Bend It Like Green

By: Andrew Doherty
Date: 09/11/2024

It's a puzzle. Three away wins have been nullified by abject home defeats, and most lately the dismal non-event of a performance Wealdstone in the FA Cup.

Head Coach Artell has repeatedly observed that we are inconsistent, not only between games but within matches. No solution has been found. We go from resilience and flair to statuesque inertia. Mr Artell opined last week that our second-half downturns could be the result of player fitness or mentality, something most of us worked out a long time ago. It's the human condition one way or another. I'm not clear how such frailties relate to the holy grail of continuous improvement other than working on these issues but I'm sure Mr Artell will tell us when he knows.

Today we were at AFC Wimbledon. Our hosts are doing well and only down the table by virtue of floods wrecking their pitch and causing postponements. Wimbledon play at the Cherry Red Records stadium. It's an impressive arena capable of holding 9,400 spectators. Not so impressive and another puzzle to solve were the ticketing arrangements for this game. Being unable to buy a ticket on line last weekend I was surprised. I called the Town ticket office on Monday and the ever helpful lady told me that our initial allocation had been sold out - hang on, this is Wimbledon v Grimsby not the Champions League final - and pointed me to a link. The link worked but this set me off on a labyrinthine trail which eventually resulted in the virtual reality of me laying my hands on an e-ticket. And no thanks, I declined the offer of the recommended “best seat” in row B where you ran the risk of not being able to see anything - Stevenage tried that one, I recall, and there you had the bonus pleasure of surly and hostile stewards glowering at you while blocking the view. I pressed some buttons and opted out of that possibility. Those in the know on tech stuff tell me that the systems are antiquated. My reflection was that gone are the days when you'd see the next game advertised on the side of a bus, turn up 10 minutes before kickoff, pay your 10 bob or whatever at the turnstile and walk in. E-tickets are good for their convenience, I must add, but only if you don't have to break the Enigma code to access them. Anyway, as well as being Wimbledon's “guest”, I was delighted to be regarded as a concession i.e. I pay less. Wimbledon isn't alone in doing this of course. It's always a nice reward for my 47 years and counting of hard labour watching Grimsby.

Today's line-up on this grey day for Town, wearing what has been our lucky yellow and red kit, was: Wright - Warren, Rodgers, McJannet, Hume - Svanthorsson, Green, McEachren, Khouri, Barrington - Rose. After a pleasant pre-match conversation with the volunteer programme seller and a couple of Town fans, kick off time loomed. It had been interesting to hear how Wimbledon had pulled themselves up from the depths to where they are now, even finding a benefactor while the stadium was being built who along with the supporters got them over the line. The lady selling programmes deserves an ambassadorial medal. With a welcoming atmosphere and friendly stewards the whole environment here at the Cherry Red seemed positive and bright, even if the weather wasn't. Hearing that Wimbledon had won all their league home games this year was not so encouraging. I wasn't approaching this game with confidence. A healthy 8,307 spectators were here including 1,015 enthusiastic Town supporters.

Town attacked the small Rest and Waste stand in the first half. Above the stand was an austere wall, surprisingly free of advertising in this day and age. The game began with a lot of rushing about. Wimbledon attacked. Rodgers headed clear. Hippolyte mistimed his shot which went wide. On 9 minutes a cross came in. Wright dropped it but Stevens was adjudged to be guilty of a nudge. It was marginal but the referee gave the decision without delay. Stevens had a shot blocked. Warren trod on McJannet's foot in his determination to clear the loose ball and eliminate any further threat. A wild shot from Hume followed. On 17 minutes a cross from Hippolyte caught everyone by surprise. A defensive mix-up then saw Stevens in possession but Wright was alert and closed the angle. So far both sides had shown plenty of energy with Wimbledon on top but there had been no real chances. On 22 minutes Svanthorsson showed excellent control and supplied Rose whose long pass resulted in a corner. From it McJannet challenged but Wimbledon keeper Goodman gathered. McJannet was then involved in a battle for possession with Bugiel at the other end. There was plenty of fight going on between the sides but still no end product. On 29 minutes Warren won a battle in midfield. The ball found Green on the left. Green took it up the line and with the outside of his right foot sent a curving a cross into the path of Rose who judged the bounce and slotted home with his head. Wimbledon 0, Town 1. It was a well-taken goal, great work to start the move and a stunning piece of skill from Green to supply the cross. Bend it like Green? McJannet resumed hostilities with Stevens, with both players finishing up in a heap across the hoardings. Hume then repelled Neufville. On 40 minutes a Warren clearance caused Goodman to come racing out to clear the threat. Wimbledon attacked. A cross from Tilley was taken by Neufville, depriving Maycock who was in a better position behind him. On 44 minutes Wimbledon put together a cross-field move. Tilley shot from the left. Wright did well to get his hand to it, conceding a corner. Before the corner took place a fight erupted, which the referee did well to control. The outcome was that Town's resident hothead Hume received a yellow card. McJannet got his head on the corner when it was taken, and Barrington put the ball up the middle to Svanthorsson who was clean through with the keeper to beat before somehow losing control. Barrington forced a save from Goodman right on halftime at which point the score remained: Wimbledon 0, Town 1. Wimbledon had more of the play but Town were responsible for the piece of skill which had broken the deadlock.

Town were on the attack as soon as the second half started. Svanthorsson gained possession and started a move which resulted in Barrington placing a curler just wide. Following a scramble at the Town end, Svanthorsson found McEachren who surged forward and was fouled, earning Johnson a yellow card. An audacious Rose volley then went across the goal and over the bar. Wimbledon earned a corner on 50 minutes after Wright pushed away a Tilley shot. As Wimbledon pressed, a free-kick was conceded on the byline. Two shots were blocked before Johnson miscued his effort. Wimbledon won another corner on 54 minutes. The risk was there of Town breaking out. On 57 minutes Town did so. Neufville earned a yellow card for desperately pulling McEachren back as he surged forward. From the free-kick Rodgers headed on to Svanthorsson. The ball returned to Rodgers. This time McJannet got a shot in. The shot went just wide. Upon the hour, Tilley went close after good holding work by Bugiel. As Wimbledon were trying to pass their way through, Town were holding firm. Cass replaced Green on 63 minutes. Both McJannet and Cass showed skill to momentarily ease Wimbledon pressure. Neufville blasted over from range on 67 minutes. Town continued to snap at heels and fight. Ainley replaced Barrington on 71 minutes. Wimbledon were starting to look ragged. Town to their credit were still playing and not resorting to the sole dangerous tactic of holding out. Tilley went close on 75 minutes, his shot being put out for a corner. Hippolytus wasted the opportunity, messing up his shot. With 83 minutes gone, Tharme and Obikwu replaced McEachren and Rose. Two minutes later the game was stopped when Rodgers went down after making a tackle. With Rodgers still off the field, the game resumed. Biler crossed to Pigott who headed the ball expertly towards the right-hand corner. Wright got down to push it away. Svanthorsson earned valuable time for Town breaking free following the corner and pushed the ball out on the right to Obikwu who was dispossessed. 6 minutes were added following the earlier injury to Rodgers. Town harried, fought, struggled and battled against Wimbledon's persistence. But there was still only one goal in it. Wimbledon won a corner on 95 minutes. Keeper Goodman went up. The threat was averted again and the final whistle went: AFC Wimbledon 0, Grimsby Town 1.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight .... we win away, we win away, we win away. Such was the chant from the Town fans as we put on another winning away performance. Wimbledon were unable to deal with Town's resilience but let's not forget the skill. Unlike the games at Gillingham and Salford, we played smarter by allowing ourselves to break out and take possession of the ball in the face of the onslaught. Town posed a threat going forward so it wasn't all about resistance. Everyone played their part so it's perhaps not fair to single out players but it was super encouraging to see the not-so-physical Svanthorsson using his skill to win balls and create space while the defence and midfield did the dirty work. Fluidity was maintained when the substitutions were made, which is testimony to the management and players, and the team played with welcome confidence and discipline. But the prize for skill goes to Green who demonstrated a trick that we didn't know he had up his sleeve when deftly bending a cross from the right for Rose to run onto and score. They made a film about someone bending it. I don't think that someone was Kieran Green but it should have been.

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