WUP 8.3

This article was originally published in the October ’10 issue of WUP, as I pondered my (now abandoned) plans to relocate to New Hampshire, and the quality of media our far-flung fans rely on…

I’m writing this safely ensconced in my temporary home in Kingston, surrounded by black plastic sacks filled with a combination of clean clothes, dirty clothes, kitchen utensils, DVDs and god knows what else, all jumbled together in no particular order, with the pleasant task of finding a home for everything being put off until I finish writing this. It’s just a temporary move, because it looks very much as though come January I’ll find myself heading over to New Hampshire to join Mrs Anonymous Don, currently doing up our US residence and trying to find gainful employment. Naturally I’m looking forward to it, in every direction I look my life in the UK has become less and less appealing over the last few years – career heading sideways (then backwards, then sideways again…), lifelong friendships turning to dust (mainly thanks to the twin evils of women and kids)…

Yet there is one part of my life where everything is pretty frickin’ sweet at the moment… watching the Dons. Some of our football this season has been a joy to behold, almost ridiculously composed considering we barely have a player over the age of twenty-three (we already supply three England C regulars, if any more get called up they may as well play home games at Kingsmeadow…). So while my family, remaining friends and work colleagues first instinct when I told them my plans to move across the Atlantic were along the lines of ‘Good luck, we’ll miss you but it’s going to be an adventure, you go for it!’, the reaction of those who share my love of Wimbledon has been an almost identical – ‘What do you want to move there for?!’.

I’m kind of understanding where they are coming from – the timing isn’t great. At the moment nothing is set in concrete, so mid-January could turn into late-January, which in turn could become February – but I know the missus patience won’t stretch to the playoff final in May. I could face the horrific scenario of the Dons getting promoted to the League and not being there to celebrate, in fact being thousands of miles away. And much as I love my friends and family over the ocean, it won’t be the same. Still, I’m missing my wife more than I thought I would, for a thousand reasons, the overriding one at the moment is that for the time being I have to WASH MY OWN FUCKING PANTS…

I’m not even sure what I’m going to do with myself when I’m over there. I presume I’ll somehow integrate myself into the New England Revolution fan base. Although their supporters group is known as the Midnight Riders, which kind of sounds like a gang of stereotype gay bikers – I’m fairly sure they featured prominently in the Police Academy movies… presumably they meet at the Blue Oyster? I could change the name of the blog to The Anonymous Revs, maybe contribute if they have a similar publication to WUP? Although as my columns are largely self-indulgent it will presumably resolve around regular misunderstandings caused by the mid-Atlantic definition change of words such as ‘fanny’ (embarrassed apologies… police were called… had to sign a register… banned from all branches of Dunkin Donuts… that kind of thing).

My attachment to AFC Wimbledon is becoming more emotional because of the move. I found myself entering the Minithon in a desperate attempt to Do My Bit. I always imagined that in later years I’ll do my stint as a volunteer, now I can’t be certain I’ll ever get that opportunity. So while you roll out of bed tomorrow morning, I’ll be dodging dog poo over three laps of the park. Unless of course you read this on Sunday night when I’ve probably finished/collapsed. Or you found this in a box of your grandparents old stuff in 2067, if so can I just take the opportunity to say how fantastic it is the robots haven’t taken over yet? Back in the present day, I managed to raise a bit in sponsorship, but in reality I’m only doing it largely because I want to be a part of a Dons fundraising event like this before I leave. Although perhaps next year I’ll be running in the sister event in Boston along with a handful of ex-pat FCUM fans…

I’m also hoping the run will kick-start my dream of getting fit(ter) before I emigrate. As those who know me can attest, I could probably do with losing a few pounds before I head to the land of IHOPs and 20 oz. steaks. If you don’t know me, imagine someone who, while by no means obese, obviously has no idea of the concept of ‘leftovers’ – and you’ll be half way there. If I just left without any attempt to shift some weight they’ll be making documentaries about how a crane had to be employed and a wall knocked through just to remove me from my house within six months of landing… I will of course be getting fit the manly way by maybe cutting a beer or two out of my daily diet (I think I’ll opt for ‘the last one of the day’), and perhaps some kind of exercise that involves punching things. I don’t want to come across as being a misogynist so I’ll just say you’ll never catch me failing like certain sections of society seem to – namely eating nought but grapes and celery for three months before cracking and being found sobbing hysterically at 2am on the kitchen floor surrounded by empty cartons of Ben and Jerry’s… well, I won’t fail in that manner this time, at least…

I’m starting to realise just how big a deal it is giving up what I consider my given right to watch Dons games at the ground, in the flesh. Of course its a lot easier these days thanks to AFCWTV and WDON… we can relive the events of a game mere days later just by firing up our computers – hell, we can even watch Dons goals at work (provided the boss isn’t looking… or you work as a bus driver where I presume its frowned upon by Health and Safety jobsworths – such as your passengers). Even as early as the eighties there were individual match videos on sale at the Club Shop, but when I was a kid if you wanted to relive the action you pretty much had to wait for the end of season video. Which lead to disappointment on one occasion as a much-anticipated routing of Norwich was lost to technical difficulties…

Things improved slightly in the Premier League years thanks mainly to Match of the Day’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Dons coverage, and the realisation that regular videos could be a cash cow. I remember being disappointed that my VHS recorder failed to capture the Football Focus rerun of an early season Dean Holdsworth curler into the top corner against Ipswich (you know, ex-franchise Newport manager Dean Holdsworth…), only to find a pre-Christmas video round-up scratched that particular itch. Then a boozy teenage trip to Tenerife coincided with missing a couple of victories that lead to one of the most watched videos in my collection – Seven Deadly Wins. Yes, the production was poor even by todays non-League standards, but the action wasn’t, and on football videos at least that was all that really mattered.

The first few seasons of the AFC era saw two-part season reviews produced, but over the past few seasons we seem to have moved towards regular ‘Matchday Magazine’ productions – a kind of bi-monthly round-up. Yet how popular these are is open to speculation – why buy a DVD for a tenner when you can watch the highlights online, for free, whenever you want to? We were spoiled by the Dons Online website in the early years, but regular linking on the Official website to AFCWTV opens that kind of service up to even the most detached of Dons fans. Naturally it is going to be invaluable for me over the coming years – but what of the future of this type of service? Well, ironically, returning to the League could see things become slightly more problematic for far-flung Dons. Goals are available on the BBC website – but only if you are based in the UK. League clubs provide a video service on their website, but this normally requires a subscription. The day of free internet highlights could be over, sadly just as we (or more accurately, I) begin to realise what a valuable resource they are.

And yet… I could bypass the whole problem by simply not moving abroad start with. I’ve been told about this thing they have called ‘divorce’ which I think might just solve all my problems…

Further WUP articles can be found in the Features Index

Gregory Gets England C Call… And Hatton Is On Standby!

I don’t know why but as soon as I saw this news article on the OS I immediately thought it may be two of the players that were released last month. It seems a very Wimbledon thing to do, to big up an a achievement of someone deemed not good enough for the club… so I was delighted to find out it was Steven Gregory who got the call into Paul Faircloughs 19-man squad for the International Trophy match against the Republic of Ireland in Waterford on 26th May.

The International Challenge Trophy pits Englands C team (basically a Non-League U23 team) against various other nations under 23 sides. Eire select players from their own domestic league, yet other nations field their Olympic sides or full strength selections. The Waterford game kicks off group B, with Estonia waiting in the wings. Games in other groups have already begun, with Italy (A) and Portugal (C) leading the way.

Gregory’s call-up comes off the back of an impressive debut season in a Dons shirt. He seemed to be one of the few young players who learned from their mistakes last term, and proved himself one of the better defensive midfielders in the division. Make no mistake, Steven Gregory really deserves this. Equally satisfying is the news that Sam Hatton was called up to the reserve list, and a huge thumbs up from Fairclough (who undoubtedly would have taken advice from others in the Non-League game before this selection). The squad contains a number of Oxford players, who still need to make it through the Play-Off final at Wembley unscathed, so there is hope for Sam yet to make the full squad.

Well done to the pair of them, and hard luck to Luke Moore who undoubtedly would have made at least the reserve list had his season not been ruined by injury.

Second Thoughts… Tamworth 5.9.09

First off, my all encompassing match report managed to leave out one minor detail, that being Tamworth’s second goal. Thanks to Anonymous (no relation by the way) for pointing that out. So, here we go…

‘Tamworth doubled their lead, slightly against the run of play, as Chris Hussey failed to cut out a cross from the right. This is a problem I have highlighted before concerning Chris, but he does have a habit of showing his man to the byline without any kind of challenge. He has to be a lot tighter in future, and I hope it proves to be a lesson learned for him, as on this occasion it proved costly. The ball found Nick Wright all alone to thump a header past Pullen from close range, as the Dons backline seemed to take a laissez faire attitude towards marking.’

Of the eight games we have played so far Jay Conroy has only featured in four of them. Now I know this is down to the injury he picked up on the eve of the season, and due to Terry’s insistence on rotating for certain games, but I doubt he will miss another four games all season if he continues to show the sort of form he has recently.

Despite Kedwell’s two goals, Conroy just shaded him to my man of the match award. In fact it was probably the most complete performance we have seen from a Dons player this season, with the possible exception of Luke Moore against Salisbury. Conroy found himself shunted around the pitch, actually looking better playing out of position at centre half as he did at right back. Plus he possesses qualities we probably haven’t seen in the AFC era from a fullback.

For example, Luke Garrard was a gifted ball playing midfielder before Terry settled him into the right back slot. Yet now he reverts to the standard non-league fullbacks image of launching hopeful balls over the top and occasionally backing up the right winger by offering an outlet behind only to then dump the ball into the box with as much care and attention as an NHS nurse (not been to hospital recently?…).

Conroy however, has the ability to put his foot on the ball and pick a pass, whether forwards, sideways or to a midfielder, rarely looking like gifting possession away or panicking and hoofing one over the top. As well as this, like Hussey on the other side, he looks not just to get up in support of attacks, but even get past his colleagues on the right and provide a creative outlet. And for an added bonus, how good is he in the air?

Looking forward to next Saturday, we have run into a centre back crisis at precisely the wrong time. Cambridge hit seven against what admittedly sounded a pretty awful Forest Green side, but facing a strike force with the scent of goals in their nostrils is not for the Conference rookie. Having said that I would have no problem with Jay playing centre half on Saturday if required. He can do the job, of that I have no doubt.

Undoubtedly he would have played in that position had we been playing Wrexham tomorrow, but who would have played at right back? Sam Hatton has proved to be immense in that role, but would you pick him over Luke Garrard? Luke is such a likeable footballer but seems to be stuck in a rut after recovering from injury. He is solid enough, but just seems to be lacking something that Jay has at the moment.

Plus, assuming Conroy isn’t available at some point in the future and you go for Sam Hatton to fill in at right back, would it be possible to use Luke in midfield? It has been some time since he played there, and he wouldn’t immediately spring to mind ahead of the likes of Taylor or even Adjei. In fact it seems like a waste of Hatton’s talent even considering it. But could it actually work?

Moving down the opposite end of the pitch, Jon Main continued his miserable spell in front of goal once more on Saturday. In fact he contributed little to the game, seemed to be brushed off the ball all too easily and posed very little threat to the opposition goal. Some have mentioned how tired he looked towards the end, yet I would argue it is his lack of strength that really worried. At one stage he seemed to give up on a ball long before his chance of winning had gone, allowing his man to block him off and the ball to run out of play. He turned to me wth a look of agony and seemed to stare straight into my eyes (so maybe not the best time for me to cry ‘Oh come on Mainy!’ at him).

So what’s up with Jon Main? At the start of the season he was creating opportunities for himself with some intelligent running, but on Saturday at times he looked like a passenger. He gave the sort of performance you would have expected from someone suffering from a virus of some kind. I would imagine if Terry had a substitution left in him during the second half he would have hauled Main off, either for Godfrey or Wellard (with Moore supporting Kedwell up front).

With Ross Montague regaining fitness we could in theory see him set for a place on the bench come Saturday. In fact, could Terry even start with him? If Montague is good for an hour it would be good to see what he can do, with Main knowing he has the chance to be the impact sub many supporters believe it would be better to use him as. No player wants to earn a reputation as a supersub, and it would just be a short term thing providing a fresh Jon Main uses the opportunity to face tiring defences and turn opportunities into goals. It wouldn’t just be good for the team, it would be good for him personally.

Finally (before we get to the good bit), Chris Hussey didn’t look as dangerous as he has done of late, and defensively he was guilty of an error of sorts, but the boy can deliver an awesome dead ball when he puts his mind to it. His wonderful corner created the equaliser for Danny K, and his continued form has resulted in a standby spot for England C. Now I was speaking to a Manchester United fan last week moaning that our players seem to be overlooked for the squad, yet he seemed to believe this was a good thing for our young players. I can understand people perhaps feeling that it is a worthless exercise that could only result in a possible injury.

However, the ‘C’ squad don’t have twelve games a season for us to worry about. I can think of no better experience for a player such as Hussey (or Taylor, Gregory, Conroy, Hatton or Moore for that matter) to gain the sort of experience you just can’t buy. I for one would be proud of any Dons player called up to represent his country, and the fact we have half a dozen or so players who will still be under 23 in two years time (the duration of the forthcoming International Challenge Trophy that England ‘C’ compete for against a variety of representative sides across Europe).

So well done for receiving a place as standby for the squad Chris, but make sure you go on to show Fairclough just what a good player you can be. He certainly has the potential to prove himself the best under-23 leftback the Conference has to offer… and yes I appreciate the irony that I spent the first part of this article highlighting his mistake on Saturday before calling for him to be added to the England squad…

So, on to the ratings;

Pullen    5

Conroy    8

Hussey    6

Gregory    6

Inns    6

Johnson    6

Hatton    7

Adjei    6

Kedwell    8

Main    5

Moore    6

SUBS

Godfrey    6

Brown    6

Taylor    6

Explanation? Pullen looked poor even taking his injury into account, and no-one else really deserved more than a six with the exception of Conroy (for reasons listed above), Hatton (who really did well when asked to fill in at fullback, and still managed to get forwards to contribute a great ball for the first goal), plus of course Kedwell, our two goal hero.

After a free week, the Dons return next Saturday against Cambridge. Tune in for all the buildup – and I know some of my previews have been a bit lame of late, but I shall try my hardest to redress this balance – plus hopefully a couple of other pieces here and there…

Tamworth 2 AFC Wimbledon 2 – A Match Report

The Dons fantastic start has increased my expectations to such an extent that coming out of the ground yesterday, I couldn’t help feel slightly disappointed we hadn’t stolen the game in the second half. Yes, at half time I had given up hope of seeing any points, especially when I saw the two substitutions as the players came back out.

But we Dons have been spoilt by our team, as I have said before. And Tamworth really didn’t look anything special, which perhaps sums up our poor first half performance Plus some moronic MK chants from a section of the Tamworth support really made me want the lads to ruin their day with a winner.

It had started off, erm, cold. Tamworth is a grim looking place, with the stadium stuck on what looked like a piece of waste ground. They have done their very best to turn it into a Conference standard stadium though, aside from a horrendous slope from left to right (as seen from the away end). On the whole the locals were friendly (ignoring the MK stuff), yet a piece in their programme bemoaned the lack of locals turning up to watch the team, spending equivalent amounts of money watching games in local pubs.

The addition of a few hundred extra supporters and the money they will bring is probably all Tamworth need to stabilize as a Conference club. Not that they will have many problems staying up this season, especially after the start they have made this term.

The Dons fans travelled in their numbers once more, packing out the admittedly small away section and visitors seats, with a few more in the home section of the stand boosting numbers slightly above the 645 that officially entered. You wonder how Tamworth will cope when Luton arrive, with numbers in four figures rather than the high threes, yet the same could be said of a number of clubs – perhaps ourselves included.

Wimbledon fielded a slightly weakened starting lineup, with Luke Moore at the top of the diamond. No Derek Duncan meant Kenedy Adjei kept his place, moving to the left side of midfield, with Hatton and Gregory completing the quartet. It seems Steven Gregory had suffered a family bereavement during the week, for which the players wore black armbands in respect, and he showed a great deal of bravery stepping out for the team on an occasion when no Dons fans would have begrudged him spending time with his family instead.

Defensively, no Judge or Lorraine meant a first start this season for Alan Inns at centre half. As usual Jamie Pullen took his place between the sticks, yet unbeknown to us supporters was carrying an injury that he picked up during the warm-up, something that may have played a part in his erratic first half performance.

The players took the field to the strains of ‘Let Me Entertain You’, which was cringeworthy enough to provoke groans from Dons fans around me. That, and the overenthusiastic PA man, are a curse seemingly every club in provincial towns up and down the country seems to have fallen for, capped by the local village idiot parading round in full Tamworth kit and a lambs head (and since when have lambs taken to wearing keepers gloves?).

Wimbledon looked uncomfortable right from kickoff. Maybe it had something to do with the slope, or the changes made to the team, either way it didn’t look like it was going to be our day at all. Nick Wright created Tamworth’s first chance for himself on three minutes, cutting inside Alan Inns before guiding a tame effort into Pullens arms. It should have been a wake up call for the Dons, but just lead to more chaotic defending and misplaced passes.

Wright has been called up to the forthcoming England C squad along with team mate Alex Rodman, and it was Rodman that spurned the Lambs next chance, mishitting his right foot effort that still beat a scrambling Pullen, rolling just wide of his left post. I have to say, despite Rodman and Wright causing us problems today, if they are the England C benchmark then the likes of Luke Moore and even Sam Hatton should consider themselves unlucky not to have received a callup.

It seemed only a matter of time before either Wimbledon sorted themselves out defensively or Tamworth took advantage, and sadly it was the latter. A throughball was heading back to Pullen, and although he seemed in control of the situation, Jake Sheridan was chasing up to put pressure on the Dons keeper. Pullen seemed to have made his mind up to pick the ball up, yet at the last moment changed his mind and kicked it.

Maybe if Pullen hadn’t been thinking of his injury he might have realised the ball was on the edge of the area, and if he had just dropped on it and smothered then he could have made the best of a bad job. Instead his kick cannoned off Sheridan and flew in the bottom right corner of the net. On another day it would have flown out for a goalkick, but following our early season good fortune our luck seems to be turning after Oxford somehow escaped Kingsmeadow with the points last week.

Wimbledon finally created a chance on the quarter hour. Some persistent play by Jay Conroy saw him work a shooting opportunity from twenty-five yards, but his firmly hit strike flew straight into Tamworth keeper Danny Alcock’s arms. At the time, Conroy had just resumed full back duties after a spell at centre half after Alan Inns had to leave the field following a nasty gash to his head.

Unfortunately although Inns would gladly stick his head into a cement mixer if it meant there was a chance of defending the Dons goal, he isn’t made of stone (we probably forget that sometimes, and Inns himself definitely does…). A patched up Innsy returned to the field sporting a replacement or his bloodied shirt and a huge head bandage. And it only took one more commanding header to see that bandage slip off.

Really Inns should never have returned to the field. I would imagine his insistence to return was probably the reason he did, although he didn’t give the impression that he really knew where he was. There was always a danger he could have seen Tamworths red shirts, thought he was back playing for Trumpton and started challenging Dons players in the air. Innsy was eventually removed from the action, to a rousing reception from the Dons fans and good appreciation from the Tamworth supporters – despite the chanting later which was only from a minority of fans, it was good to see the majority of them know bravery from a footballer when they see it.

Lewis Taylor replaced him, with Sam Hatton moving back to fullback and Jay Conroy at centre half once more. Conroy really impressed me after the switch. He is a brilliant fullback, but has a defensive brain that he could probably apply to any defensive position. Knowing Jay can play this position must be a huge boost to Terry Brown, who seems to have run out of centre halves after having four at the start of the season.

Despite this setback things started to look up for the Dons, a short spell of pressure followed featuring our best chance of the half, a scuffed Kennedy Adjei strike seemed to be completely misjudged by Alcock who just watch it rebound of his right post and back into open play. Then on the half hour Gregory found space to fire a shot that seemed destined for the bottom left hand corner until Alcocks last minute intervention diverted it round the post.

Both sides played out the remainder of the half with some pretty shocking football. I’m not sure either side had any excuses, the Dons just couldn’t get their passing game going and were relying on long balls to Kedwell which may have been more effective if they were directed anywhere near the frontman. The players must have taken a small amount of hope from the fact their hosts were only slightly better than them, and you got the impression that if they could just get it together there still might be a way back into the game for them.

Not that it looked likely, especially following the use of both remaining substitutes during the interval. Pullen was removed from action having suffered a shocker (including being mocked by the Tamworth goalkeeping coach… obviously big Jamie wasn’t actually there to witness this, the guy being a coward and all…), being replaced by Sebb Brown.

Regular readers will know Browns performances in what should have been his trial period left me with little faith in the kid, and when he signed I promised to back him 100%… well I never expected him to actually get onto the pitch! Fortunately all Sebb had to do was the one thing he appeared quite good at during his trial period – kicking the ball clear.

Steven Gregory was also replaced by Elliott Godfrey. Gregory hadn’t actually had too bad a game. He gave the ball away a couple of times, but there probably wasn’t a Dons player on the pitch who hadn’t also. I can only imagine he had been affected by recent problems more than he thought he would.

Naturally with all the changes I saw the best case scenario as keeping the score down, and maybe notching a consolation goal that kept our hopes up until settling for a battling defeat. Yet, something clicked. Wimbledon immediately started looking dangerous. The ball found its way to Hatton on the right, who somehow worked space for a cross down by the corner flag. It was a delightful ball that found Danny Kedwell in plenty of space to guide his header across Alcock and into the far corner.

It certainly sparked the Dons fans into life (although the support was already pretty impressive, just perhaps a little resigned to our fate). The Dons were looking good but still in danger of being caught on the counter, Michael Blackwood striking straight at Brown. Then Wimbledon levelled the scores thanks to Kedwell again. A brilliant Hussey corner found Kedwell, who had lost his marker and had the easiest job of slamming his header into the back of the net.

I have to say I’m really proud for Danny Kedwell right now. When he joined last year he started with a flood of goals, before finding he was better at creating goals than scoring them. After that he seemed lose his scoring touch a bit, and he was never prolific at this level with Grays, so to see him second in the scoring charts right now is a pleasant surprise to us all. Maybe he won’t bang them away as frequently as he is now for the rest of the campaign, but by then perhaps our midfielders will discover their goalscoring touch…

If either side was going to win this game, Wimbledon now looked the more likely. Kennedy Adjei blazed an effort over seconds later. Then on the hour Sam Hatton found a shooting opportunity from a tight angle on the right, but couldn’t find the target. Elliott Godfrey found Lewis Taylor on the right who cut inside two defenders before lifting over and wide. Of course, perhaps it was better that none of these efforts made their way towards goal for fear a midfielder might actually score this season…

Luke Moore doesn’t count. He may have topped the diamond today, but his two strikes against Salisbury were both notched while supporting Kedwell up front. Today from his midfield position he couldn’t hit a milk producing animal with a medium sized stringed instrument. He lead an incisive break from his own half, and as the Tamworth defence backed away could only drag his shot from twenty yards wide of the left post.

Wimbledon had to stay switched on at the back, particularly to defend their inexperienced keeper. Jay Conroy in particular pulled of a couple of magnificent last gasp challenges to prevent Tamworth players a shot on goal. It was this type of danger that prevented the hosts from really threatening the Dons goal, although they did have a lot of possession as the game wore on.

Mostly it was wasted, the ball returned to a Dons player, and on a couple of occasions we saw a promising Wimbledon break halted early thanks to some quite cynical challenges. These drew yellow cards from the referee, but succeeded in negating the threat of these potential counter attacks.

Wimbledon have been awarded a few penalties already this season. The reason for this has been our speed of movement in the opposition penalty area, and outstanding close control confusing defenders, drawing fouls. While not all of those awarded this season have been clear cut, all of them were earned and deserved.

The problem is I don’t believe referees actually like giving penalties. Even the guy at Grays really didn’t want to give them, we got two because they were so obvious the linesmen were able to confirm what he had seen yet didn’t give the third – the most obvious of the lot. Perhaps the official who took charge of yesterdays games had noticed this statistic? He certainly didn’t seem to want to give us one at Tamworth.

Firstly, Elliott Godfrey burst into the box at pace, only to find himself dumped on the ground thanks to both of his legs being removed from under him. I have to say I wasn’t expecting a penalty to be given, it was borderline whether the offense was inside or outside of the area so thought the referee might give the benefit of the doubt and give a free kick. However he decided on this occasion he had seen a dive, and booked a clearly shocked Godfrey.

The second one was maybe more clear cut. Lewis Taylor weaved his way into the area only to be bundled over. This time the referee allowed play to continue. I’m not sure what he thought he saw, but he can’t have seen this as a Taylor dive as no yellow was forthcoming. So what then? Did Taylor just fall over? Or is body checking an opponent now a legal challenge, even when the ball is nowhere near?

It was around this time we heard those MK chants. As I said previously, not all Tamworth fans were a bad bunch, but still couldn’t they self police? After all, as I have said before if any Dons fan acts like a dick around me I don’t have a problem (kindly) bringing it up with them where necessary. The MK chants signal a lack of class, self respect even. It’s pure jealousy, and the majority of Tamworth fans don’t deserve being tarred with that particular brush.

While we are on the subject of Them by the way, it was great to see they threw away the lead at home to Huddersfield on Saturday. I’ve always liked Huddersfield, even more so as one of their supporters chose to come and support us rather than enter the Winkiedome. That’s another reason why Tamworth were ill advised taking the MK option (after all I’m sure there must be other, more original, chants that might hurt us equally badly…), that is that neutral eyes don’t look kindly on it either…

The game ultimately petered out in a serious of attacks and counter-attacks from both sides that threatened much and delivered little. Wimbledon failed to strike the killer blow when they had the momentum, but its was a fantastic effort to take a point from a game Tamworth didn’t deserve to lose due to their organisation and persistence in the first half.

Wimbledon now head into a free week, undoubtedly we shall drop a few places while the rest of the Conference have a full match week, and return to action against Cambridge next week looking to complete the visit of a trio of big hitters with a win against a side bang on form after destroying Forest Green 7-0 at the weekend.

Grays Athletic 2 AFC Wimbledon 4 – A Match Report

We all have our reasons for hating the bloke who compiles the fixtures. As a club, we could have been given the August Bank Holiday Monday fixture anywhere. The Cathedral city of Salisbury, for example. Down the seaside at Eastbourne. Even the University towns of Oxford or Cambridge.

But no. On one of the only days in the year when you can guarantee good weather (along with Cup Final day), we ended up in Grays. In Essex. Ugh…

What a scorcher it was too. I made the mistake of wearing my five year old Dons tracksuit top, the reason being it has enough pockets to hold my camera, notebook, phone, and the like. I originally bought it because it looked like the kind of top that might be cool in the summer yet keep me warm in the winter. In reality it does neither. Thanks Tempest.

Sunny Grays...

After wandering around the away section of The Rec, I noticed the stewards had opened up more seating. So I went and got myself a seat. Not only did I have a great view, but it was cool, much better than standing on what must have been hellish conditions on the terraces!

What a game it turned out to be. Right from the kick off both teams went for each other. Wimbledon created the first chance, the ball bouncing nicely for Wellard to deftly side-foot a volley towards Kedwell on the right side of the area, who beat two men in the air and nodded towards Jon Main, all alone in the centre. Mains diving header was too close to Grays keeper Preston Edwards who did well to push it round the post.

A couple of minutes later Grays created a really good chance of their own. George Beavan powered a header towards goal from a corner than Jamie Pullen somehow kept out. Straight up the other end, and Ricky Wellard was enjoying getting involved in a game from the start, striking a fierce effort that would have caused Edwards problems had it been a yard either side of him.

After some uncertain Wimbledon defending, the lively Daniel Charge found himself tight on the Dons touchline to the left of goal, cutting inside and blasting from an acute angle that Pullen once again did brilliantly to keep out of the net. The game was only nine minutes old, yet with better finishing it could have been 2-2.

Dons fans file in before the game

It only took a minute for the deadlock to be broken. A Chris Hussey free kick from the right was curled in towards the near post, where Brett Johnson made no mistake from a header that beat Edwards for pace. Johnson this became the first Dons player to score who didn’t happen to be Main, Kedwell or Moore (i.e., a recognised striker…).

It was all about Husseys delivery, and he appears to be full of confidence right now. I’m not sure what he needs to do to work his way into Paul Fairclough’s England squad after missing out for the forthcoming Hungary game, although if he keeps up his current form I’m sure he will get the call sooner rather than later. It was Hussey who had the Dons next chance on 17 minutes, firing a low effort across goal and wide, just ahead of a number of forwards looking to divert it into the net.

A much better Dons chance came along a minute later. Luke Moore slipped in Jon Main who rounded Edwards, over running the ball to the left touchline. Managing to keep the ball in play he squared it across the face of goal to the only Dons player currently suffering worse luck than him, Elliott Godfrey, who somehow managed to squirm the ball wide of the far post.

Wimbledon stepped up the pressure, with another effort seconds later. A Hussey free kick bobbled around the area, and with Edwards looking lost, Main tried to head the ball over him. Unfortunately he beat not only the keeper but the bar as well. But Main wouldn’t have to wait long for a much better chance to fall his way.

The lads line up

Main once again rounded Edwards following an impressive through ball from Wellard, yet this time the goalkeeper pulled him down. Edwards received a yellow card for his trouble, and Jon Main received the ball on the spot twelve yards out for his. If Jon Main is having trouble putting the ball away in open play, he still looks extremely confident given the ball from the spot. His firmly struck effort to the right sent Edwards the wrong way, giving Wimbledon a two goal cushion.

Despite the game being only twenty minutes old, it was hard to imagine Grays finding a way back into the game. Surely the Dons defence would tighten up, allowing our attacking options to pick Grays off. Another Hussey free kick kept the pressure on, this time central and curled around the wall, sadly not having enough to take it inside the left hand post.

Yet apart from looking woeful defensively, I always felt they had a lot going for them when attacking. They really unsettled the Dons back line, and I can’t work out why. It could have been down to Adjei replacing Gregory in the holding midfield position – while Kennedy had a good game individually he did find himself getting caught out of position now and then, perhaps inviting pressure onto the back four.

Paul Lorraine is beaten in the air

It lead to Grays best chance of the game on 26 minutes, as Dons players backed away, Kenny Davis strode on, belting a 20 yard effort that beat Pullen. Fortunately for the Dons it slammed against the inside of the post, as the Grays fans celebrated it bounced along the line and away. The Grays supporters wouldn’t have to wait long to celebrate…

When Glenn Poole picked up the ball wide left, cut inside and drilled a low shot wide of Pullens near post, it looked as if the danger had passed. Unfortunately the referee noticed the ball had clipped a non existent Dons heel and awarded a corner. When this was not properly cleared the ball found its way back in to the box, where Sam Gaughran was on hand to firmly head past Pullen.

Two-one now, and time for Wimbledon to worry. Just moments later Poole was given too much time to shoot wide of the near post on the right side of the box. Plus all of a sudden Wimbledon were making all the wrong choices offensively, summed up by a lame Kenny Adjei effort that dribbled wide of the near post when he should have picked out a team mate in a better position. And giving away possession meant Grays could come again…

Wimbledon didn’t just see out the half, they created a couple of chances of their own, Kedwell knock down for Wellard to release a thunderous half volley that Edwards did well to take without causing himself an injury, and an Elliott Godfrey volley that was lifted over.

Derek Duncan looks to intercept

Terry Brown was obviously eager to get his side in at the break and give them a talking to, however if he thought it would tighten up the leaky defence he wouldn’t be proved right immediately. When a Grays cross wasn’t properly cleared, the ball was played in again for Danny Charge to lash into the roof of the net. Poor defending again by Wimbledon, unusually so for this season as Grays became the first team to score more than one in a game against the Dons.

Although Grays would remain a threat to Wimbledon’s goal, they didn’t create another chance as good as their earlier efforts, and slowly but surely the Dons took control. A Moore ball to Kedwell gave the big forward too much to do, only able to head over. Then Hussey wasted a free kick in a good position before Jon Main found himself in the clear only to arrow an effort from twenty yards just over and wide.

On any normal day those chances would be worthy of describing in greater detail, but the sheer volume of chances Wimbledon were creating made it difficult to even make a note of them all. On fifty-seven minutes Godfrey found Ricky Wellard on the left side of the Grays area, the midfielder turned his man and struck a shot that would probably gone wide, only for Kedwell to get a toe-end to it that just diverted it over the bar.

Danny Kedwell points the way

Wimbledon just didn’t stop, Hussey found room on the left, cut inside and drilled a shot that Edwards did well to get down to low to his right. Then finally on the hour came the moment that not only gave the Dons the lead, but probably won the game once and for all.

A huge ball over the top was misjudged by Grays defender Cameron Mawer, allowing Danny Kedwell to get goalside of him and gain control of the ball. Entering the area, and with Kedwell about to pull the trigger, Mawer seemed uncertain exactly what to do next. With no way of winning the ball cleanly, he panicked and settled on taking a chunk of Kedwell’s shirt. Kedwell could only stretch and prod the ball into Edwards arms, the referee didn’t look that interested until the linesman flagged, and after a little chat sent Mawer from the field.

Nothing controversial there, although anyone missing the incident itself may have wondered as several Grays players chose to question the decision. None of this was putting off Jon Main, who replicated his first half penalty to give the Dons the advantage. So despite not finding the net from open play all season, Main now found himself on a hat trick and with three goals to his name. Looking at the numbers, Mains one-in-two strike rate is good enough, but how desperately he wanted to score during his remaining time on the field…

Shortly after Wellard and Godfrey were replaced by Gregory and Hatton. With Adjei moving up the pitch the midfield looked a lot more solid once more. Stephen Gregory is the sort of player you can tell is quality when he is on the pitch, yet for some reason you only realise how much he contributes when he isn’t there. While I think that Kennedy Adjei is a hugely talented player, its fair to say we missed Gregorys positional sense, the way he picks up loose balls in our own half. I don’t think Adjei or Dwayne Lee quite managed that last season and we found ourselves under a lot of unnecessary pressure because of this.

A huge Pullen clearance reaches his opposite number

Wimbledon continued their siege of the Grays goal on sixty-four minutes. Jon Main’s hat trick quest proved fruitless once more as he tried to turn and shoot. His effort was absolutely hopeless and looked as though it would pose more danger to the residents of the flats next to the pitch, until a Grays defender needlessly stuck out a leg, diverting it over the bar for a corner.

On the subject of those residents, I always wonder whether they send someone round to see if they want a programme? I always pondered that about Leyton Orient when they built flats in the corner of their ground. Plus I noticed only three of the balconies were in use, do those residents who don’t watch go round saying ‘Grays Athletic do play outside my back window, and I do close the curtains…’ Plus did we have a Searchlight intrusion of our own at Oxford? I heard a few chants from the Tempest about ‘Pikeys on the roof…’? I couldn’t see, I was in the John Smiths…

Anyway, back to the corner. It was played short to Hatton who hit a great cross towards the back stick, headed wide by Kedwell (or it could have been Johnson…). A minute later Mainy got a bit overexcited once more, firing in a shot shortly after being called for offside. He might have got away without a yellow card if the ball hadn’t ended up in the car park…

I always wonder what goes through referees minds when they have already given a couple of clear cut penalties to a side, how do they cope with further appeals? I think this guy made up his mind he wasn’t going to give Wimbledon another no matter what happened… and what happened was Luke Moore broke into the box, and a Grays player swept his legs from under him. The referee realised his linesman wasn’t going to help him out this time so waved away Wimbledon appeals.

Elliott Godfrey looks to break down the defence

He didn’t book Moore, but the Dons striker clearly took this as some kind of insult, as if the referee had made a statement about his honesty, as he was still discussing the intricacies with the official a good two minutes later. By the way, for the bloke sitting behind me in the stands benefit, it is ok for players to talk to the referee! He wasn’t swearing at him, he was talking in a reasonable manner to the official, who had absolutely no problem answering him. Lets calm down shall we?

That was perhaps the only down point to sitting in the stand (as well as loss of atmosphere… but I’m used to that… I have a John Smiths season ticket…). A couple of Dons fans reacted to any loss of possession, indeed any pass that went anywhere except forward, in the same manner I would if I walked into my living room one morning and found a bear, a shark and a crocodile waiting for me. Wimbledon were pretty comfortable at this stage, and I know anything can happen in a game of football, but I didn’t really need a high pitched commentary consisting of advice such as ‘Get rid of it!’, Pass it forwards!’, and the all time classic ‘I wish they wouldn’t doooo that!’.

Seriously, it was like sitting in front of a group of people who had never seen a game of football before but were warned they would be kneecapped after the match if Wimbledon didn’t win… Its almost enough to put me off ever sitting to watch a game again! Strank Standers, are you all like this? I don’t know how some of them get through a game, never mind a season without heart failure, or having to call the nurse to give them their bedtime medicine and tuck them up in their special jacket…

Sam Hatton in action

Hmmm. Jon Main found himself dragged off once more, replaced by Derek Duncan, yet this seventy-first minute substitution was bookended by a couple of Sam Hatton chances. Firstly, he drilled a strike from twenty yards into the keepers arms (have our midfielders been practicing shooting by aiming at a cone placed in the middle of a goal I wonder?), before finding himself scuffing across goal with his left foot when through on goal wide right.

Wimbledon’s most fluent move of the game came with fifteen minutes to play. Hussey and Duncan combined down the left to find Luke Moore in space in the middle, who played a quick give-and-go with Sam Hatton. Unfortunately his shot was deflected wide, but the Dons were bringing some of their best football to the table. Another chance went by the wayside, as Hussey decided to ignore Kedwell in the middle after another run down the left, poking across goal and just wide with the outside of his left foot.

That’s not to say Grays had given up on an equaliser. Despite being down to ten men, one of the reasons Wimbledon had so much to operate in the Grays half of the field is Grays were still going for it at the other end. They hadn’t created anything worthy of note (otherwise I would have noted it…) but the danger was any slip by a Dons defender could be catastrophic, and every Wimbledon chance that went begging seemed to emphasise this a little more.

It was at this stage that Brett Johnson decided to drop a short back-pass to Jamie Pullen. While the worriers behind me shrieked in a frequency thankfully only audible to dogs, and presumably wet their man nappies, Pullen didn’t panic. In fact he didn’t even clear it, he took it round his man and calmly passed it away… although I have to say even my heart jumped just a little when he did that!

After netting the winner, Danny K heads for the toilets...

It was almost comical heading into the last five minutes, as Wimbledon missed more really decent chances than some sides get in an entire game. Moore broke down the right, and picked out Kennedy Adjei. Adjei fluffed his big chance by trying to allow the ball to cross his body and side-foot in with his left, only for the last Grays defender to get a challenge in that made Kennedy trip over the ball, lying prostrate as Edwards picked up the pieces.

Finally Kedwell, had a couple of chances from a tight angle right of goal, both teed up by Steven Gregory. The first slid just wide of the left post, whereas finally, finally, the second effort nestled in the bottom corner. No more than Kedwell deserved for his performance, no more than the Dons deserved, but maybe a little earlier next time please Dons?

For those of you keeping count of all the Dons chances, well done. And for those who didn’t, it was twenty-eight chances (eleven on target, seventeen off target, stat fans…), so congratulations for getting this far and reliving those twenty-four missed opportunities. Its definitely no exaggeration to say it could have finished 9-3…

So the Dons move on to a tricky but winnable trip to Tamworth. Its not within the realms of impossibility that we could take seven points from the next three fixtures, and if we do that… we have twenty points from our opening ten games. A target a well known football manager said last season was a good springboard for a promotion push…

(For more photos, see http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100914&id=73526524635&l=7ffb260ff1)