Rage Online

Well, I for one was pretty happy with that. OK, so it would be odd if I were not after a win. What I mean is that, given the wind, the rain-affected pitch with bizarrely unpredictable bounce, the (what looked from the back of the SSU as) ridiculously tall opposition, and our patched-up back line, I thought getting a win was an excellent outcome. Those first few minutes, where they really put us under so much pressure, did not bode well. My feeling was that it is all very well ML instilling battling qualities in the players, but there needs to be a bit of quality as well. As the half wore on, it became clear that their number 15 was quality and had the beating of Bevans, but his team-mates seemed incapable of doing anything meaningful with the ball when it came in. Meanwhile, on those few occasions when we did get it down and play it about a bit, we showed how vulnerable they could be (not that we could finish either at that point). But what a quality corner and header. Football can be such a simple game at times...

As for the second half and the second goal - what a fantastic signing Connelly looks (oh - have I just cursed him?) And having Kitson back - even if he has not really trained since recovering from injury - is great news.

Ruffles is starting to look a very decent player. Bevans was given a torrid time by their number 15 (who, to be fair, was running rings around most of our players), but overall I thought he did OK. What he does need is someone to encourage him to make attacking runs when in the right position and the opportunity is there. Then again, he is still learning his craft. I even thought Smalley did OK when dropped back into midfield. Just a shame it was Hunt's back-header that gifted them that goal, because other than that, he did OK surrounded by Wimbledon's line-up of sequoias.

It seemed to me as well that the singing was louder, longer and more supportive that in recent weeks. We have all the fun of speculating on who the new manager will be (assuming of course that it is a manager, and not a Director of Football), but in the meantime performances like that look capable of ensuring we remain in the mix until we get our first choice players back again.

Here's a thought - Connolly, Kitson, Ruffles and Williams all in the same side...

In general, I agree, although I felt if they had scored in the opening twenty minutes, we would have lost 0 - 1 or 0 - 2, and then everyone would have said 'same old...' Connolly did look class, and - for an older player on loan - he worked hard, as if he really does want another chance. I thought the back line proved remarkably efficient (Mullins was excellent), and I also felt Smalley had a good second half.

On the down side, what's happened to Rigg? Was he injured before half time, or is he just way off the pace? He is a player I've always rated, but recently he has struggled. I would like to believe that class is permanent etc, but he has got to show us something soon. Wroe was a little disappointing, too I felt. Without Williams, it was hard to see where the creativity for a goal was coming from.

First 20 to 30 minutes we looked vulnerable in midfield and we were unable to get or retain possession for long enough to cause problems ourselves. We dragged ourselves into the game as the first half wore on and as Wimbledon started to slow what was initially a frenetic pace. If there were such a thing, you might argue Wimbledon would be credited with a winning draw for the first half.

Second half was a different story. The players came out much more confident, chasing every ball down and putting Dons under real pressure for lengthy periods. The passing game returned to us, with slightly more bite than usual, and off the ball movement was very good for league 2. The first goal was the first near (ish) front post routine I've seen from us for an age, and Dons clearly weren't expecting it. The second goal was real tenacious stuff from Connelly, who looked excellent. The Dons goal was fair in the overall context of the game, but so was our win.

Special mentions for Connelly, Beano, Mullins, Rose and Clarke. Rigg looked way off the pace and still hasn't found his form since injury. I thought Wroe did ok without being spectacular.

Overall, I went away happy, and given we have several key players to return to the squad, I still maintain that we have an excellent chance of auto prom this season.

Special mention for D'urso. How did he ever get to be a ref? In one incident, I think it was Smalley who got kicked almost literally up in the air, but was deemed to have committed a foul. The SSU Lino was rubbish too.

Rigg has a calf strain. They said on Radio Oxford after the game.

Yes I agree with most of the comments above.

We were pretty lucky to win though in my view. That miss in the 94th minute was terrible. I was just waiting for the net to bulge- but thankfully it went the wrong side of the post.

It was a shame that Hunt misjudged the flight for their goal. An excellent save by Clarke it was just a shame it bounced back to their player.

I think that (based on CW inference that they were a lot cheaper than the previous full backs), the Full Backs have helped significantly in making us a tighter outfit this season. Newey is generally pretty solid (OK a very good winger will beat him at times), and Hunt has been pretty good as well. Both have filled in well at CB when required.

Connelly looked class and with Kitson back, we should create more. I think that as soon as Connelly came on and started to hold the ball up and bringing other players into the game we looked a different side. Beano and Smalley suddenly looked better players. Amazing what having a bit of class in the side can do.

As somebody else said, Mullins was excellent. For me the man of the match by far.

Interesting to read that we only came in for Connolly last Thursday. It would be interesting to know, even if we'll never find out, whether Wilder had targetted other transfer movements in/out for January.

Back to the game, were we given offside from a throw in in the second half?

slappy wrote: Back to the game, were we given offside from a throw in in the second half?

I think we were !