Conference Score and Match Reaction Altrincham 23.8.09

Firstly, and just in case anyone has tuned in late not knowing the score…

Altrincham    (0) 0

AFC Wimbledon    (0) 1    Kedwell (82)

And that, if you didn’t know, has taken AFC Wimbledon into 4th place. True, only five games have been played, but for the young Wimbledon side this is more experience. Perhaps next year, we may be in fourth place preparing to face the league leaders with five games to go?

In truth, we probably don’t have the experience, as well as a lack of depth among our striking options, to hold up a serious playoff challenge over the course of this season. Look at how Kettering tailed off last year when they became preoccupied with the FA Cup. I expect a decent run in the FA Cup this year, and perhaps a huge push to get to Wembley in the Trophy.

I expect this season to be exciting. I also think we will win more games than we lose. Yet for every battling away win at places like Altrincham we are going to trip up in the manner we did at Eastbourne… especially in situations where the pressure is on. Plus although Salisbury rolled over for us last Tuesday, we are going to come across opponents hanging around the bottom half who will all of a sudden become very hard to break down.

I expect us to give Oxford a really good game on Saturday. Yet it’s how we perform in the following two games against Grays and Tamworth that will decide whether we are still in the playoff places come 5pm on the first Saturday of September. Looking further ahead, at some point Danny Kedwell’s rich goalscoring form will come to an end. He’s never been prolific anywhere he has been – even last year it was more about the goals he created than the many he scored.

Plus Terry has already spoken about his desire for Luke Moore to chip in with a few goals this term. If Moore can hit twenty this season, as he has the tallent to achieve, perhaps that will take the pressure off Jon Main a little. The fact that no league sides came in for Main last summer probably has more to do with the fact he was under contract, and we would have asked for silly money. Yet even if he was a free agent, I can’t believe clubs would have been falling overthemselves to sign him. Perhaps he would have got a trial here or there, I don’t think anything would have come from it.

As I have said previously though, Main is still getting chances. Perhaps against Oxford or Grays he will race clear of the defence and stick it away this time, then chances are he will start chipping in goals. My biggest problem at the moment is we haven’t seen any goals from midfield. With players like Hatton and Taylor, even Duncan, shouldn’t we have seen a goal from one of them in the last five games?

Like the league table however, the goalscoring charts are normally skewed by early season form that cannot be kept up over the course of the season. I’m sure by the end of September we will be in a position to judge our strengths and weaknesses a little better. Until then, and looking at some of the fixtures we have coming up, my only recommendation to you all is just to enjoy it!

Finally, I heard a supporter of ours collapsed at the game yesterday, apparently the Altrincham stewards dealt with it very efficiently. I don’t know the fan in question, but needless to say my thoughts, and those of all Dons fans, are with them now.

PS In case you missed the earlier news, I wasn’t at the game so there will be NO MATCH REPORT from me. Never mind, to make up here are some offerings from the media, and some of my fellow fan sites;

Local Guardian/Surrey Comet –http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/sport/football/4561030.Still_so_much_to_come_purrs_Dons_boss_Brown/

BBC Sport (for a laugh more than anything, see the description for the Alty chance…) – http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/8207946.stm

BBC Sport text commentary – http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/afc_wimbledon/live_text/default.stm

Altrincham O/S report ***Excellent*** – http://www.altrinchamfc.co.uk/090822an.htm

It Must Be Dons – http://imbd.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/long-journey-for-3-lovely-points/

SW19s – http://sw19s-army.derrymeeleen.com/wp/?p=3904

AFC WimbledonMAD – http://www.afcwimbledon-mad.co.uk/news/loadroll.asp?cid=ED81&id=459412