News Round-Up 25/5/11 – Kennedy, WHAK…

Perhaps understandably, when reporting the outcome of TB’s initial list of released players, one of the Dons forgotten men was, erm, forgotten yesterday…

But Kennedy Adjei’s contribution to the Dons promotion from the BSS should not be underestimated. First coming to Dons fans attention during an episode of the Nuts TV documentary ‘Football Hurts’, Kennedy progressed through Marcus Gayle’s reserve team before stepping up during pre-season following promotion from the Ryman League. To the surprise of some, Kennedy started the first game at Newport, running the midfield in what was a superb team performance.

Kennedy remained a fixture in the side as the Dons swept through the BSS, as Terry Brown’s rebuilt side passed their way to the title. Life in the Conference National was perhaps too much too soon for Kennedy, and the arrival of Steven Gregory ultimately lead to a year-long loan at Sutton United. Kennedy has decided to return to Ghana to join his family business, and will be remembered by Dons fans as an important part in the transition phase of Terry Brown’s master plan to turn the Dons into the classy passing outfit we see today.

The O/S today published the second ‘What’s Happening At Kingsmeadow?’ feature of the summer. The latest in the popular updates didn’t really tell us too much we didn’t know already, work will soon start on the stadium control box above the KRE/Strank Stand exit, as well as improvements to the PA system and the long promised barrier along the front of the JSS. What the update didn’t tell us was whether the improvements to access and stadium management will see any kind of adjustment to KM’s current capacity of 4,720…

The update signed off with a reminder that the fixtures are published in three weeks time – thankfully we no longer have to put up with the non-league blazer brigades pencil and paper technique, which infamously left certain sides with free Saturdays over the last couple of seasons… Current dates for your diary this summer are as follows;

28th & 29th May – Stadium Cleanup Weekend

16th June – Carling Cup 1st Round Draw

17th June – League Fixtures Released

9th July – First PSF

16th July – Leyton Orient (H) PSF… (not sure the club have officially announced this yet – but Leyton Orient have…)

23rd July – Watford (H) PSF

6th August – League Two kicks off

w/c 8th August – Carling Cup 1st Round

News, News, News…

Twenty-two years ago this very day (I wrote this bit on Friday…), a ten-year old Anonymous Don was curled up in his bed, having seen his side win the FA Cup! This was in the days when the FA Cup was THE tournament to win as far as I was concerned, and I remember lying in bed tired yet very much still high on a Pepsi overdose listening while the rest of the family made their way to bed as well. In the pre-student days Kingston was quiet at night, and I remember lying in bed watching the moonlight illuminating my room through the open curtains thinking ‘This is it. This is what life is all about’…

Twenty-two years later and here I am, a couple of feet taller, three times heavier and with slightly more hair on my chin, older but not necessarily more mature – and I’m like scrooge on Christmas Eve. Yes, normally I would go for the underdog on Cup Final day but to be honest I’ve long since stopped caring about the struggles of plucky overspending Portsmouth, and can’t bear to watch Chelsea rack up the first of what may be many more doubles (although thank god for Man City, eh?). So I’m going to the cinema with my wife. Well, it is her birthday.

So we have signed a new player! Former K’s man Christian Jolley has joined and its fair to say for a first new signing of the summer, this one appears to be underwhelming at first glance. Jolley was a cog in the wheel of K’s promotion charge and its fair to say this signing has come as a bit of a surprise. Yet Jolley has apparently been interesting a couple of League 2 clubs, and Terry had to get in quickly at the end of the season to snap him up. 

With the small squad we are running Jolley definitely hasn’t just been signed to make up the numbers, so presumably Terry Brown feels he has the makings of a player who can come straight in and play Conference Premier football. Reading what his former manager Alan Dowson thought of him here that sounds pretty reasonable and he does seem to have made a huge amount of progress at Kingstonian since they plucked him out of the junior game. Apparently Christian was signed for a small fee (I would stick my neck on the line and say around £5,000) plus an agreement to play Kingstonian in a PSF where bizarrely we get to keep most of the proceeds.

Kennedy Adjei has made the reverse journey to the Ryman, signing a years contract extension but finding he will spend it on loan at Sutton. It’s a great deal for Sutton, who my Sutton supporting boss advised me will use him as a replacement for Alan Pouton, and its undoubtedly a pretty good deal for Kennedy too. There hasn’t been too many details of the deal that have leaked yet but I would imagine Sutton are paying most or all of his salary, and presuming the contract is full-time he will be able to train with us a couple of days a week… which would make it a great deal for Wimbledon too…

With a long summer ahead of us, and the management team prepared to play the waiting game to find the right players, there may not be a flood of news until the players prepare to n for pre-season. The news that Terry was not prepared to go ahead with signing a centre half from a top Conference club as we couldn’t match said clubs offer is positive, regardless of who the centre half was (and I don’t want to get into speculation as to who it was). The fact was Mr Centre Half was quite happy to come to the Dons were finances not an issue, which speaks highly of how the club is viewed in the game. Whoever it was, even if it was only for an extra £50 a week, I certainly wouldn’t blame the guy for staying at his current club in the current financial climate, I just hope the club he plays for has enough cash in the coffers to keep paying him for the next year…

More positive news came in the form of pre-season games. Our second PSF will be a Tuesday night game at Maidenhead, not too far for the hardcore among us to travel, but exactly the sort of game we should be playing at that stage of preparations. Much like the TBA game against K’s, the small crowd will allow the management team to try a few things that perhaps they won’t be able to in a showpiece game against Milwall or Charlton, or even the unknown Premiership clubs XI on 7th August.

As that particular team hasn’t yet been announced (and may not for a number of weeks yet…) we can all have a bit of fun guessing who they will be. Most sides will presumably be back from any tours, yet most clubs like to be involved in a showpiece game against top European opposition on that day. Not that this would rule out any particular club that has already arranged a fixture that day, as ‘XI’ normally means ‘Second string and Youth’  anyway.  So we could be looking at literally anyone… although a local side will ensure an element of their support will make the trip. I was desperately trying to remember the side the management team visited this year in case something was arranged then, I’m fairly certain though it was Derby… which is no use to us in this case…

A third League One side has been added to the schedule, in this case we have a trip to St James Park to play Exeter City, and for me it will be the first opportunity to visit having missed the FA Cup game there a few seasons ago. Having said that it is a long way to go for a pre-season game, originally I was planning to take Mrs AD down there to show her my old haunts in Plymouth, but finances are a bit stretched as I prepare to move house again, so that had to be shelved. The only reason I’m still going is that I got a good deal on a return train ticket that day…

Yet unlike the Maidenhead game, which I may give a miss to and represents memories of away games past, Exeter is a side I can see us playing on a regular basis in future. Plus they are also a side we can look up to, having been down in the Conference when we played them in that FA Cup game, yet now brilliantly not only made it up to League One, they stayed their thanks to an 18th place finish. It will be interesting to see how far they (and us) have come, as well as allow ourselves some early season dreams of what might be to come, maybe not next season, but soon…

Wimbledon 3 Altrincham 1 – Match Report 19/1/10

A much changed Dons line-up went through to the Third Round of the FA Trophy after a disjointed performance that was just about good enough to see off a battling Altrincham side. Lining up in a formation that owed more to ensuring as experienced a side as possible took the field, and with a non-existant bench, it could be argued this Wimbledon side just don’t know how to lose at the moment, despite making things hard for themselves at times played in front of a disappointing crowd of just 1450.

In fact it was Altrincham who had the first real effort of the game after two minutes, an outswinging corner firmly headed towards the left side of Sebb Brown’s goal, fortunately Jay Conroy had taken up a position on the post and was able to nod clear. Conroy found himself caught out of position frequently later in the game, but the tie would have followed a different course had he allowed this effort to creep past him. It was also pretty much the only effort Alty managed on goal before the break.

Not that Wimbledon dominated, at least not to start with. It took a while for the game to settle into any kind of pattern, as players fought to cut a niche for themselves while occupying slightly unfamiliar positions. For Danny Kedwell this seemed more of a problem than most, trying to play the Moore/Hendry role he constantly found himself sucked back deeper into midfield to win the ball, to the extent it almost seemed as if he was trying to play the holding role rather than the point of a diamond. Whatever his tactical instructions may have been, it left him far less effective than normal.

His battling qualities were still there, and he drew the foul that led to the Dons first chance just after the ten minute mark. Just right of centre, it seemed ideally positioned for Ricky Wellard’s left foot, but instead Hatton tried to whip it over right footed, the ball clearing the bar with ease. Next up Kedwell almost got on the end of a Main pullback after he had been set free down the left by a Hatton flick, sadly he was just beaten to the ball by a defender and the chance was gone.

Still the Dons now had Alty on the back foot. Despite not yet creating anything, and giving the ball away with worrying ease, the home side were getting the ball back thanks to some increasingly panicky clearances that allowed the Dons to build from the back once more. All of a sudden Wimbledon started to test Altrincham keeper Saunders. First, a Johnson cross found Kedwell whose looping header caused Saunders to stretch in order to collect. Then a Sam Hatton volley from the right edge of the penalty area caused the visitors custodian to drop smartly to his right to gather.

Finally, with five minutes of the half remaining Wimbledon found the breakthrough. Kennedy Adjei was given time to compose himself on the half way line before launching a rampaging surge into the visitors half, leaving two opponents for dead in the process. The ball found its way to Ricky Wellard loitering on the right edge of the area, a drop of the shoulder saw him past the opponent that blocked his path as he cut back inside, and rifled a left foot effort into the bottom right corner of the goal.

There then followed a bizarre piece of refereeing that infuriated the Dons fans and left both sides feeling a little hard done by. A through ball found Altrincham’s Chris Senior through on goal, and despite being a clear two yards offside the linesman’s flag stayed down. This threw Sebb Brown’s concentration, and he spied the danger too late before rushing out to clear. Senior’s balance had gone by the time the two came together, and after prodding the ball past the keeper the Alty man decided to take the easy option and tumble over the goalkeepers leg. Finally a whistle came, too late for Dons fans liking, awarding the free kick in Altrincham’s direction. A yellow card for Brown, but no more on account that Senior’s trajectory was sending him closer to the corner flag than the Dons goal, and at least two covering players were protecting the goal.

Not that the Altrincham bench were happy with the free kick, and kicked off into one of the biggest strops seen at Kingsmeadow this season, which included an always enjoyable spot of crowd interaction. Perhaps Alty manager Graham Heathcote should have read Terry Brown’s Mansfield programme notes, as there was little Respect shown by him towards the match officials. Ultimately you could say the men in black came up with the correct result, the referee seemed to notice something was up and took leniency on young Brown when I suppose a red card was a possibility – we have seen those given in the past. But ultimately the only losers in the incident were the Dons… if the referee had managed to make the correct decision to start with, I wouldn’t be writing this now!

[Edit – I’ve actually seen the video now and in particular the image reproduced here, and I’m ready to accept that it might have been a closer offside call than I suggested – which of course doesn’t excuse Senior’s extravagant tumble, which you don’t quite get the full benefit of on the video. For the avoidance of any doubt though, you can see the direction he was heading (Berrylands) and the number of covering players (plenty)]

Presumably Heathcote used this mock sense of injustice to his advantage during the half time break, not that it did him much good as his side found themselves two goals down less than five minutes into the second period. Adjei controlled a fierce low clearance, and slid the ball into Ross Montague, who had his back to goal on the edge of the area. Montague quickly laid off to Jon Main, who took a touch before drilling the ball into the bottom right hand corner.

For the next few minutes it looked as though the Dons would put the game well beyond their visitors. Main forced a corner on the right, and Wellard’s delivery was flicked on at the near post by Brett Johnson, only to be deflected behind. Wimbledon then threatened though a number of succesive corners, ended when Jon Main found himself brushed off the ball in the area, with the referee and his assistants being in no place to make a decision.

It was a that point that Heathcote decided to make changes, bringing on the more offensively minded Clee and Little. The switch had an immediate effect, with Altrincham now able to hold the ball in the Dons half more effectively and build attacks. Minutes later they forced the first real moment of danger in the Dons box, with Shaun Densmore’s precise volleyed cross from the right finding Senior in space, only for the Alty man to rush his headed finish when he could have taken the ball down. It was only a short respite for Wimbledon, as the visitors pulled themselves right back into the game.

As another Alty forage forward looked to have been repelled, a half-clearance found Anthony Danylyk in space twenty-five yards out, and he took his chance really well, returning the ball into the bottom left corner of Sebb Brown’s goal at such pace it gave the young keeper no chance.

Adjei immediately picked up a head injury that required a BIG bandage, however it was just coincidence that following this the Dons overworked midfield seemed to break down temporarily. Unable to pass the half way line, their balls forward were either over hit and poorly placed, or didn’t make it past the first man. Fortunately the back line was battling bravely against a barrage of crosses during a spell when it seemed a matter of when Altrincham would equalise rather than if.

But the storm had been weathered, and the Dons finally found their feet again in midfield. This culminated in a gradual spell of pressure that saw the hosts extend their lead and put the game beyond doubt. Following a bit of head tennis in the area a Ricky Wellard shotwas deflected into the air, looping perfectly for Jon Main to bury his header… Instead he just about did enough despite putting the ball too close to a defender for anyones liking. It seemed to have crossed the line before said unidentified Alty player fisted it away from goal, but Ben Judge was on hand to blast into the roof of the net and end the arguments.

Except the arguments between Main and Judge of course! To be honest it all happened to quickly to tell whether the linesman was flagging for Judge or for Main’s original effort, the two of them still trying to work it out long after the final whistle [Late edit – you can’t tell from the video either!]. To be fair Main gets more than his fair share, and Judge is a warhorse, reliable and loyal with it… Judge deserves the goal. If Jon Main has a problem with that, my only advice to him would be to make sure the ball hits the net in future – then no-one can take it away from you!

Five minutes later Altrincham had the ball in the net once more, this time ruled out due to a rather obvious handball by Colin Little, still it ensured a few Dons hearts leapt into mouths at a key moment. Despite the shaky performances from both sides, or rather because of the shaky performances, the game was reasonably exciting throughout. Although the Dons created more chances, including a self-made chance from a surprisingly lively Ross Montague that ended with a twenty yard shot that was slightly scuffed and comfortably saved by Saunders, it would have been slightly rough on Altrincham who deserve credit for their gutsy performance.

And those stay-away supporters ultimately missed out. Wimbledon now face the other unfortunate team that lost out to the 1977 Dons 4 Div 4 campaign – Workington of the Blue Square North. Without wanting to tempt fate, the Third Round draw has presented a series of fixtures that mean a winnable quarter-final would be just as likely as a difficult one – should we get that far… And to paraphrase Sam Allardyce (sort of…), those that weren’t there last night will be the first ones to complain when they can’t get tickets for the later rounds…

The Anonymous Don Searches For Answers…

This is a new occasional feature (In other words I’ll do a couple then forget about it…) where I examine the search terms that people use to find my beloved blog, find the strangest ones, and belatedly find answer for them. In a bumper bonus first edition I have four for you…

Ross Montague Wife

I’m not sure who would have urgently needed to know this information, maybe a particularly lovestruck lady (or chap… he is a handsome devil, much like myself). Of course there are a few Ross Montague’s in the world, maybe someone out there met one of them at a party and decided to engage in a spot of cyber stalking…

A Google search of this subject reveals my General Specific on 10th September comes up 7th, amid a load of other searches. I’m going to take a guess here and say this may have been referring to the Ross Montague that became Director of the Scottish Countryside Alliance back in April, but to answer in relation to our Ross; not as far as I know, leave him alone, he’s only young! Let him enjoy his football, don’t encourage him to waste his life!

fcum third kit

My match report from earlier in the season, at the same time as our third kit was released, undoubtedly led some confused soul here. But just in case you’re interested… see below…

You can buy one here (http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_4&zenid=8c023c4bf1b9faf5dd7bc3bb107f94b7) for £8 less than the Wimbledon equivalent… 

showmeonlylorraineadjei

 

 

                 Easy!

 

 

 

Who Is The Anonymous Don?

The question is, would you really want to know who the Anonymous Don is? I mean, I wouldn’t have a clue who Rob Dunford was if he came round my flat and laid a big curly log on my carpet… well, I might then know him as ‘the guy who crapped on the floor at my flat’ but you get the idea, I still read SW19’s (got to keep ahead of the pretenders…). But I get the impression that actually meeting him would be a massive disappointment for someone like me who has read his reports for years… and in my case you can times that by ten!

And the point is, despite the title of the blog, I don’t exactly keep it a secret. The blog title was just a spur of the moment cool idea that has become a millstone around my neck. But basically, I’m the scruffy looking bloke who normally stands behind the home dugout, making notes and taking the odd picture. Yes, that’s me. Nice to meet you.

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)