Gaming Matters: FIFA16 Wimbledon Career Season 4 Pt4 (The Finale)

With my game play on FIFA17 well under way I thought it was time to wrap up the details of my Rise to Glory career mode taking AFC Wimbledon from League Two to the Premier League in four seasons. Can we win the league? Read on and find out............

March

League – Bournemouth – A – 0-0

We started the month with a rather dull goalless draw at Bournemouth which dropped us to 4th in the table behind Arsenal. Another win for Manchester United took them nine points clear of Tottenham Hotspur after the London team lost again, now picking up just two points from their last four games.

1 – Man United – 59

2 – Tottenham – 50

3 – Arsenal – 49

4 – Wimbledon – 48

5 – Southampton – 45

6 – Man City – 42

7 – Everton – 40

8 – Chelsea – 39

9 – Watford – 39

10 – Liverpool - 38

League – Stoke City – A – 2-0

Borthwick-Jackson 49 (VIDEO)

Valencia 90pen

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson gave Wimbledon the lead with his second goal for the club just after half time. From a free kick the ball was worked to Juan Camara whose 25 yard shot was saved well by Jack Butland but the England international could not hold the ball. Stoke failed to clear and Enner Valencia managed to find Borthwick-Jackson in the box after the left back stayed forward. He took a touch then slammed the ball past Butland. The lead was doubled in injury time when Ryan Shawcross brought down Marcus Rashford and Valencia put the ball in from the spot.

1 – Man United – 60

2 – Arsenal – 52

3 – Wimbledon – 51

4 – Tottenham – 50

5 – Southampton – 48

6 – Man City – 45

7 – Chelsea – 42

8 – Everton – 41

9 – Liverpool – 41

10 – Watford - 40

League – Manchester City – A – 2-0

Pelupessy 20 (VIDEO)

Furman 40 (VIDEO)

Two goals against a strong City side who were 6th in the table lifted Wimbledon into 2nd place above Arsenal who could only draw. Four consecutive defeats for early leaders Tottenham Hotspur dropped them behind Southampton to 5th. Liverpool who were outside the top ten until recently won to go 7th above Chelsea. Joey Pelupessy scored one of the goals of the season to give Wimbledon the lead. Taking the ball from Andrew Farrell after a free kick the Dutchman's first shot was blocked by Kevin de Bruyne but then he hit the rebound on the volley from outside the box with his left foot and the ball looped over Joe Hart into the right hand side of the net. Dean Furman doubled the lead before half time when Freddy Sears played him in behind Toni Kroos at the near post and the South African hit the ball on the run to beat Hart, squeezing between the keeper and the post.

1 – Man United – 61

2 – Wimbledon – 54

3 – Arsenal – 53

4 – Southampton – 51

5 – Tottenham – 50

6 – Man City – 45

7 – Liverpool – 44

8 – Chelsea – 43

9 – Newcastle – 41

10 – Everton – 41

League – Sheffield Wednesday – A – 2-1

Valencia 53 (VIDEO)

Pucciarelli 86 (VIDEO)

Wednesday were 20th going into this game and heading back to the Championship but scored first through Austrian striker Atdhe Nuhiu after 28 minutes. Valencia levelled eight minuted into the second half, turning Tom Lees as he received the ball from Pelupessy and running at goal to fire across Denys Boyko into the net. Manuel Pucciarelli scored a late winner with four minutes to go after great work by Dominic Iorfa to win the ball from Barry Bannan. The Italian exchanged passes with Valencia to break down the Wednesday defence and then met the Ecuadorian's cross just in from of Boyko to spoil the Ukrainian keeper's day and send the Yorkshire club to another defeat. The top three sides all won and while Southampton lost the best Spurs could manage was a draw, still without a win in seven games. Behind them only two points separated Chelsea, City, Everton and Liverpool.

1 – Manchester United – 64

2 – Wimbledon – 57

3 – Arsenal – 56

4 – Southampton – 51

5 – Tottenham Hotspur – 51

6 – Chelsea – 46

7 – Manchester City – 46

8 – Everton – 44

9 – Liverpool – 44

10 – Newcastle United – 41

April

League – Tottenham Hotspur – H – 4-1

Saint-Maximin 24

Saint-Maximin 36 (VIDEO)

Pucciarelli 54 (VIDEO)

Commons 80 (VIDEO)

Heading into the last two months of the season and we condemned Tottenham to an eighth consecutive game without a win, Spurs being the team that were six points clear of Manchester United back in November. Allan Saint-Maximin returned from injury and wasted no time picking up where he left off by scoring two goals in the first half. His first was on 24 minutes and the second just 12 minutes later after a great through-ball by William Vainqueur and a missed tackle by Eric Dier allowed the French striker to bear down on Hugo Lloris and put his shot wide of the keeper's right hand and into the net. Pucciarelli made it three early in the second half as Saint-Maximin headed on Kris Commons lobbed pass and the Italian took the ball away from Kevin Wimmer and fired into the top right corner past Lloris. Nacer Chadli scored for Spurs on 75 minutes to give them some hope of a point but Commons added a fourth just five minutes later, Pucciarelli teeing up the Scot to score with a tidy finish from inside the box. Andrew Farrell was sent off for tackle from behind on 90 minutes for the only incident that marred such a great performance from the team.

1 – Manchester United – 67

2 – Wimbledon – 60

3 – Arsenal – 59

4 – Southampton – 54

5 – Tottenham Hotspur – 51

6 – Manchester City – 49

7 – Everton – 47

8 – Chelsea – 46

9 – Liverpool – 45

10 – Newcastle United - 41

League – Norwich City – H – 3-1

Pucciarelli 40 (VIDEO)

Pucciarelli 74 (VIDEO)

Valencia 90 (VIDEO)

Manuel Pucciarelli made it four goals in three games for him as Wimbledon saw off Norwich City to close the gap on Manchester United to just five points. His first was a shot past John Ruddy into the top right corner after being played in by Saint-Maximin and his second came after dribbling past several Canaries defenders to slot past the former England keeper. Nathan Redmond pulled one back with twelve minutes to go with a second attempt after his first hit the post but Valencia killed off any hope of a draw in injury time. Vainqueur played Pucciarelli through the offside trap and the Italian squared the ball for Valencia as Ruddy came out to meet him.

Wimbledon stayed five points behind United and one in front of Arsenal while Spurs finally won to go above Saints on goal difference.

1 – Manchester United – 68

2 – Wimbledon – 63

3 – Arsenal – 62

4 – Tottenham Hotspur – 54

5 – Southampton – 54

6 – Manchester City – 52

7 – Chelsea – 49

8 – Everton – 48

9 – Liverpool – 46

10 – Watford - 44

League – West Ham United – A – 1-2

Vainqueur 31 (VIDEO)

Fourteenth placed West Ham took the lead on 21 minutes through Andy Carroll as he picked up the scraps of a mix up on the edge of Wimbledon's own area between Sergio Ayala and Kris Commons. Vainqueur equalised for Wimbledon just after the half hour mark, tapping into an open net from a difficult angle after Commons' shot cannoned back off of the woodwork after beating Raphael Spiegel. Former Wimbledon player Nolan Roux scored the winner for West Ham on 83 minutes. The French striker only scored two goals in ten games for Wimbledon but had a point to prove against them.

Luckily United only drew and Arsenal also lost so the result was not a disaster but a win would have reduced the gap to three points and opened up a four point cushion behind them. Chelsea won to go just three points behind Spurs in 4th, overtaking City on goal difference who now have Everton a point behind them.

Table after 34 of 38 games

1 – Manchester United – 69

2 – Wimbledon – 63

3 – Arsenal – 62

4 – Tottenham Hotspur – 55

5 – Southampton – 54

6 – Chelsea – 52

7 - Manchester City – 52

8 – Everton – 51

9 – Liverpool – 49

10 – Watford - 47

League – Sunderland – A – 3-1

Pucciarelli 45 (VIDEO)

Pucciarelli 75 (VIDEO)

Dejaegere 81 (VIDEO)

A solid win over Sunderland took Wimbledon to within four points of leaders United with a brace from Mauro Pucciarelli. His first came on the stroke of half time as he took the ball on the left wing from Lucas Piazon then dribbled into the box past Tony Jantschke, Lee Cattermole, Sebastian Coates and Wahbi Kazri before scoring past Jordan Pickford in the Sunderland goal. His second with fifteen minutes to go sparked three goals in six minutes between the two sides. Charlie Austin nearly scored at the other end and the Wimbledon counter attack ended with Commons sending Vainqueur down the left wing and the French midfielder crossing for Pucciarelli to score directly in front of goal. It was great work by the former Roma midfielder. Sunderland then scored a 78th minute goal when a deep cross from the right wing found Jan Kirchhoff at the far post and his header back across goal was inadvertently turned into his own net by Vainqueur. The two goal cushion was soon restored as from the kick off Rashford fed Brecht Dejaegere on the right wing and the Belgian wide man emulated Pucciarelli's first goal. He went down the left past Patrick Van Aanholt and cut inside past Jermain Lens, Liam Bridcutt and Coates before shooting as Santiago Vergini slid in to block the shot.

United only drew which allowed Wimbledon to reduce the gap to four points and Arsenal to reduce it to five. Southampton won to go fourth but eight points behind Arsenal which Tottenham lost again to drop to seventh behind Chelsea and Man City on goal difference.

Table after 35 of 38 games

1 – Manchester United – 70

2 – Wimbledon – 66

3 – Arsenal – 65

4 – Southampton – 57

5 – Chelsea – 55

6 – Manchester City – 55

7 – Tottenham Hotspur – 55

8 – Everton – 52

9 – Liverpool – 52

10 – Watford - 48

May

League – Watford – H – 0-1

An embarrassing defeat at home to Watfor dropped Wimbledon seven points behind United and down to third behind Arsenal. With two games to go the Dons' title chances were over and they now looked in danger of losing second the the Gunners.

Watford scored the winner on 18 minutes through Nordin Amrabat as the Moroccan strikers first shot hit Kabasele but he managed to get a second effort past Gordon in goal. Despite Wimbledon's pressure in the second half the couldn't even equalise let alone win as Saint-Maximin, Valencia and Pucciarelli all missed golden chances to score.

Man City and Tottenham both won while Chelsea drew and Southampton lost lifting City to fourth place and leaving the four clubs separated by two points. Further back the race for eighth left Everton, Liverpool and Watford separated by one point.

Table after 36 of 38 games

1 – Manchester United – 73

2 – Arsenal – 68

3 – Wimbledon – 66

4 – Manchester City – 58

5 – Tottenham Hotspur – 58

6 – Southampton – 57

7 – Chelsea – 56

8 – Everton – 52

9 – Liverpool – 52

10 – Watford - 51

League – Newcastle United – A – 5-1

Saint-Maximin 44 (VIDEO)

Pucciarelli 51 (VIDEO)

Own goal 66 (VIDEO)

Iorfa 84 (VIDEO)

Dejaegere 90 (VIDEO)

Highlights (VIDEO)

With Wimbledon needing a win to stay in the hunt for second place they didn't hold back and thumped five goals past Newcastle. The Geordie club did take the lead on 31 minutes through Ayoze Perez however to send the nerves of Wimbledon fans jangling. Saint-Maximin equalised just before half time after exchanging passes with Rashford and the manager's team talk and the break must have lit a fire under the players. Six minutes into the second half Pucciarelli put them in front with Rashford again providing the assist. The third goal was deemed an own goal but it was a horrendous decision as the goal was clearly Saint-Maximin's and took the slightest of touches off of Chancel Mbemba which didn't even change the ball's trajectory. Iorfa scored the fourth, tapping in the ball after Karl Darlow had saved Saint-Maximin's long range shot. Dejaegere rounded off the victory in injury time as Commons set him up in the box to score at the far post. All in all the Dons had ten shots on goal with nine on target and five in the net – not a bad day's work.

With Arsenal drawing in their game it put both Wimbledon and the Gunners on level points going into the last match in which fate had pitted them against each other. City, Spurs and Chelsea all won to take the race for the final Champions League spot to the last day of the season.

Table after 37 of 38 games

1 – Manchester United – 76

2 – Wimbledon – 69

3 – Arsenal – 69

4 – Manchester City – 61

5 – Tottenham Hotspur – 61

6 – Chelsea – 59

7 – Southampton – 57

8 – Everton – 55

9 – Liverpool – 52

10 – Watford - 52

League – Arsenal – H – 2-0

Saint-Maximin 29pen, (VIDEO)

Kabasele 71 (VIDEO)

So after 175 across four divisions it all came down to this one match. The dream of taking a team from League Two to winning the Premier League in four seasons had gone with the defeats against West Ham and Watford but I still had a chance to do the next best thing and clinch second place. By a fantastic fluke of the fixture list Wimbledon would face Arsenal in what was effectively a play off for the runner-up spot. With Wimbledon ahead on goal difference Arsenal had to win to beat them.

In the 27th minute Pelupessy played Saint-Maximin into the box with a ball to run onto on the left hand side of the area. The French striker was closely marked by Aymeric Laporte and the pair tussled towards the ball before the centre back brought down Saint-Maximin. The referee immediately awarded a penalty and although Rashford was the designated penalty taker Saint-Maximin himself took the ball since he had drawn the foul. Faced one on one with Petr Cech for the spot kick he placed his shot to the left and although the Czech keeper went the right way he dived low as the ball went high. Wimbledon now held the advantage with a 1-0 lead.

With 20 minutes to go Wimbledon won a corner which Dejaegere took short to Pelupessy. The Dutch midfielder played it to Saint-Maximin who had sat deep and he took a powerful shot from the edge of the area. Cech saved the shot but could only parry it to his right where Christian Kabasele was only loosely marked by Per Mertesacker. The Belgian centre back reached for the ball first and put the ball into the unguarded net before Cech could recover. That goal from Kabasele clinched second place for Wimbledon in the Premier League and although I wish it was a match for the title I was still delighted with the achievement.

Table after 38 games

1 – Manchester United – 77

2 – Wimbledon – 72

3 – Arsenal – 69

4 – Manchester City – 64

5 – Chelsea – 62

6 – Tottenham Hotspur – 62

7 – Everton – 58

8 – Southampton – 57

9 – Liverpool – 53

10 – Watford – 52

11 – Stoke City – 49

12 – West Ham United – 49

13 – Leicester City – 47

14 – Swansea City – 45

15 – Newcastle United – 43

16 – Sunderland – 42

17 – Bournemouth – 37

18 – Norwich City – 36

19 – Crystal Palace – 31

20 – Sheffield Wednesday – 27

Wimbledon Primary Players 2018/19

Craig Gordon – GK – 36 – Scotland – 40/0 (Games/Goals)

Dominic Iorfa – RB – 23 – England – 30/1

Santiago Garcia – LB – 30 – Argentina – 25/0

Andrew Farrell – CB/RB – 27 – USA – 31/0

Christian Kabasele – CB – 28 – Belgium – 34/2

Joey Pelupessy – CDM/CM – 26 – Netherlands – 30/2

William Vainqueur – CDM/CM – 30 – France – 34/3

Brecht Dejaegere – LM/RM – 28 – Belgium – 32/2

Sheyi Ojo – LM – 21 – England – 25/3

Manuel Pucciarelli – ST – 27 – Italy – 32/13

Allan Saint-Maximin – ST – 22 – France – 28/14

Wimbledon Main Supporting Players 2018/19

Steeven Langil – LM/RM – 31- France – 17/1

Marcus Rashford – ST – 21 – England – 16/1

Alvaro Vadillo – RM/LM – 24 – Spain – 16/0

Sergio Ayala – CB/LB – 26 – Spain – 15/0

Kris Commons – CAM – 35 – Scotland – 14/2

Dino Ndlovu – ST – 28 – South Africa – 12/8

Juan Camara – CM/LW – 25 – Spain – 12/1

Lucas Piazon – LM/LW – 25 – Brazil – 12/0

Enner Valencia – ST – 29 – Ecuador – 11/5

Most Appearances Across All Four Seasons

Sheyi Ojo – LM – England – 122/25 (2015-19)

Allan Saint-Maximin – ST – France – 99/53 (2016-19)

Ezequiel Ponce – ST – Argentina – 80/24 (2015-17)

Michael Heylen – CB – Belgium – 77/1 (2015-17)

Demarai Gray – LM – England – 75/20 (2015-17)

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – CM – England – 74/5 (2015-17)

Lukas Klostermann – RB – Germany – 74/2 (2015-17)

Ryan Kent – RM/LM – England – 73/7 (2016-18)

Brendan Galloway – LB – England – 72/3 (2015-17)

Sergio Mancini – CB – Italy – 70/1 (2015-18)

Nathaniel Chalobah – CM – England – 69/12 (2015-17)

Dino Ndlovu – ST – South Africa – 68/32 (2016-19)

Andy Barcham – LM – England – 67/11 (2015-17)

Joey Pelupessy – CM – Netherlands – 63/5 (2017-19)

Samed Yesil – ST – Germany – 63/35 (2016-18)

Julian Green – RM – USA – 62/8 (2016-18)

Jake Reeves – CM – England – 60/7 (2015-17)

Emerson Hyndman – CM – USA – 57/7 (2015-18)

James Shea – GK – England – 57/0 (2015-16)

Alban Lafont – GK – France – 52/0 (2016-18)

Angelino – LB – Spain – 50/1 (2016-18)

Most Goals Across All Four Seasons

Allan Saint-Maximin – ST – France – 53 (2016-19)

Samed Yesil – ST – Germany – 35 (2016-18)

Dino Ndlovu – ST – South Africa – 32 (2016-19)

Sheyi Ojo – LM – England – 25 (2015-19)

Ezequiel Ponce – ST – Argentina – 24 (2015-17)

Demarai Gray – LM – England – 20 (2015-17)

Manuel Pucciarelli – ST – Italy – 13 (2018-19)

Nathaniel Chalobah – CM – England – 12 (2015-17)

Andy Barcham – LM/RM – England – 11 (2015-17)

Ventislav Hristov – ST – Bulgaria – 9 (2017-18)

Lyle Taylor – ST – Montserrat – 9 (2015-17) Tom Elliott – ST – England – 9 (2015-17)