Quite how Oxford United had managed to sneak onto Sky Sports 1 on such a great footballing day was therefore rather astonishing. One can only presume it was because Oxford’s opponents on Boxing Day were the people’s club, AFC Wimbledon. The story of AFC Wimbledon is a remarkable one. The club was founded in 2002 after the FA sanctioned Wimbledon FC’s relocation to Milton Keynes. Since then, AFC have gone on to achieve a staggering five promotions in only nine years. Their promotion in last year’s Conference playoff final against Luton Town was greeted with cheers by every (well, not Luton’s) football fan in the country. This is because the club’s success in the last decade has been the result of a hard-core group of dedicated fans determined to keep their beloved club in existence.
Since their formation in 2002, AFC Wimbledon have shared the Kingsmeadow ground with their non-league neighbours, Kingstonian. Unsurprisingly, Kingsmeadow was more out of the Underhill school of League 2 grounds than Oxford’s plush all-seater stadium. Apart from the Paul Strank stand running along one side of the pitch, the rest of the ground (also known as the ‘Cherry Red Records Stadium’) is made up of terracing. The Oxford fans had been allocated a generous 700 tickets in the ‘John Smiths’ Terrace’ opposite the Paul Strank Stand. It was a squeeze, to put it politely. In fact, we were so close to the ground that when there was a pause in the singing, Chris Wilder’s thick Yorkshire accent could be clearly heard barking instructions at his players (in particular Alfie Potter). This was boot room football and a stark reminder that our club was rooted in the basement of the Football League.
To the game itself. Oxford had made only one change to the starting eleven that eased to victory over Northampton the previous week. Rob Hall’s mid-week departure to his parent club, West Ham, had seen his namesake, Asa, recalled to a starting berth. It was thus Ryan Clarke in goal, an unchanged back four, a midfield three of the energetic Simon Heslop, the mercurial Peter Leven and the battling Hall, with an attacking trio of Tom Craddock, Potter and James Constable.
In truth, Oxford’s victory was more the result of the home side’s failings than any stroke of genius produced by the Yellows. In the first half, AFC Wimbledon were shocking. Their confidence was clearly at rock bottom having not recorded a win in the League since October 8. Despite this, Oxford started the game sluggishly. It was not until ten minutes into the encounter that the away side had their first sighting on goal when a smart move ended in Craddock wildly shooting over the bar. Five minutes later though, Oxford took the lead. A weaving Potter run saw the ball slipped into the path of Constable, who placed the ball coolly past Seb Brown in the Dons net. Vintage Constable.
On the sidelines, the Wimbledon manager, Terry Brown urged his team to respond, but bar a tame shot from Sammy Moore, none was forthcoming. To make matters worse for Brown and his team, United doubled their advantage on the stroke of half time. A teasing Leven corner was met by the unmarked Hall who guided his header into the gaping net. It was all too easy for the away side, who had barely needed to get out of second gear.
After a bleak first half showing, the home side rallied after the break. Almost straight from the re-start, the ‘Wombles’ were denied a stone-wall penalty by Andy D’Urso, the former Premier League official after Hall brought down an onrushing Wimbledon player in the box. There was further frustration for the Dons two minutes later when Rashid Yussuff rattled the bar with only Clarke to beat. Yussuff’s missed chance finally sparked the lethargic away side into life and the U’s responded with an intricate move that once again fell to Craddock, who shot straight at Brown. Similarly to the first half, the U’s gradually took charge of proceedings and another impressive move in front of the SKY cameras between Leven and Damian Batt, should have seen Craddock bury the chance that finally came his way. With the game nearing its conclusion, substitute Anthony Tonkin ought to have netted his first of the season with a free header from a corner while SKY’s man of the match, Potter, went close with a scorching shot.
An important win and our third in the capital this campaign, but United are still yet to reach the level of performance they produced in October. This victory does not disguise the fact that there are still areas where United will need to improve. In particular, Andy Whing must be replaced with Michael Duberry when the former Chelsea man is back to full fitness. Whing was booked in this game for a rash tackle and against more lively opponents, he will be cruelly exposed for his lack of pace and inexperience at the heart of the defence.
The next two matches, away at Torquay and home to Crawley will provide a stiff test of Oxford’s promotion credentials.
Man of the match: Asa Hall
On a last note, I was bitterly disappointed by the reaction of the Oxford fans to Jack Midson. In the second half, Midson appeared to take a tumble in the United penalty area. The replays show that, in fact, there was a degree of contact. Still, Midson was booked by D’Urso and then abused by the U’s faithful for the remainder of the game. Midson was a gutsy and determined player who always gave it everything in a yellow shirt. Moreover, he was a crucial member of our promotion winning side. Without him, we might still be languishing in the Blue Square Bet Premier. As with any popular and important former player, he ought to receive a hero’s reception when he plays against the U’s. The boos sickened me.
