Morecambe Reaction

My inability to make it to most away games for the forseeable future means this is almost half a blog… plus I miss out on impressive, unexpected away wins such as yesterday. From the sound of it (I mean literally sound, listening in on WDON…) the Dons dominated large periods, bourne out by the stats showing the visitors clocked up twice as many chances as their opponents.

And now, after twelve games, we find ourselves deservedly in third position. A quarter of the way into the season, well, we know we probably won’t be involved in the relegation picture, but our position can’t be viewed as a springboard to a promotion push just yet. I’m not saying it won’t happen, this Dons side have surprised us all before, but its unlikely we’ll find ourselves playing for much come April.

We now have two home fixtures in a row, and its these games where I predict a Dons downfall, on the back of four wins in a row KM is bound to be packed for the visit of Crewe next week with home fans looking at the visitors position down in nineteenth and cracking up the pressure for another win. Even if we get past them with three points in the bag, that should set up a top of the table clash with pre-season favourites Crawley, ominously sitting in second after early troubles.

I’m seeing parallels with our first season in the Conference, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we see the campaign pan out in similar fashion… the Dons hovering around the play off picture until the New Year, before falling away as opponents learn how to unlock us more effectively, all while Brown learns which players in his squad aren’t going to cut it in the Football League.

Yet while we are on this run of form we should enjoy it. We have a pair of forwards in Midson and Jolley who are bang on form right now, fourteen goals between them so far this season, and you can’t see that coming to an end any time soon. Even if it does, there are goals in the squad, the number of scorers now into double figures and our midfield chipping in on a regular basis.

A quick word on the JPT draw, after the excitement of victory over Stevenage a draw away at Swindon has drastically reduced my interest in the competition for no other reason than I think it’s the sort of place we’ll lose on a cold Tuesday night. Unless the home side field a squad side that doesn’t gel on the night and circumstance allows us to go almost full strength, I’m kind of looking at this game in a similar manner to when we lost at Chelmsford in the Conference Cup all those years ago – a win would be a bonus but I’m not counting on it…

A very depressing update this one, think I’m having a reality check Sunday, either that or just sour for missing what looked like a fantastic victory!