You buy a season ticket, you travel up and down the country watching nil nils and there are times when you ask yourself why you bother. Then stuff like yesterday happens. In what was an simmering cauldron of emotion, the players and coaches provided a moment for the ages. This was a true "I was there" sporting moment, one which lifted every Wimbledon fan to towering heights of euphoria.
Having gone down with a whimper against the same opponent a month or so ago, something had to change and boy did it? Gone was the half press, players looking at each other in confusion as the team in white picked them apart. Here, we sat in, let them mess around rolling it five yards on the edge of the centre circle and picked our moments. We went with a kind of pseudo back three (I couldn't work it out exactly to tell the truth, but that's why I pull pints for a living) and it worked a dream.
Despite having 65% possession (it felt like more) they created nothing until an injury time snapshot, we utterly dominated all of the meaningful parts of the game. Let nobody tell you any different, we thoroughly deserved to win and had we been a little braver in possession, could have properly battered them.
Special mention to Lee Brown and Jonjo O Toole. Lee has been excellent at centre back for us, if he was up for it I'd extend his contract. As for the other lad, I don't think I've ever seen him play before but he was absolutely superb, making two goal saving tackles in the second half. He was beaten only by Omar Bugiel in my ratings, our talismanic front man producing what was in my opinion the best performance by a Wimbledon player all season.
And Ronan Curtis. Ice must be pumping through his veins, probably the only man in the stadium who wouldn't have snatched at that chance. A chance created by a centre half who was marauding down the left wing, a goal that will go down in folklore.
In truth I could mention everyone in the team, they were magnificent. Even the subs who didn't get on, Harry Pell with his hilariously errant shooting practice pre-match, James Ball with his sticking it up to their lot after they'd abused him earlier.
And the manager, the coaches. I was critical of the Doncaster display, this was off the scale in how different it was. A coaching master class happened before our eyes here, they deserve huge credit.
And this could be a catapult result, one that springboards us onto better things. Even if it isn't, in my book the rest of the season is now a free hit. We ain't going down, we've had some cracking awaydays, we led at Chelsea and we beat MK. In the 94th minute.
Where do I sign up for next times season ticket? The best value thing in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment