ll be fine. I need Bruno to stop wasting shots.

Speaking of which, wanna see him today?




Here you are!

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Match #2 – Home vs Kosice. I begin controlling. No pretty yellows today. We have won six in a row, if we win today then we have broken last years 6 in a row. They get an early injury in the 5th minute. Bruno to Djuric, goal, 18th minute, and that’s his first goal for me! By the 30th minute we have 8 shots to their 1. We need to rain goals. Half 1-0. Don’t get complacent! They are booked. Pinter for Bilbao. Eddy for Vrancic. Walkes for Milanovic. I want fresh legs to hold onto the score as they are coming. Bruno to Djuric for goal in the 84th off a counter. We win 2-0 and MOM is Djuric.

Only us and Streda have won both of their first two matches.

Kotora finished his link up with Milanovic and really learned a lot.




Wanna see him today? Sure thing! Here’s my future DC for Mitrea (or maybe Bilbao)

[Abe Sargent]

Ferguson leaves on his loan.



Who should be my #5 DC, Walkes or Kotora? At defending, aerial, and mental, Kotora is better. Walkes’s faster, and technically better. I move Kotora to my main squad and offer out Walkes for a loan.


EURO Round 3, Leg #1 – Away vs Brondby. I begin defensively. We defend well and get some counters of our own but nothing doing. Then in the 30th Zej feeds Djuric for goal and we are up 1-0. Half. Quiet we each have 4 shots. Don’t get complacent out there! They score in the 48th. They are booked. They score again in the 65th. I send in Pinter and Eddy. They score again 5 minutes later. I send in Jungr. In the 85th, Krasic feeds Bruno and we are now just down 3-2. Can we tie it? 5 minutes. Nope, we lose 3-2.

We’ll need a 1-0, 2-1, or two goal win at home to get out. Possible!

I hand out rests

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #3 – Away vs Trnava – I am starting Eddy in the MC spot, Vrancic has not been playing well. I begin countering. It’s raining today. Will we play up to them like normal? They score in the 14th off a nasty cross. We turn aside two attacks from them. They get a card. We have two counters turn to nothing. Half. They have 12 shots to our 3. Show me something else! I send in Wohlfarth for Djuric. Krasic is banged up and Kamenik heads in. I send in Pinter for Bilbao. Then in the 85th, Zej finds Bruno for goal and we’ve tied it! Can we steal a win? Nope we tie 1-1.

I was hoping to take away more points here going into a rough patch. However Streda lost to Slovan Bratislava and our 7 points puts us into first.

I loan Walkes for 1st team play.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Round 3, Leg #2 – Home vs Brondby – I keep Eddy in the middle. I begin standard. Can we get the result today that gets us through? Let’s find out! Krasic to Eddy, goal, 00:21 mark! That’s awesome! That ties us on aggregate. We’ve owned the first ten minutes but no other score comes. They score in the 43rd after a quiet half. Half 1-1. We have 12 shots to their 6. Vengeance! They sub two at the half. In the 49th, Djruic to Bruno, goal. That ties us and we’ll win on away goals. Pinter for Bilbao. They gift us an own goal in he 67th. Thanks! Jungr for Zej. Kotora for a tired Milanovic. Here comes Brondby! Four minutes of stoppage time. Can we hold?



We do! We win 3-1. We didn’t need the OG, a 2-1 would have gotten us though on away goals. MOM is Krasic.

Eddy’s goal was the fastest in Nitra history!

[Abe Sargent]

Leave Eddy in.

I hand Vrancic a rotation role.

Uh oh.

There goes our EURO campaign. What team would you fear more than any other considering our last EURO campaign in Group E?

Exactly

We drew TORINO!!!!!!!!!!!

I hand out rests.

Fortuna Game #4 – Home vs Streda – This is our chance to distance ourselves from our competition for the title. If we can pull away from Streda, I’ll be happy. I begin standard, I respect them to much not to. Bruno to Djuric, goal, 0:14 mark! That’s even faster! Man we are all about that fast score! They push aside one of our thrusts. Then quiet commences. They are booked in the 19th. By the 30th we have 7 shots to their 1. We lightly injure one of their players. Another booking for Streda. Half, 1-0 us. Don’t get complacent! I suspect they’ll wake up. They make two subs at the half. Mitrea’s DFK is on target but blocked. We give away a PK in the 57th and they sink it. I move to controlling. They foul Krasic in the box in the 62nd and Mitrea sinks the PK back and we are now up again by a goal. I send in Kamenik for an underperforming Milovac and swap him and Krasic on the pitch. Bruno to Djuric, goal, 69th. I send in Pinter for Milanovic who gave away the PK. Jungr heads in. Here comes Streda! We hold and win 3-1 and that’s a big win for us. MOM is Bruno.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Round 4, Leg 1 – Away vs Torino. Okay let’s get spanked today! I begin defending. This is my 100th match for Nitra! Buy your woodshed while it’s on discount! I leave Eddy in. In the first 12 minutes they have 7 shots. We have 1!!! They score in the 13th. I’ll skip the recap. We lose 6-1. It’s not even close! They had more goals than we had shots.

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #5 – Home vs Slovan Bratislava. Can we get points from the heavy today? We beat them twice at home last year. I am starting Vrancic today. I begin standard. We lightly injure their player early. They score in the 12th minute off a shot that rifles into the net from the crossbar. Then in the 21st Bruno feeds Djuric and we are all tied. We push back another thrust, and they our counter. Half, 1-1. We have 7 shots to their 11 and only 46% possession. Bruno scores off a Vrancic assist in the 53rd to send us up. I send in Pinter for Bilbao. Jungr heads in as does Eddy for Yecvhecko. Can we hold on? 4 minutes of extra time and…. Nope! They score in the 93rd and tie it 2-2.

[Abe Sargent]

EURO Round 4, Leg 2 – Home vs Torino – Ready for woodshed part two? Hopefully we’ll be more respectful at home in the scoring. I begin standard. They score in the 2nd minute. We lightly injure a Torino player. We lose 0-1. Not that bad.

[Abe Sargent]

September

1st – Away vs Senica
15th - Home vs Zilina
18th – Away vs Kubin, Cup
21st – Away vs Dubnica
24th – Away vs Ruzomberok
28th – Home vs Podbrezova

Lots of away games this month!

Good training – Jungr ,Bruno, Vrancic

Djuric has goal of the Month and I congratulate him. He was also 2nd in Player of the Month

Fortuna Game #6 – Away vs Senica has been our kryptonite. I begin countering. No shots and nothing for 16 minutes. Then Senica has a moment but we stop them. Krasic with an early card. Bilbao an OG in the 27th. I send in Kamenik and Pinter now. Senica just play us so tough we can’t be gifting them goals. Half. Show me something else!!! Jungr for Zej. Vrancic is injured in the 82nd so we are down a man. They sink a DFK in the 88th. Bruno to Djuric for goal in extra time. We lose 1-2. That’s our first loss in the Fortuna. We just can’t get past Senica.

Vrancic is injured for 2-3 week with a concussion. Eddy will start. But most of that time is international play.

That loss drops us to 3rd.

Bruno scored his first goal for Australia and I congratulate him.

[Abe Sargent]

Tonight on HGTV at 11:30 is a house hunters international at Bratislava in case you wanted to see it.

HGTV TV & Show Schedule

[Chas in Cinti]

Still following... this has been fun...

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

Still following... this has been fun...

Awesome!

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #7 – Home vs Zilina – I begin standard against last year’s champion. I respect them too much. Back and forth in the first few minutes of the game and then we get a feel for each other. They get a card and an injury. Half 0-0, they have 5% more possession and 4 more shots. Card by Eddy. Card by Krasic. I send in Pinter for Bilbao and Wohlfarth for an underperforming Djuric. Then in the 77th Krasic gets another card and is sent off! We move to defensive. Then in the 89th Zej feeds Bruno on a counter and we score, and that’ll be the game’s lone score. MOM is Bruno

I will start Kamenik next week

[Abe Sargent]

Cup Round One, Away vs Kubin - I am starting Jungr, Wohlfarth, Kamenik and Pinter and Kotora too. I begin standard. Let’s do this differently.


Goals –

Kamenik to Bruno, 1st minute
Jungr to Wohlfarth, 16th minute
Own goal off Kamenik cross, 27th minute
Half
Them, 73rd
Militosyan to Wohlfarth, 79th
Game

We win 4-1 MOM is Wohlfarth

Deadline day passes and I loan 5 players

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #8 – Away against recently promoted Dubnica – We begin countering. Vrancic is back from his injury and is on the squad. I have Eddy starting. Krasic is back from his card. Who’s in their pretty yellows? Us! We push aside their first attack. They score in the 19th. We push back another attack. Then quiet. On a counter in the 39th Zej finds Bruno and that’s the score at the half. We have the same shots at 9 each. We head out. I send in Pinter for Bilbao. Then in the 59th Zej feeds Bruno for score again! I send in Kamenik for an underperforming Krasic. Vrancic for Eddy. In the 79th Milanovic scores off a corner to put us up 3-1. Here they come! They score in the 81st just two minutes later and now the game is in doubt. Can we hold? 3 minutes of injury time and…We hold o n and win 3-2. MOM is Bruno. Great comeback!

That win moves us to sole possession of 1st

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #9 – Away vs Ruzomberok, 3rd right now – I begin defending, and Vrancic is back. It’s the 25th minute before anything happens. They get a card. 1 shot by us, 2 by them. I’ll skip past the loss, we lose 1-3.

That loss drops us to 3rd

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #10 – Home vs Podbrezova – I begin controlling. I make no changes to my lineup. We have a lot of early initiatives but nothing more. Not enough shots on target. At the 25th minute we have 7 shots but none on target to their 2 and 1. We drive more. Bruno is wasting shots. Half 0-0. Show me something else! They don’t. I send in Pinter, Jungr, and Militosyan for an underperforming Bruno. And then in the 88th minute they give away a pk. Up steps Mitrea and… he sinks it. And…we hold and win 1-0. MOM is Krasic.

That…”win” moves us into the second place.

[Abe Sargent]

October

2nd – Away vs Trebisov, Cup
6th – Home vs Trencin
19th – Home vs Zdnana
26th – Home vs Trnava

Good training – Bruno, Kotora


2nd Round Cup Away vs Trebisov – I start Wohlfarth, Jungr, Pinter, Kamenik, Eddy, Kotora. I begin Standard. Let’s do the goals list again!

Goals

Bruno to Wohlfarth, 19th minute
Mitrea, 32nd, DFK
Them, 43rd
HALF
Nothing else

They finished with 13 shots to our 9. Not what I was expecting, but we made it through. MOM was on their side

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #11 – Home vs Trencin – This is the halfway of the preseason. I have all of my normal starters back, save for Jungr I wanna give him a start or two. I begin standard. I respect this good club too much not too. Trencin with early thrust but we turn it aside. Krasic to Djuric, goal, 9:07 mark on a counter. Krasic with an early card in the 22nd. By the 30th minute we have 9 shots to their 4. I send in Kamenik for Krasic, I can’t do the 10 man squad again. I’m not even waiting until half. Half 1-0 us. Don’t get complacent! Pinter spells Bilbao. Yurchenko leaps on an intercepted pass and feed the goal in the 79th. I send in Eddy. They get booked. We hold and win 2-0. MOM is Yurchenko.



The division after 11. We are in 2nd one point behind Trnava. Slovan Bratislava are right behind us with 2 points and then #4 is back 5 points after 11. We have losses on the road again Senica and Ruzomberok.

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #12 – Home vs Pohronie - Jungr is starting today. I begin controlling. They have the early initiative on a counter but nothing happens on the scoreboard. Our first shot is in the 17th. And it’s on target. But that’s it. Quiet half, 0-0. Show me something else! They do! In the 59th Djuric to Jungr for a score. I send in Eddy. Kotora for Bilbao. Wohlfarth for a tired Djuric. Mitrea sinks a PK in the 84th to likely put the game away. We hold and win 2-0. MOM is Bruno


Trnava won and we are still 2nd

[Abe Sargent]

3rd Round Cup, Away vs Sobota – Starting are my Cup squad. I begin standard. Let’s try this again

Goals

Bruno to Wohlfarth, goal, 72nd minute
Milovac to Kotora on corner, 78th minute
Mitrea to Militosyan, IFK, 88th minute

We win 3-0. We made that harder than it needed to be. MOM is Kotora. That’s three shutouts in a row for Jimenez.

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #13 – Home vs Trnava – This is the big one. Win here and we move into first past Trnava. I begin standard. I have left Eddy in but no one else. Zej is back. In the 6th minute Mitrea finds Bilbao on a IFK for a goal! Good start. Mitrea. I love him so much! Zej lethally feeds Bruno a break in the 26th. I only have two shots on goal at the 30th but I’m looking good. Djuric gets a ball from a corner and slides it to Milanovic’s foot for goal in the 39th. Half 3-0 us. Again we just play up to Trnava! Don’t get complacent! They get two yellows very quickly. They turn aside a nasty attack. Kamenik for Krasic and Kotora for Bilbao. Jungr for Zej too. We hold and win 3-0. MOM is Mitrea. My defense all scored or has assists!

That’s our 4th shutout in a row!

That win lifts us to 1st

Streda defeated Slovan Bratislava to hurt our 3rd placed competition

[Abe Sargent]

November

2nd – Away vs Kosice
10th – Away vs Slovan Bratislava
23rd- Away vs Streda
30th – Home vs Senica

Three tight games there

Good training – Bruno, Kamenik, Milovac

Mitrea claimed Player of the Month! I congratulate him

Yurchenko won Goal of the Month, I congratulate him as well


Fortuna Game #14 – Away vs Kosice. – I make no changes to my roster and I begin standarding. Yay pretty yellows! They start with two injuries. They score off a counter in the 4th. There goes our shut out streak. Then in the 14th Djuric feeds a cross to Bruno and we tie.. And… that’ the half. We have 8 shots to their 9 and 54% possession. Show me something else! They do! In the 55th Mitrea feeds Bruno on a counter and we score. Mitrea! Then in the 63rd, Djuric feeds Milovac for goal and we are at 3-1. I send in Pinter and Kamenik. And then Vrancic. 5 minutes is a lot of minutes. We hold and win 3-1. Good job! MOM is Djuric.

Our youth facilities are upgraded!

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #15 – Away vs Slovan Bratislava – Can we get points today? I am starting Eddy. They are 2nd in the league right now. I begin defensively. Hm…….. that was the boringest half I’ve seen in a while. 0-0. We have a mighty three shots. They do to! In the second half it seems like both teams have decided to play. In the 50th Eddy scores off a assist by Yurchenko. Nice! I send in Pinter for an underperforming Bilbao. Kamenik for Milovac and I swap sides with Krasic. They score in the 78th. Wohlfarth for a underwhelming Djuric. 4 minutes. Who will win? Neither! We tie 1-1.

Trnava won so that brings us closer to them.

The international break happens

Training facilities are finished upgrading!

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #16 – Away vs Streda – I begin defensively. I start Eddy since he had a goal. They have a shot in the 7th! And that’s it for offensive maneuvers for a while. We push aside an attack in the 20th. They get a card in the 33th and Mitrea sinks the DFK. Mitrea. They get another card. Half, 1-0 us. Don’t get complacent! Djuric to Bruno goal in the 49th. They didn’t! Djuric with a card and I send in Wohlfarth for him. They get another card. Vrancic for Eddy. Wohlfarth a card and I send in Militosyan for him. Krasic a card. Milanovic a card. We hold and win 2-0. MOM is Mitrea.

Trnava tied and we gained on them

[Abe Sargent]

Fortuna Game #17 – Home vs Senica – We dropped points on the road and only beat them at home 1-0 last year. Can we get a result today? They are without a manager as they are in the middle of a job search. I begin standard and Vrancic is starting. A 3:13 goal is waived offisides. Sorry Bruno! They get a card. Djuric to Bruno, goal, 12th. Djuric to Bruno, goal, 13th minute. Nice! Go away Kryptonite! They get another card. Vrancic to Bruno, goal, 21st,. and there’s his hattrick! I tell my guys to stay on their feet I don’t want a card repeat from last game. They get another card. Half. Keep it going! Kotora for Bilbao. Kamenik for Milovac. Mitrea has a DFK on target stopped. Eddy for Yurchenko.




We win 3-0! Getting a quality win against my tough ask each year is great! MOM is Bruno.