AFC Wimbledon 2 Histon 0

Its quite difficult to find an angle for this match report. On one hand, the Dons were persistent, frequently tore Histon to shreds and could have had a hatfull by half time had they been a bit more collectively focused in the attacking third. Some of the football they produced was breathtaking at times, and they really deserved to have won the game by several more.

On the other hand, well, they didn’t score earlier, nor did they win by more. This can be considered a fault, a trouble, a worry that needs to be discussed. The opposition were limited, and right from the off a big win seemed to be the order of the night… but it didn’t materialise.

The third and final hand (this report is already turning out to be a bit of a monster…), were Histon really that bad? With hindsight, I’m not even sure they were that negative? We’ve seen a lot worse during our battle through the feeder leagues, and judging by last nights performance their organisational qualities alone will give the likes of Southport a run for their money. For all the talk of Histon having no cash, of being the whipping boys this season, it looks as though they might just be a bit more competitive than many of us thought….

Histon shouldn’t really have been given the opportunity to hold on to what they had in the second half. Wimbledon tore them to shreds in the first period with some wonderful passing football, although for all their possession they produced few clear goalscoring opportunities.

Something strange was happening in the Dons midfield. Ricky Wellard was using his left foot for purposes other than simply passing the ball sideways… or occasionally passing the ball forward… or very occasionally passing forward and finding a team-mate. In fact he seemed to have adopted a shoot on sight policy. Hindsight has shown this was probably due to a quite word in the ear from the manager asking him to weigh in with a few more goals, although by the time this reached the press it mutated into BROWN THUNDERING that Wellard would FACE THE AXE if he failed to find the net.

Actually the start of that previous paragraph was pretty unfair on Ricky. He would have been regarded as our most consistent midfielder last term had it not been for Steven Gregory, and I have no doubt that should he continue at his current rate of learning at this level, he will be the sort of player that strikes fear into even the strongest opposition in six months time… and the sort of player opposition fans identify on web forums as one to watch…

No wonder he looked so happy when he finally put one away. During the first half however, while it was great to see a Dons player shooting when given the opportunity, and even better not to see the ball hit a passing 131 on the Kingston Road, Wellard needed to calibrate his x-axis with a little more precision – his efforts too close to Histon keeper Welch, but still drawing excellent saves from the stopper who also came up big when required from an Ismail Yakubu header from six yards… 

When half time came, the team left the field to applause, it seemed not to matter the scores were still level – the Dons were playing some awesome football, and goals were coming… As you would expect, football is a bit more complicated than that, and AFC Wimbledon more complicated still, and as the second half wore on without a Dons chance forthcoming Histon began to fancy their chances of an unlikely reward.

I don’t blame Histon for the way they went about defending their point, although it isn’t great to watch. Especially as a frustrated home supporter willing them to get on with it… although I did notice keeper Welch ALWAYS took his goal kicks on the right hand side of the six yard box, and I was willing the Tempest end to throw the ball back to him on that side to see if he would take it back to the left… but they never did, allowing him to trudge back over to his favourite kicking spot, find a good bit of turf, rotate the ball a few times to make sure he’s kicking the valve… this probably only killed a few seconds each time, but Dons fans lived a lifetime each time he did it.

The delays were strangling the Dons performance. All of a sudden things seemed a bit more urgent, passes were becoming more forced and the natural football we saw in the First had been replaced by a team now desperate for the breakthrough. The closest they came was a reaction header from Sammy Moore that drifted wide of the right post… it might have gone miles wide, but from my view down by the corner flag it was agonizing… and it wasn’t in the net…

Brown saw Main and Moore were becoming less and less effective and made the same change he had on Saturday, bringing Jackson and Jolley on to replace them. This was a different challenge for the youngsters, with a massed defence ahead of them and little chance to get behind and use their pace, but presented a different challenge to Histon than  Main and Moore had (again, neither had a bad game, but a change was required…).

Then the Dons were handed a massive lifeline… midfielder Oluwafemi Ilesamni, who had been deservedly booked in the first half, for no reason slammed the ball against the wall behind the goal. That it ended up only yards from where it started mattered little to the referee, Ilesamni can probably consider himself a little unlucky… but cards get given for that these days, especially as he hit it with a little anger and directly at the Dons fans behind the goal (if he’d got under it a little and the ball had struck a supporter there would’ve been REAL trouble…).

The game had actually restarted by the time the Histon midfielder had reached the tunnel, but it seemed the Dons had blown their chance before Histon’s lack of experience got to them once more in the second minute of stoppage time. Danny Kedwell burst into the box, turning his man who left half an arm and half a leg out… not much, not enough to stop a rampaging Danny Kedwell in full flow under normal circumstances… but he saw it, and said ‘I’m having that’…

The referee was definitely having it too, and Kedwell was given the opportunity to make the most of the opportunity he earned. Unlike Mains effort on Saturday there was no uncertain sidefooted effort from the skipper, rammed home with such pace this writer can’t remember a Dons penalty despatched with such intent since a certain V. Jones bashed one in during injury time against Sheffield Wednesday in the mid 90’s. Same corner too.

This certainly knocked the stuffing out of Histon, and Rashid Yussuff capped an impressive cameo by picking up a rebound off the referee, skipping past a couple of challenges before feeding Danny Kedwell on the right. The captains measured ball was begging to be put away, and Ricky Wellard bounced it into the far corner, grabbing the goal he richly deserved for his own Man of the Match performance (well, in my eyes anyway…). Wellard can stick one in the top corner from thirty yards every game, but this type of goal will please his manager most – this is the type of goal Brown wants to see from his midfield, actually attacking balls into the box and getting their reward.

Was this a lucky Wimbledon victory? Well, you could look at the clock when the ball went in the net, and you can question whether on another day a different referee would have given the penalty, and I would still deny luck played any part. Wimbledon got their reward for persistence, and after their first half performance went unrewarded could easily have let their heads drop and stop fighting. That they didn’t is a great credit to them.

Are their still questions over whether this squad can mount a title challenge? Well, yes. There are at least forty-four of them I can think of. While we have every reason to get excited going into the Tamworth game on Saturday, it’s still early days.

Second Thoughts… Histon 26.9.09

First up, surprise and no surprise, Jon Main. Main was given the start again for Histon, and I made a comment that was something along the lines of ‘Main was more of a hinderance than a help’ or something like that. Now thats not strictly true, he didn’t spend his time on the pitch wandering round fouling opponents or tackling his own players

There was something I spotted in Jon Mains eyes after he sat down following being withdrawn from the Crawley game, he looked away at no-one in particular and raised his eyes for a split second. He wasn’t happy with his contribution, thats for sure. Has this become a complex for Main? The guy that could possibly steal his first team place has scored more times from open play in his four substitute appearances, including contributing a lot more than just goals, than Main has in the many starts he has made.

The problem is in his head, thats for sure. Is the best answer really to send him on loan to a BSS club? What will that tell him (and us for that matter)? That he can score goals in the BSS? We already know that. And by extention we know that there are goals in him in the division above. Perhaps not as prolific, but  he can score goals. Its not so much of a leap that a player that hit 34 last season now cannot score at all in the Conference.

On the contrary, his goals dried up in the new year, Jon Main is going through the sort of nightmare that all goalscorers have at some point in their careers. But hang on, it seems like whenever the subject turns to Jon Main, I seem to be writing the same old things. Its his confidence… proven goalscorer… needs a couple of goals… In effect I’m just making excuses for Main, in reality he shouldn’t be in the team right now. If Ross Montague is ready for it, we should see him start to build an potentially exciting relationship with Keds. I’m probably drifting into the grey area between the Histon review and the Rushden preview, not that it really matters but more on this tommorow.

Another player suffering this season is Sam Hatton. Once again, its the same old excuses for Sam, I said his only productive period on the field against Crawley was the time he spent at right back. This time round, he’s given the position as his own (as lets be fair, even his most keenest supporters, and I count myself as one, have known this was coming). Yet, he didn’t quite justify his selection. Great going forwards, but his positioning left a lot to be desired when paired up with a speedy forward on that side who had him for pace and beat him in the air on most occasions.

And I have to say, we got away with it really. It could have been a potentially tricky situation, but no harm was done. All we really learnt was that Hatton looks great going forward on that flank, but doesn’t have the pace of a Lewis Taylor who can launch quick counter attacks. So moving Taylor inside isn’t really an option.

Which leaves us with Sam’s best position, centre midfield, where he can make a nuisance of himself, pick up the pieces, pass it on quickly and hopefully get himself into a shooting opportunity now and then. When he does this its not a problem. When he falls down on his passing, or strength of tackling, people really notice, and that stigma continues with him for the next couple of games.

The problem is, if he is having a poor game every three games or so, as he seems to be right now, then the criticism builds momentum. He can give himself a break by simply putting in a couple of good shifts. Thats easier said than done though, and at the moment he seems to be keeping the shirt through a lack of anyone else capable of playing there. With Wellard just not ready yet, Adjei is probably his biggest threat as he seemed to play Sam’s position well on Saturday.

Another option would be to move Adjei back to the holding position and let Steven Gregory move forward. But Adjei has proved to be something of a liability in a position where if you give the ball away, you create trouble for your team. And Gregory has been an absolute revelation so far this season. Which brings me to…

Steven Gregory. I love watching him play. It all seems too easy for him, as if he can see two steps ahead of anyone else on the pitch. We have heard people mention that Hussey, Kedwell, even Luke Moore might be the subject of scouting visits, and maybe they were. But anyone who has been sent down would have done themselves no harm by putting a good word in for this unflappable midfielder.

A players performance cannot be measured on goals alone, especially for a position where getting forward and scoring goals isn’t really in the job description, but as its something that most of you would have seen, lets examine it as a microcosm of his footballing mentality. Now the ball bounced to Hatton fast, and if anything it was more ‘cop out’ than vision that saw him nod it Gregory’s way. In a beat Gregory had worked out not only that having a shot was his best option, but floating it in the corner would be the most efficient way of doing so.

Watch this goal again, on AFC Wimbledon TV. From my angle it looked good, but as you could tell from my description of it I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing it from the angle that did it most justice. I know I haven’t provided a link, except for the one on the right, but you should know where it is now. In fact you should all have it bookmarked…

For the rest of you, what you’ve been waiting for; Match Ratings!

Pullen    7

Hatton    6

Hussey    7

Adjei   7

Lorraine    7

Johnson    8

Gregory    8

Taylor    6

Kedwell    7

Main    5

Moore    7

SUBS

Inns    7

Duncan    6

Montague    6

AFC Wimbledon 4 Histon 0 – A Match Report

Only seventy-two in attendance from Histon today, and apparently a few Dons fans mocking them for this. Well, let me remind you that Histon are a village club, to have seventy-two of them make the trip is superb, as impressive as the couple of hundred who made the short trip from Crawley on Tuesday, comparable with the six-hundred odd that Cambridge United brought down. As there were so few I couldn’t make out many of their chants, although I did catch a quick burst of ‘You’ve got no history’…. Seriously, what does that even mean?!

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was a good day for watching football… although I say that every Saturday, it’ll probably be similar temperatures next week for Kidderminster. In my mind of course it’s October so it will be single figure temperatures and dark by 4.15… Despite the pleasant weather we only had just shy of 3,400 turn out, a quite poor attendance given recent attendances. Are there one or two of us who only show up for ex-League clubs?

At least the lack of congestion at 2.50pm meant nearly all were in the ground to see the Dons make a lightning start, seconds into the game Kedwell picked up the ball on the left edge of the area and tried to bend one around ex-Dons keeper Danny Naisbitt, his shot appearing to take the keeper by surprise and he watched with some relief as the ball flew wide of the right post. Naisbitt looked happy to be back at Kingsmeadow, even if he didn’t always see eye to eye with some Dons fans.

Although the Dons were looking pretty good on the ball, nothing much really happened until twelve minutes in, where the game well and truly took off after a mental sixty seconds. Lewis Taylor picked up the ball in the Histon half and headed for goal. He seemed to have missed his opportunity to get a shot off,  but moved his feet well and struck from the edge of the box. His effort was deflected and seemed to have caught Naisbitt out, but the keeper stuck up a hand and got fingertips to it. This only slowed the balls progression towards goal, and the Tempest End were in full celebration mode until a Histon man appeared from nowhere to hack the ball off the line.

This lead to a Histon counter attack, led by Danny Wright on the left, He looked up and found Josh Simpson all alone in the centre having got clear of Brett Johnson. Simpson had to control the ball before snapping a shot off, and in this time Johnson managed to get back around him and pulled off a magnificent last ditch challenge. Wimbledon went forward again, Jon Main receiving the ball on the left tight to the touch-line.

Instead of crossing, Main took aim for the far corner, his strike well kept out by Naisbitt. Yet the Histon custodian had only managed to parry the ball into the air for Luke Moore to side-foot over him and into an empty net. One-Nil to the Dons, scored by Moore and the assist must go to Johnson for his fantastic block that prevented the scoreline being reversed.

Jon Main had been given a starting place, maybe his last chance to impress while Terry Brown is still ‘experimenting’. Fifteen minute in he received the ball down the right channel and powered into the box. He had a couple of chances to get a shot away before he found himself bearing down on Naisbitt. He seemed to be pushed as he tried to get his shot away, but the referee decided no penalty, and Naisbitt forced his shot round the post for a corner.

Histon were not prepared to roll over for Wimbledon just yet though. On twenty minutes a long ball saw Knight-Percival get behind Sam Hatton at the far post, he lifted his header over James Pullen but off target, allowing the ball to bounce in the six yard box for the Dons keeper to collect. It was end to end for a while as Danny Kedwell caught sight of goal on the edge of the Histon box and stabbed an effort that may have caused Naisbitt more problems had it not been straight at him. Micheal Frew then repeated Kedwell’s effort at the other end for Histon.

Wimbledon were playing well, using the ball in midfield for a change, especially Kennedy Adjei on the left and Steven Gregory just in front of the back four. The problem was the final ball just wasn’t there. This hasn’t been a problem for Wimbledon who have started the season at home creating numerous chances for our midfielders to waste. Histon on the other hand were playing a direct game that suited their players, and at least this was creating half chances for them to miss.

On the half hour Histon had a short spurt of pressure, beginning with a corner from the left that saw Jamie Barker unmarked eight yards out, but he could only divert the pacy delivery over the bar. A minute later Sam Hatton gave away a needless free kick in dangerous territory, which although being eventually diverted over the bar saw Terry Brown (who had been warning his players about giving away fouls) to shout “They aren’t hurting us (with their backs to goal), these (free-kicks) ARE hurting us! Stay on your feet!”.

And moments later the Dons back four lost their shape for the first and only time during the game when Sam Hatton was pulled out of position allowing a two on one break down the left. Josh Simpson took the ball himself, slightly over-running the ball allowing Pullen to nick the ball away from him.

Ironically it was Wimbledon who had the numbers on their next break as Matthew Langston collapsed in an extravagant heap while going high with his feet with Kedwell. The referee was having none of it, allowing Taylor to carry the ball on with Kedwell and Main in support. Unfortunately Taylors final ball was shocking allowing one of the remaining two defenders to get a foot in. Taylor seemed to be having difficulties releasing the ball, having previously seen crosses from both flanks sail harmlessly over the crossbar, yet still had a very big part to play in this game.

Histon went on to create maybe their two best chances of the game. Knight-Percival gave Hatton a little nudge to get himself goalside, and with the referee waving play on found Micheal Frew all alone in the centre with the simple task of tapping past Pullen and levelling the scores. Fortunately for The Dons, but perhaps summing up Histons day, Frew somehow managed to strike the floor rather than the ball and ended up taking an embarrassing tumble over it. Dons fans may have taken a deep breath expecting the worse, but were able to expel it with a nervous laugh instead.

Minutes later Hatton’s attempt to deflect a cross from the left ended up unluckily falling to Danny Wright, who made the mistake of steadying himself before firing off a shot. This gave the split second Brett Johnson required to get a block in for a corner. Johnson and Lorraine were so assured this game that you wonder how anyone ever manages to score against Wimbledon, both of them brilliant in the air, take the ball from forwards with ease and know where to put themselves when a shot threatens the Dons goal.

Just before half-time, the Dons had a chance to double their lead as Hatton and Main found space at the far post. Unfortunately as Hatton moved onto the ball from the right and went to pull the trigger, Jon Main following the path of the ball got a foot in first, lifting the ball over Naisbitt, yet sadly not only was the ball heading wide, but it wouldn’t have had the legs to reach goal anyway. Main had been bombing around the park, but except for the incident that could have led to a penalty, this incident really summed up his participation – almost more of a hinderance than a help.

The Histon players returned to the pitch, and Naisbitt seemed to hang around on the half-way line for a while until the Wimbledon players returned to the pitch. As warm applause rang out around the ground, Naisbitt approached the Tempest. Maybe he had told his team-mates he was popular here? Despite that he got a few cheeky chants requesting to know who in fact he was, for which he applauded the fans, who responded in kind. Well, time is a great healer…

The first ten minutes of the half was the only period that Wimbledon looked like they would concede. I’m not sure what Brown had said to them during the break, but it seemed to make them over confident to the point that effort was no longer required. Brown himself was screaming at them to find themselves again. Despite the weight of pressure and dominance of possession, Histon only managed one effort on goal, a Frew snapshot which Pullen did well to get down to parry. Unfortunately Wright then blundered in as the keeper gathered, despite having no chance of playing the ball he put a real stone age challenge that kept Pullen down. Despite this, the referee neglected to show a card. I can only presume he had forgotten them, as he managed to make it through the game without showing any, a rare occurence these days even when taking The Dons superb disciplinary record into account.

I said Histon put on pressure for the first ten minutes of the half, and there was almost a symbolic change in the games momentum that lead from a Histon corner in the fifty-fifth minute. The corner was defended well and cleared as far as Jon Main, who beat a Histon player to the ball in his own half. He flicked the ball to Luke Moore who headed across the half way line centrally before playing in Lewis Taylor down the left.

Taylor allowed Chris Hussey to take over while moving to a position just outside the box. Hussey found the bye-line and sent over a wonderful deep cross that was nodded back into the box for Kedwell. A defender managed to nod this half away but straight into the path of Taylor who smashed it back from ten yards into the right side of the net, giving Naisbitt absolutely no chance. A brilliant counter attack by Wimbledon capped by a stunning finish… by a midfielder! Yes I know Luke Moore was technically taking up a midfield position loosely based on the left, but Moore is more of a striker, and you would expect him to have netted a couple so far. Therefore Lewis Taylor became the man who broke the Dons midfielders scoring duck.

Straight after the goal, Brett Johnson was replaced by Alan Inns. Johnson looked as though he had picked up a knock, so lets hope he will be ok for the Rushden game on Tuesday. The Dons really took over from this point, Histon looked a little lost, and Steven Gregory took example almost scoring the goal of the season in the process. Picking the ball up on half way, he beat his man to the ball and seeing no obvious passing opportunity, he beat the next man too. On the edge of the area he seemed to realise where he was, and knocked past a third man, unfortunately overhitting it and allowing the alert Naisbitt to nip in and steal it off him.

The removal of a glum looking Main for Ross Montague and a tiring Taylor being replaced by Derek Duncan sandwiched a Histon half chance, Pierre-Joseph Du Bois heading into the side netting. As for Main, he looked like a player who knows he may not find any first team action for some time. A spell in the reserves may allow him to find his scoring touch (unless he has a ‘no reserve’ clause in his contract), or perhaps more valuable take a spell on loan to a Blue Square South club.

Alan Inns was in no nonsense mode. Everything in the air he gobbled up, and everything on the ground he met with force, challenges designed to make sure the ball went dead and our goal was in no danger above any other priority.

Hussey was finding plenty of space down the left to show his worth to any potential suitors who may have been buried away in the stands, yet the next Dons player to get behind Histon on this flank was Kedwell, pulling back for Kennedy Adjei to blast at goal, well saved by Naisbitt to his left. But a third goal was soon coming.

Hatton, who had a mixed performance at right back, still looked good going forward. And he had a chance to bury the demons of Tuesday nights miss when presented with an identical opportunity. This time he blasted at Naisbitt, when the ball bounced straight back to him he calmly nodded the ball to Steven Gregory who lofted it out of Naisbitts reach into the left inside netting. A wonderfully calm finish, his first goal for the club, and The Dons were now out of sight.

Moments later Hatton turned creator again, this time heading into the box on his own and finding himself hauled down as Gwillim crashed into him and sandwiched him against a team mate. This lead to Hatton’s momentum taking him well inside the area, giving referee and linesman the mistaken impression that this was where the offense had taken place. It was harsh on Gwillim as well, who had impressed me in the first half with his dangerous crossing with either foot.

Of course. I had previously told us not to expect another penalty all season, yet here we were with our seventh gifted to us in our very next game! Perhaps we will only be given spot-kicks from now on when they are in fact no such thing? Big Danny Kedwell saw a chance to add to his tally, and smashed it side footed high beyond Naisbitt’s dive into the right corner. Kedwell is no longer at the top of the scoring charts as Holdroyd netted twice for Cambridge, but ten in twelve games is a fantastic start.

The Wimbledon fans were desperate for a fifth goal yet the closest they came was from a Hussey corner on the right, whipped in with vicious spin to the near post where Inns crashed a header against the bar (which is probably still shaking as we speak). Certainly not all Dons players were on form for this game, yet key players are at the top of their game right now. Lorraine, Johnson, Gregory, Moore, Kedwell and of course the incredible Chris Hussey can win games on their own, and it is our fortune that we have these players operating in such a manner for us right now. Yet we cannot expect these players to keep it up over the course of the season, and we need one or two others to raise their own personal bar on a regular basis to be talked of in terms of playoff contenders.

Those seventy-two Histon supporters headed off into the evening, downhearted but thankful they hadn’t been beaten by more. Their organised team were beaten by a Dons outfit which may lack consistency, but has the potential to take down anyone in this division – even Oxford as we saw last month. But Histon shouldn’t have any problems this year. There are teams below them who have problems much bigger than theirs, and this combined with determined performances should see them remain in the division to visit Kingsmeadow again next term.

Conference Score! Saturday 26th September ’09

AFC Wimbledon    (1) 4    Moore (13), Taylor (56), Gregory (75), Kedwell (78)

Histon    (0) 0

Att: 3392

The Dons returned to winning form with a comfortable looking victory at Kingsmeadow. While Luke Moore’s early effort settled nerves, Histon still had plenty of the game until Lewis Taylor doubled the lead. The Dons bossed the last half hour, Steven Gregory and a Danny Kedwell penalty put the icing on the cake, despite former Dons keeper Danny Naisbitt performing well for The Stutes. The Dons rise to tenth place with a game in hand, those three points would take them into a playoff position.

Elsewhere in the Conference, the game of the day saw Cambridge United surrendering a two goal lead and eventually losing 4-3 to Luton at the Abbey Stadium. Luton remain six as the sides above them won today. Leaders Oxford returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win at lowly Gateshead. In fact they extended their lead by one point as Stevenage, second at the start of the day, dropped to third after a very late goal earned a share of the points at home to plucky Altrincham.

Kettering now sit in second after a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Ebbsfleet, the playoff places rounded off by Mansfield who defeated Hayes 3-1 at home, and York who won 3-2 at home to the Dons next visitors to Kingsmeadow – Kidderminster. Elsewhere the battle between the Dons previous and next opponents saw Crawley run out 2-1 victors over Rushden & Diamonds.

A special mention down at the bottom for Forest Green Rovers who finally recorded their first victory of the season with a 2-1 home win against Grays. Bottom club Chester make the short trip to Wrexham tomorrow to contest the fierce local derby with their cross-border rivals.

Match report for todays game should be up tomorrow, so no chance of the embarrassment of being beaten by the video highlights on AFC Wimbledon TV this time!

AFC Wimbledon v Histon – A Match Preview

Phew! All the way round to a match preview once again. The games really are coming think and fast once more. It’s almost a blessing that I can’t make Rushden on Tuesday… not to me obviously, I’m absolutely gutted that I can’t make it. This time it has nothing to do with money. I have more money than I know what to do with now. It’s literally coming out of my ears. Although perhaps I should really use it to pay the bills? Hmmm, theres not much left after that… the perils of being just a normal guy…

Anyway, tomorrow (or today if your reading it in the wee hours of Saturday morning, when I eventually get around to finishing and publishing the article) we face Histon. The village team that very briefly became Cambridge’s most successful club. It’s Cambridge City that I feel sorry for, all those years of living in the shadows and just when it seemed they would get their day in the sun, whoops! The money runs out!

But what about Histon? They had a decent side last year, somehow hosting Leeds United in an FA Cup tie broadcast live on ITV, which they won, and managed to fit in everyone who wanted to see the game partly thanks to the ‘Bypass Terrace’ that runs above the ground and allows a free view for anyone who possesses a vehicle, or failing that a pair of legs (which may come in handy if I run out of money for the return visit…).

I checked out the match preview on the Histon site, and it seems someone is a huge fan of the BBC website… http://www.histonfc.co.uk/news.php?id=508. So James Kedwell is set to continue his scoring ways up front for the Dons, and apparently its just a short trip for The Stukes as they visit Kingston Upon Thames… well you wouldn’t exactly want to walk it would you?

So when most Dons fans think Histon they think ‘Danny Naisbitt’. We all remember when DA brought Danny to the club, made him captain, then watch him persistently kick the ball out of play and fail to properly understand the principle of positioning. Apart from that, he once played an inch perfect cross field ball a full seventy yards from left back to the right wingers feet, which absolutely stunned the home crowd and whichever team we were playing that day. Unfortunately it also shocked the player who the ball ended up with, who if I remember rightly ended up overhitting it for a goal kick.

Oh, and apparently Naisbitt is a goalkeeper these days…

On to the Dons, and I spent a while talking about Hatton last time out (which was actually about an hour as far as I’m concerned, and is probably five minutes for you, dear reader…).This time I want to talk about Ross Montague. Monty really changed the game following his introduction on Tuesday, and that is by now means any insult intended towards Keds or Moore. Montgomery seemed to take the better qualities of the two of them, in other words the fantastic close control and pace of Moore with the physical presence and goalscoring instinct of Kedwell.

So naturally I’m hoping for a front line of Kedwell and Montague, with Moore tucked in just behind. Appreciated, Monty isn’t match fit and was described to me as ‘injury prone’ only three days ago. Well, he is regaining match fitness and has impressed all of us. Until he gets injured again I don’t think we should worry too much. The way I see it is, he could turn out to be one of those players we will talk about in future saying ‘Brentford must feel sick they let him go’. Perhaps in kind of the same way that some of us mention Sam Hatton with regards to Stevenage…

So, my predicted match line-up is as follows…

Pullen

Conroy

Hussey

Lorraine

Johnson

Gregory

Adjei

Hatton

Moore

Kedwell

Montague

I expect Monty to make his first start, and I expect TB will want to experiment for the last time. He’s already found his first six names on the team sheet, as well as Kedwell and (dare I say it) Hatton. Main will find himself on the bench once more, but could find himself staying there if TB fancies Moore instead of him. I got a close up of Main’s expression when he sat on the bench for the last time on Tuesday. It betrayed his disgust at not getting a run-out. Nothing verbal, just his eyes, when he presumed no-one was looking… well no management at least, a sneaky Dons blogger had found his way directly behind the benches once more…

Or, once Monty runs out of steam, it could really be last chance time for Main. Just half an hour to channel all his dissatisfaction over not playing recently into goals. I’m sure there isn’t a Dons fan out there who would disagree with that.