Will the real Wimbledon please stand up!
AFC Wimbledon 5 Raynes Park Vale 1
Report by Julian
Booth
It was a gloriously sunny bank holiday Monday in south London,
and they came out in style to make this local Merton derby a complete
sellout. I decided to boycott the Franchise game at Selhurst Park
the previous day, as did many other of my fellow London Clarets…
NICE ONE!
I arrived at Norbiton station, and started to walk towards the
ground. You were in no doubt which way to go, as there were hundreds
of fans streaming in the same direction. I went with a good friend
who dragged himself from his relegation bed to come to the game -
his team had suffered an untimely demise at Blundell Park the
previous day. There was almost a carnival feeling about the place,
and all
of the supporters just looked glad to be out and able to cheer on
their team in their town.
No one wants their team to be relocated 70 miles away. Can
you imagine what would happen if that happened to Burnley? I only
hope
we would have the organisation and dedication shown by the ultra
loyal Wimbledon fans.
Our first welcome to Wimbledon came even before we reached the
ground, and so did an invite to come and join the Womble fans for
a pint in the club bar prior to the kick-off. The reception we got
was amazing - very warm and friendly, and a genuine feeling people
were glad to see fellow supporters backing their campaign. A lot
of fans were interested whether I had been to watch Franchise, and
delighted to hear I hadn’t bothered. I was told that all the Wimbledon
fans really did appreciate the support from all, and found Burnley
one of their staunchest supporters.
The whole atmosphere around the area was incredible. You feel
this is a club starting at the bottom, but it's going places, and
won’t be at the basement for long. There were lots of other clubs'
supporters
in attendance. To list a few, I saw Northampton Town, Norwich City,
Watford, Brighton and Brentford. The impression is of a very organised
club with an infrastructure that has been put together in double-quick
time, but that is solid and going to be around for a long while.
The buying of the Kingsmeadow stadium from Kingstonian will give
them a base for what could be a meteoric rise up the leagues. The
first season has been beyond belief for the Wimbledon fans - to
finish third in the league (with an amazing 111 points) has to
be seen as
just the start that was needed, and one that will encourage all these
loyal fans to return for more.
Once inside the packed stadium, the welcome continued as a few
Wimbledon fans started to sing “Come on Burnley”. Nice one, boys!
The family atmosphere of the friendly club is infectious, and we
felt part of it straightaway. The once famous crazy gang spirit is
alive
and well in this small corner of London.
We stood amongst the excitable Wimbledon fans on the terracing
on this baking hot spring day; the perfect setting for a thumping
win in the Merton derby. The first and most important person to be
introduced was the mascot. "Are you mad?" I hear you cry: but
no, I’m not. The club had won the right from Franchise to keep the
Womble
as their mascot. An important win in the battle to keep football
in Merton.
The goals started early, with Kevin Cooper controlling a lob into
the box only to have his high-class turn halted by a crude challenge
from an opposition defender. He coolly slotted away the resultant
spot-kick to score his 40th goal of the season. All 40 have been
with his feet, and he was no nearer the £1200 accumulated from
sponsors if he could only score a goal with his head.
It took Raynes Park only one minute to find an equaliser - and
what a strike it was. It came from a swift move ending in a stunning
shot
into the top corner from number 9, Neil Wickes. The strike was applauded
by the sporting home fans that acknowledged the quality of this superb
goal.
The goal was somewhat against the run of play, and normality was
soon restored with two goals in five first-half minutes from centre
half Danny “are you okay” Oakins. Both goals came from corners, and
were easy for Oakins as the marking was non-existent. It reminded
me of another charitable defence that I had witnessed a few times
this season.
It was when he scored his first goal I realised that each player
seems to have their own goal-scoring anthem. Oakins’ tune was sung
by all the supporters around us to the tune of “Smooth Criminal”
by Michael Jackson.
The match was a real derby, with Raynes Park
Vale putting in a valiant performance, but at times they were really
hanging
on. They did show some skill, and you could see why they were quite
high up the league, actually finishing in fourth place.
The teams went off at half-time with the Wombles 3-1 up, and fully
deserving the rapturous applause from the massed home support. During
the interval there was a parade of previous Wimbledon stars from
their non-league glory days of the FA Vase win in 1963-ish, I
think it was. I missed that bit, as I was eating my delicious burger
(or was
it a piece of carpet in a bread roll? I’m not sure).
There were also members of the team that got into the league for
the first time, including Dickie Guy (remember the Cup defeat and
his one-man goalkeeping show? I don’t - too young!). There were
also some more familiar names from the 1988 Cup-winning side, like
Dave Beasant, Robbie Earle and Terry Gibson.
The match was finished
off in the second half with a 20-yard free kick from Robson that
flew through the goalkeeper's hands with
the
style and grace of a Nik the Greek cock-up. The last goal came from
Cooper again, as he skillfully lobbed the keeper from the edge of
the area to round off a thoroughly comprehensive display by the home
side. This was the second time in a matter of weeks that Wimbledon
had hit Raynes Park Vale for five; the opposition won’t want to
come back to Kingsmeadow in a hurry next season.
This was a totally brilliant day out, and I wish to thank all
the Wimbledon supporters that I talked to for making me feel so welcome.
This is a club with true feeling, and one that sees the supporters
as an integral part of the structure. A lot of league sides could
learn from Wimbledon, and if only the atmosphere could be reproduced
at every game, football would be a lot richer for it. I wish them
the best of luck in their mission to eventually regain league status,
and one day watch as Franchise go tumbling back down the leagues.
AFC
Wimbledon: 1. Ray Merry, 2. Keith Ward, 3. Neil Robson, 4. Danny
Oakins, 5. Matt Everard, 6. Lee Sidwell (Lee Passmore, 54), 7. Noel Frankum
(Mark Nicholas, 87), 8. Gavin Bolger, 9. Joe Sheerin (Ally Russell, 65),
10. Kevin Cooper, 11. Andy Sullivan.
Raynes
Park Vale: 1. Ed Cornwall, 2. Mike Schofield, 3. Doug Morrow, 4.
Lee Cox, 5. Auvil Fyffe (John Wheatley, 73), 6. Joe Victor (Paul Jordan,
60), 7. Graham Morrow, 8. Ashley Martin (Marc Skinner, 60), 9. Neil Wickes,
10. Darren Dobinson, 11. Stefan Perkins.
Scorers: (AFC
Wimbledon) Cooper 7 (pen) and 87; Oakins 21 and 34; Robson 53 / (Raynes
Park Vale) Wickes 8.
Attendance:
4,560.
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