FIFA 15 - Season 2

The Grecians
March
Exeter City 2 - Middlesbrough 1
EXE - Wilson 41', 45'
MID - Kike 54'
Wilson took the ball away and then raced past the defenders before finishing just past the keeper. He then showed off his pace once again just minutes later using his strength at the end to hold off the defender and beat the keeper for a second time. Kike took advantage of poor positioning by the defense to win a header and place it into the near post to cut the lead in half.
Derby County 2 - Exeter City 2
DER - Coutts 24', Russell 71'
EXE - Wilson 65', 88'
Hendrick drew the defense into him before laying it off to Coutts for the easy finish on an open goal. Wilson attacked down the right wing before cutting it inside the box and firing a stunner with his left foot just inside the near post. Russell answered just minutes later with a well executed turn inside the box to get a shot past the keeper. Wilson then used his pace to get past the defense on a counter late in the match and beat the keeper 1 on 1 to earn the draw.
F.A. Cup Quarter Final
Sunderland 0 - Exeter City 1
EXE - Ginnelly 83'
Exeter dominated the chances all game, doubling Sunderland's shot count, but couldn't make a difference until late. Ginnelly deflected a pass towards Wilson who then sent it back ahead for Ginnelly to run onto ahead of the defense. He drew the keeper out and went for goal but the keeper got a piece of it and deflected it. Ginnelly tracked down the deflection and tapped it home into the open goal for the winner.
World Cup Qualifiers
Switzerland 1 - Northern Ireland 2
SUI - Drmic 34'
NIR - McKay 3', 85'
McKay dribbled through a tight gap in the defenders and fired off a shot that snuck inside the near post to open up the scoring. Drmic then equalized after a cross found his head and he placed it in the top right corner. McKay tracked down the rebound off of Reeves shot and hit it with a hard first time strike that blew past the keeper inside the right post for the winner.
World Cup Qualifiers
Italy 2 - Northern Ireland 2
ITA - Balotelli 3', Florenzi 52'
NIR - Lavery 85', McKay 90'
Balotelli scored an easy opener after a horrible giveaway by smith in the back line. Florenzi then doubled the lead with a low strike from outside the box that skipped into the goal. Lavery proved the decision to sub him on late as he finished up a rebound of his own shot and cut the lead in half late. After Italy earned a second red card and went down to 9 men, McKay took advantage in the final minute as he attacked the goalie and then followed up his own rebound for the equalizer.
Leeds United 0 - Exeter City 1
Forced sim due to game during international break
Exeter City 1 - Birmingham City 1
Forced sim due to game during international break
Exeter City 2 - Watford 2
EXE - McKenzie 17', Jamieson IV 71'
WAT - Deeney 8', Smith 29'
Deeney opened early after timing his run perfectly to go through on goal and place it to the left post. McKenzie answered with a strike off a pass from Fryers that went off the keeper's hands and in. Smith gave Watford the lead right back with a strike from just outside the box that stayed low and settled inside the right post. Jamieson made a superb individual effort to dribble through the defense before launching a left footed shot that curled inside the far right post.
N Power Championship
1. Crystal Palace - 71 pts
2. Exeter City - 70 pts
3. Burnley - 70 pts
4. Bolton Wanderers - 67 pts
5. Nottingham Forest - 63 pts
6. Fulham - 59 pts
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22. Blackburn Rovers - 32 pts
23. Yeovil Town - 21 pts
24. Coventry City - 18 pts
World Cup Qualifiers
1. Northern Ireland - 18 pts
2. Switzerland - 13 pts
3. Italy - 13 pts
4. Romania - 12 pts
4. Ireland - 5 pts
6. Wales - 5 pts
Youth Academy
Antonio Lopes (Mexico) 15 years old 42-46 OVR 75-83 POT
-Antonio Lopes has the potential to be a solid defender, although his exact position is yet to be determined. At 15 his 5'6" frame still has room to grow, his final height could make him a great candidate for the middle of the defense.
Carl Little (Northern Ireland) 17 years old 56-60 OVR 74-80 POT.
- Carl Little has stepped up for the youth team playing as a center back. The 16 year old hit his growth spurt that the youth doctors were expecting and now stands at 6'1" giving him a bright future in the center of the defense.
Jay Holmes (England) 16 years old 71-75 OVR 88-94 POT.
-Jay Holmes has the look of something special. His technical abilities are far beyond his age and enable him to be extremely effective in the CAM role of the midfield. He is no doubt one to keep an eye on moving forward.
Josh Meenan (Northern Ireland) 16 years old 58-62 OVR 72-78 POT.
- The young boy from Northern Ireland has natural talents at keeper, but his future will be determined on how much he grows over the coming years since he is standing only 5'7" at the moment. If he hits a growth spurt as expected, his future seems bright.
Rafael Lopez (Mexico) 15 years old 50-54 OVR 71-75 POT.
-Rafael looks like he will settle on the left side of the midfield where he spends the majority of his time on the youth squad. His main attributes are in pace and the coaches are hoping that his technical abilities will catch up in time.
Xabi Rodriguez (Mexico) 15 years old 54-58 OVR 89-94 POT.
-Xabi at just 15 from Mexico already shows a lot of promise. His permanent position has not yet been determined, but his future appears to be in either the midfield or as a forward. Everyone will be keeping a close eye on his development.
Exeter City Player of the Month
James Wilson

It is harder to figure a POTM with two matches being forced sims, but this one will go to James Wilson. Scoring 4 goals and continuing to be the threat he is comes as no surprise for Exeter's talisman up front.
Press Conference
Q: You were able to climb back one spot into second and remain only a point behind the leader in the table this month. Would you consider this month a success having made some progress up the table?
A: It's hard to say success when we were on top before the last match only gave us a point. We are better than this, but the scheduling has been hell. Next month won't get any better in that regard, so it is up to us to get better instead. I think we can do it, and the league should be mostly determined by this time next month.
Q: A rash of injuries in the midfield as well as the busy fixture schedule resulted in you recalling both Matthew Grimes and Isaac Fryers from their loan duties. Now that the players are starting to get healthy again, will there be enough minutes to go around or will you struggle to keep everyone happy?
A: Winning makes players happy, and we have a chance to do that right now. There are plenty of fixtures this month to go around, so these players will get their chances. If they want to cement themselves as a more consistent first choice, they will have to make the best of their minutes. I love to have such a competition at any position since it motivates each player to give it their all. When you have this many quality players in 1 position, it is a much better situation than having none.
Q: Another successful month in international play, and you have created even more separation for Northern Ireland. Both matches had a flair for the dramatic this month, and you were able to take 4 points. Are you happy with these results?
A: I am very happy with the heart and passion to win these players showed. The World Cup is a huge deal for them, as it very well should be. We want nothing else more. I won't settle for anything less than qualification for 2018. I think we can become a team that needs to be taken seriously two years from now.
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