Welcome to the latest 9yrspodcast Tuesday update. As always, comments are welcome below, and if there is anything we have missed, please email 9yrs@may14.co.uk with the subject header, ‘Tuesday Update’.
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On This Day in 2017 … Goals from Kwesi Appiah and Andy Barcham earned us a 2-0 win over Doncaster Rovers in League One. It was our first win of the season in front of 4,144 people at Kingsmeadow. The goals, and the inspiration for this season’s green and black kit, can be seen here.
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Our League Cup Second Round tie at Reading kicks off at 7.00pm tonight. The game at Madjeski Stadium will be available to watch on the Sky Sports Plus service, but tickets can be bought online – via our ticketing platform – for £12 adults. Our fans will be housed in the South Stand as we were for our league game ten days ago; Reading are only opening the Sir John Madjeski Stand for home supporters. Reading remain winless in League One after five games, and have lost their last four games at home, but won at Championship-side Portsmouth in the First Round (2-1). They drew 2-2 at Wycombe Wanderers in the league on Saturday, with James Tilley scoring a late equaliser for the home side. Both sides are expected to make a number of changes: Danilo Orsi, Callum Maycock, and Aaron Sasu are likely to feature for the Dons. Our all-time record against The Royals is W2, D4, L3.
Johnnie Jackson said Saturday’s win over Barnsley was “a real team effort”. The 2-0 win at Plough Lane means the Dons have made their best start (W3, L2) to a third-tier season since the 1983-84 season (W3, D1, L1). Matty Stevens opened the scoring (29′) with his third goal of the season, before Antwoine Hackford (70′) doubled the lead with his second of the season. Wimbledon have now gone 19 games without conceding a first-half goal. Jackson was “delighted” with the win in a “proper game against a proper team“; Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane was left “really surprised” that his side had not managed to score. It was the Tykes’ first defeat of the season. Highlights of the game can be found on YouTube.
The signing of defender Patrick Bauer was announced last Thursday. Bauer, 32, was unattached having left Preston North End in the summer. The German won promotion from League One with Charlton Athletic in 2019. He was an unused substitute for the win over Barnsley, but is likely to get minutes at Reading this evening.
Our next League One fixture takes place on Saturday (30 August) away at Bradford City. Kick-off at Valley Parade is at 3.00pm. Bradford are unbeaten in the league so far this season (W3, D2), have won both home matches (2-1 vs both Wycombe and Luton Town), and won at Championship-side Blackburn Rovers in the First Round of the League Cup; they travel to Stoke City in the Second Round this evening (7.45pm). Ticket information for the trip can be found here.
The date for our League One fixture away at Northampton Town has changed. We will now travel to Sixfields on Friday 19 December, with kick-off at 7.45pm. The game has been brought forward a day due to the Northampton Saints Rugby Union team also being at home on the Saturday.
Harry Sidwell has gone on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge. The midfielder, 19, joins the Daggers for a month, and started their 2-1 defeat to Hampton & Richmond Borough in the National League South on Saturday. He was an unused sub for yesterday’s 2-1 win over Hemel Hempstead Town.
The Women’s team drew 1-1 at Oxford United on Sunday. Hannah Mackenzie was the Dons’ goalscorer, responding almost immediately to Adele Lindbaek’s opener for the hosts 10 minutes into the second half. The draw earns Wimbledon their first point of the Southern Premier Division season. A full report of the game can be found on the official web site. The women’s team host Watford at Plough Lane on Sunday (31 August; kick-off 2.00pm) with tickets available here.
Minutes of the latest Dons Trust Board meeting are now available. The August meeting discussed finances, fundraising, and the women’s team. Minutes can be found on the Trust web site. There is a meeting at Plough Lane this Wednesday (27 August) at 6.30pm to discuss accessibility and the work of the Disabled Supporters Association. Everyone is welcome, and people can also join the meeting via Zoom. More information is available on the official web site.
There is a new article on The Plough Lane by Numbers blog. Tim Hanson evaluates our start to the season, with a focus on shots faced, and minutes played. Read the article this link.
The latest edition of the 9yrspodcast was released on Friday. Nick and Stu discussed our excellent performances at Reading and at home to Cardiff. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube via this link.