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Match Day Thread - AFC Wimbledon V PNE - 31/07/12 - KO: 7:45pm

Match Day Thread - AFC Wimbledon V PNE - 31/07/12 - KO: 7:45pm

Match report from Dons website, #rampant:

The Dons were handed a tough pre-season lesson tonight just two weeks before the Capital One Cup opener at Stevenage.

Terry Brown’s men side came up against a rampant Preston side on the night and the Dons know that they will have to do better against League 1 opposition at Broadhall Way in our competitive opener. It did not help Wimbledon’s cause that the visitors fielded players determined to be a part of Graham Westley’s Preston revolution with trialists Joel Byrom and Akpo Sodje both striking doubles on the night.

Terry Brown selected an 11 that could well start at Broadhall Way, barring injuries, and the hosts clicked into gear early on. Jose Moreira was tested in just the fifth minute when Luke Moore set-up a shooting chance for Stacy Long, but the Preston goalkeeper got down well to save. However, pressure from the hosts was short-lived and Preston grabbed the lead in the 11th minute when Jeffrey Monakana crossed from the right and an unmarked Joel Byrom slotted home. The visitors took advantage of more slack Dons defending when Pim Balkestein only half cleared a Byrom free-kick and Akpo Sodje nodded into the unguarded net. Terry Brown’s men were struggling to contain the rampant visitors, in particular the pacy surges of former Arsenal trainee Monakana.

There was a reprieve for the Dons in the 21st minute though when Moreira failed to hold a powerful Sammy Moore free-kick and Christian Jolley was in the right place to slot home the rebound. That failed to alter the pattern of the match as Preston continued to pour forward and Sodje headed home his second after Wimbledon failed to deal with a corner and Seb Brown saved Nicky Wroe’s initial effort. The Dons did recover their composure though after that further blow and they came close to getting back into it when Mat Mitchel-King volleyed just over after a flick on from Balkestein. The hosts had their most promising spell just before half-time as they started to spray the ball around effectively. One flowing move ended with Midson sending through a clever ball that Long came close to getting on the end of.

Terry Brown made two changes at the break with on-loan Reading centre-back introduced for the first time at the Cherry Red Records Stadium in place of Mitchel-King and Jim Fenlon replacing Warren Cummings. The Dons were left stunned again though seven minutes after the break when Sam Winnall broke free down the left and crossed for Byrom to strike his second with an emphatic first-time finish. Terry Brown mixed it up a bit just after the hour with former Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper Steve Collis handed a chance between the sticks and youngsters Frankie Merrifield and Brendan Kiernan both entering the fray.

Substitutions made by both sides disrupted what had been an above average pre-season friendly in terms of entertainment value during the first-half. The hosts did at least steady the ship after that fourth goal and MacDonald could well be an assured recruit at the back. At the other end, Wimbledon came close to a consolation when Moreira got down well to save from Kiernan. However, that may have flattered Wimbledon on the night and Terry Brown will know that his side has plenty of room for improvement when the real action starts in two weeks.
 
Lillywhites1 said:
I really don't see were this Hoof ball and Westley thing has come from
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Cos it suits some peoples agenda and cos some compared him with Beck cos he's a bit 'whacky' so obviously his sides take cold showers, play hoof ball and we put sand in the corners!
 
Just got back from the match.They played very well, a very fast tempo, could have been 12-1. hardly any chances for wimbledon. Monakano made about 10/12 good chances. they seemed to coordinate well as a team, obviously playing together more seems to be bonding them into a unit.Most of the Team played very well.with only late substitutions not having much time to settle in.
 
I never get carried away by friendlies. But it's nice for an opposition website classing us as rampant. Hopefully things may be starting to click. The performance from Monakana sounds good, and the lad in goals seems like he could do a job.
 
Winnall sounds like he had good game tonight from what I heard on PNE Player. I think he was invold in the moves for a few of the goals & neally scored himself also, they were also saying that he brought some pace to the team.
 
dontask said:
In before those crying about the Morecambe result start saying friendlies don't matter.
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Friendlies do matter, although the results are not important. Having said that, it is better to win them. Friendlies enable the tactics rehearsed on the training ground to be put into real situations, they encourage teamwork and improve match fitness. I did not attend tonight's game but was encouraged by Saturday's performance against AEK Athens. I think we have some promising players. Westley must now work out his best combination.
 
Come on Preston said:
Just got back from the match.They played very well, a very fast tempo, could have been 12-1. hardly any chances for wimbledon. Monakano made about 10/12 good chances. they seemed to coordinate well as a team, obviously playing together more seems to be bonding them into a unit.Most of the Team played very well.with only late substitutions not having much time to settle in.
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Sounds like an excellent performance. Encouraging attacking play and a sound team performance. The first time Westley has put out a North End team who have scored more than two??? Cannot be arsed checking the stats just a gut feeling.
 
I don't like to get carried away, but we're definitely going up as Champions now.

The team has gelled (and then some) over the past game to two games.




Sent from BOGIE's cellular device.
 
york white said:
Not going to argue with you over the need for at least one goal scorer needing to be added. But, I'm sure this will happen and the rest of the squad is really starting to come together. Which will gut all those who are hell bent on an anti-Westley agenda which clearly includes you judging from past posts.
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Well if you need to label me try realist , if Westley succeeds ill be happy but i choose to see him succeed first before i get too excited . I just believe the words great and world class are thrown around these days leaving them almost meaningless , if you mean it was a good result say so but your over dramatic clames of greatness are far fetched and meaningless in the grand scheme of things .
 
Preston Lad said:
I've always regarded a 4-1 win in football as a great result.

Does the result mean anything? No, but by all accounts we played well.
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Well 4-1 is a good result but when people take it out of context and start shouting great and world class don't you think its over doing it a little , besides if we played tomorrow and beat Liverpool 4-1 what kind of result would that be ? because great no longer has any real value .
 
dirk pnemouse said:
Well 4-1 is a good result but when people take it out of context and start shouting great and world class don't you think its over doing it a little , besides if we played tomorrow and beat Liverpool 4-1 what kind of result would that be ? because great no longer has any real value .
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Super smashing great?
 
dirk pnemouse said:
Well 4-1 is a good result but when people take it out of context and start shouting great and world class don't you think its over doing it a little , besides if we played tomorrow and beat Liverpool 4-1 what kind of result would that be ? because great no longer has any real value .
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The RESULT isn't important, I agree, as it is a friendly, but I am more enthused by people who actually attended the game, on the other Wimbledon thread I think, who said we passed the ball well, defended well and always looked dangerous going forward.

Now as this wasn't always the case last season, for many seasons actually, then this performance/result should at least give us some encouragement?

Apparently we were playing something like the Dons' 1st XI, and according to one observer could have won about 12-1. I think we should be able to take some positives from this without getting carried away?
 
We seem to have three groups of people when it comes to opinions on friendlies.

  • Those who scream "hail Westley" when we win and say "friendlies don't matter" when we lose.
  • Those who say "friendlies don't matter" when we win and want Westley's head when we lose.
  • Those who always say friendlies are just a fitness exercise.
 
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