By Fan of the Year Jon Harries
On paper last Saturday it seemed an easier fixture to negotiate than we had played previously in L1, but like a Shakespeare play nothing is certain.
Accrington came out with a physical plan to disrupt the Dons and it worked for the majority of the first half. Misplaced or intercepted passes, slow build up play and general frustration was playing into Accrington Stanley hands.
As the half progressed though the home side grew into the game with Twine and Parrott putting themselves about. Just when you thought the scene had been set for a no score draw at half time…. It wasn’t to be. Lewington found Parrott who in turn found Eisa, he still had a bit of work to do but after twisting the defender inside out, he calmly slotted past Trafford for his third goal of the season. Halftime came and went, and the second half was completely different.
There seemed more purpose from the Dons at the start of the second half with Trafford making a fantastic double save after Eisa pulled the ball across the ball fell to Parrott who should have scored but it wasn’t to be. Shortly after Eisa pulled up with and injury and was replaced by McEachran which asserted control back to the home side with a greater dominance in midfield.
There could have been a twist in the final act when a backpass was misjudged and ricocheted off O’Hora into the path of Mumbongo but luckily, he fluffed his lines at the vital moment. The win was to be made secure when second substitute Boateng was found down the left by Parrott, he then pulled the ball across to Matt O’Riley who made no mistake from six yards out. Full Time and a hard-fought win where we weren’t at our fluid best, but we got the job done.
The Jonny Rocks Stadium is the next destination to face a very organised and together unit in Cheltenham Town. After a couple of seasons trying, they finally got promoted as champions of L2. Michael Duff was one of the early front runners when the snake departed for Wales. Two wins and a draw in their first 5 games represents a solid start to their campaign and I imagine survival will be the aim come the end of the season. They made an appearance on Sky Sports last Friday away at Burton Albion and took the lead through loanee Callum Wright (more on him later) Burton stalwart Lucas Akins equalised in the second half for a share of the spoils.
It’s their home form I feel that will define their season and having already beaten Ipswich it goes to show they are no pushover. Scott Flinders provides much needed experience in goal, Will Boyle in defence will play at a higher level no doubt, and the strike partnership of Andy Williams and Alfie May are the very definition of little and large.
The one to watch is previously mentioned loanee Callum Wright. Leicester has some serious youth talent at their disposal (Harvey Barnes is the obvious standard to follow) and Wright has made a superb start in his second stint with the club with three goals and an assist in his first four appearances. The 21-year-old will look to show that kind of consistency throughout the season with the Robins and they will certainly need him to be the main man going forward.
Predicted Line Up
Fisher
Watson – O’Hora – Darling – Lewington – Harvie
Robson – O’Riley – Boateng
Twine – Eisa *
With no definite assessment of the Eisa injury at the time of writing, there’s a obvious gap missing with Parrott on international duty. If Watters had got time on Tuesday, he would be the obvious one, but that never happened so possibly Charlie Brown, but this is a good test to see how we adapt to these sorts of problems. I’m going for a 2-1 away win going into a month that on paper looks quite favourable. It’s all about purpose and momentum going ahead. COYD.
