40 Trophies in a Lifetime – Season 1, Part 2

All the twos

As we prepared for our first match in December, Limavady United were still in the mix for two trophies.

Only two points separated us from the top of the Northern Ireland Premier Intermediate League (click here if you need a reminder of the first half of the season) and we were about to play a fourth round match in the Northern Ireland Cup.

Top Spot

The less said about the Cup the better – we were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Queens University, who were two divisions above us. But our final match in December sent us top of the league.

A 2-0 win away from home against the league leaders was a great way to sign off for Christmas, with the exceptional strike partnership of Pomeroy and Duffy doing the business once again.

And we carried that momentum into January – two more wins and a draw had us top of the league after 14 games played.

Transfer window

Although we were performing well beyond expectations in the league, I was still concerned about the quality of our midfield. So much so that in January I signed three new players to add youth, depth and potential to this part of the pitch.

The pick of the bunch was Noah Daley, a natural winger and striker who I brought in to provide more penetration and pace on the right flank.

And my word would Daley have a part to play in the end-of-season drama.

Wobble the Third

Just when I thought things were getting comfortable – four points clear at the top, on a nine match unbeaten run in the league – we played host to third-placed Armagh.

And it did not go well.

Five games remaining, and the league was no longer in our hands. If Bangor or Armagh won all their remaining matches it was over.

At this point, the peculiarities of this save made themselves known.

In normal FM circumstances I would have been delighted with how things were going – we were massively overperforming and a play-off spot was pretty much nailed-on. But, for this challenge, promotions mean nothing. It’s about the trophies, all forty of them, so it was the title or bust.

All kinds of crazy thoughts started going through my mind: could I deliberately throw the play-offs? I would definitely be better off staying in this division next year instead of getting promoted and then having to compete for a higher division title well beyond the reach of this squad…

I was still considering this when we travelled to fourth placed Newington.

Throwing caution to the wind

After 52 minutes I thought it was all over. We were 2-0 down and had fallen out of contention for the PIL title. Shutting up shop and settling in for a play off push was not an option, so I shifted Daley up front, took off the full backs, and switched to 3-4-3 and all out attack.

It worked!

I was starting to believe now: we had a viable plan B that might be able to pull us out of a hole later in the season. The board clearly liked it too…

On reflection, I accepted this offer a little too quickly as I was now locked in and reliant on other clubs paying compensation if I wanted to leave. But that was a problem for future Kirk…

Out of our hands

Unfortunately we just couldn’t take charge of the league. In game 17, we missed a penalty and were held to a 1-1 draw at Tobermore. Bangor were now just two points behind with two games in hand.

We increased the gap again by beating Portstewart 2-0 while Bangor drew with Armagh, but Bangor gained on us by winning their first game in hand, and kept pace with us on our penultimate game day.

If they won their final game in hand they would go two points clear.

But they slipped up.

The final day

It had looked extremely unlikely just three games earlier, but we were going into our last match level on points with Bangor and only 2 behind on goal difference. It was still a long shot, but if we beat Dollingstown and outscored Bangor by three goals…

Could it be…?

With the need to score so many more goals I switched us to the 3-4-3 and let the team loose.

Great start! 1-0 up after seven minutes. And then this happened:

We went in 2-0 up at half time but I was still chasing goals, knowing that Bangor would be back in charge if they could get on top against PSNI.

Dollingstown made the most of my recklessness and pulled one back in the 62nd minute. It was getting very, very tense.

But in the 74th minute…

The second-from-bottom team were beating the league leaders by two goals!

I think news must have made its way to our players on the pitch, as the pressure lifted and they took total control against Dollingstown. We scored twice more in the final ten minutes, and confetti filled the air.

Season review

I have enjoyed the first season of this save more than I thought possible. It wasn’t just the fact we won the league (although that obviously helped) but the focus on winning trophies at all costs is making me play like Keven Keegan’s Newcastle United – if in doubt, score as many goals as you can!

The first choice eleven certainly did me proud. Only two players averaged below 7.0, the assists were shared throughout the team, and we had the best strike partnership in the division.

The Northern Irish Cup was one of two competitions where we didn’t achieve the board’s expectations, but it was no embarrassment to lose to a team two divisions above us.

And an unfortunate draw in the second round of the Intermediate Cup saw us leave this competition much earlier than expected.

Our incredible League Cup run will have the fans looking back on this year with fond memories, as we knocked out four top-division clubs on the way to the semi-finals.

But this is what it was all about. A season that will go down in history – predicted to finish fifth, but we go up as champions!

Next steps

What a year. One trophy ticked off the list straightaway.

But as things stand we’ll be going into the next division as favourites for the drop. I can’t be wasting time in a in a relegation battle given the pace at which I need to win trophies, so I have to find another job. Fast.

What options are open to me? Where should I aim to go next? And as I’ve already signed a one-year contract extension, are the board even going to let me go?

Join me next time to find out!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this 40 Trophies update. If you have any feedback I’d love to hear from you – drop me a comment below or find me on twitter.

Thank you for reading.