retired_acivin

9th April, 2024
Today’s game was a return leg (Champions League) from Arsenal. They were soundly beaten 1-0 when Dons last visited them, and today, they needed a convincing win in order to get through to the Semi-finals of the Champions League.

I decided to play Carvajal in the middle, hoping that his poaching abilities could secure us some goals. Vincze also got a game, since been secluded to bench for quite a while. Vincze was a good player, although due to change in my approach and strategies, he was not able to feature heavily in the first team games.


The match begins:
The first goal for Dons came quickly; in the 3rd minute. Baudry, playing on the left of Carvajal got the ball from Stevens and tried to power it into the net. The shot was blocked and fell back to Baudry’s feet, and he scored on the rebound to make the score 1-0 for the the home leg.

Dons kept attacking and some marvelous shooting saw Russell, the Gunners’ keeper, making some miraculous saves in the rain. Freeman, the Gunners' striker tried to turn the tables but the score stayed 1-0 as he missed a difficult chance.

27th minute saw Baudry collect another goal of the game as he single-handedly took over 2 defenders before slotting in a goal through a very narrow angle. That marked his 15th goal of the season. Not a high number, but seeing as he was neglected for the first half of the season, it was a big achievement.

Score read 2-0 to us.

Arsenal tried to recover from their current position, but they could not change the course of the game as Davenport gave an excellent performance in-between the sticks. A couple more shots in the 45th minute scared the Gunners’ fan as Russell nervously parried them away.


Second half:
I was happy with the performance and the lads were too. “Arsenal would need 3 goals from here on, to win.” I told them in the dressing room. I was convinced that victory would be ours.

My theory was confirmed as Carvajal took advantage of being unmarked, and slotted a goal from a narrow angle in the 48th minute. Score now read 3-0 and the game was as good as over. This would be a good win by anyone’s book.

Dons striker-force kept troubling the Gunners keeper as the clock ticked past 63rd minute. Gunners tried to make a comeback, and with some fluid movement, tried to score. But Davenport held his ground and kept a clean sheet till the end of match.

Dons had clinched a superb victory, and a trip to the Semi-finals.
Baudry was given another MoM. He had deserved it.


Final Score:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> --------------------------------------------------------- AFC Wimbledon 3-0Arsenal (2nd leg) --------------------------------------------------------- Baudry (3,27)| Carvajal (48)| --------------------------------------------------------- </pre>

retired_venomm

Nice result, it's always good to see Arsenal losing

Will be interesting to see how Marco Giusti performs after such a good reference. KUTGW

retired_acivin

Thanks for the kinds words Paul. I am an Arsenal fun, but still it was great beating them!
As for Giusti, I think I will be starting a cross-referenced story by him, when the new season begins that is!

Also, I see..you are doing quite well with England. Heck, I'll come there and leave a message. Been meaning to do so for a while, but just got too engrossed in other stuff!

retired_acivin

retired_acivin

11th April, 2024
I sat in my chair, as the Champion League semi-final list was being drawn. The only teams left were Dons, Barcelona, Newcastle and Valencia. I wasn’t really worried as to who I will be playing, it was more of an excitement.

The list was drawn and the fixtures decided:
AFC Wimbledon v Barcelona
Valencia v Newcastle

We had been handed a home game against Spanish giants Barcelona.

Meanwhile in the premiership, 2nd place Newcastle lost to Spurs in an away game. This meant that a win in our next game would be gurantee us the Premiership.

Happy times.



14th April, 2024
Today’s game was against Middlesborough at home.
“A win would guarantee us another silverware”, I told my players in the dressing room. We were confident enough to win. Still, I wanted to finish the race early.

I decided to stick with the same strategy and a similar line-up. Carvajal was again put ahead of Baudry to start as the target man.


The match begins:
The game started slowly, but picked up speed in the 12th minute as Boro’s striker tried to latch onto a through ball, but sent it wide, to the relief of Dons fans. Since then, neither of the teams were trying to score, and the battle of the midfield ensued. 2 yellow cards wer shown, and things calmed down a bit.

This calm was broken by the Dons’ fans’ uproar as Carvajal scored from a header. He had managed to latch onto Lea’s aerial pass, and scored in the 27th minute to put Dons 1-0 up.

Middlesborough changed to a 5-4-1 esque setting, defensive in nature. “Probably to prevent damage control”, Carlos told me.

By the end of first half, none of the goal-keepers were troubled any further as the midfield battle continued.


Second half:
“We are almost there. If we hang onto this lead, we will regain back the Premier League, we will be champions again”. I stood in the dressing room as Carlos delivered another of his inspirational speeches. I knew we were close, the players knew that we were close. We only had to keep the opposition away from the goal and we would be fine, I thought.

With some food for thought, the team was sent onto the field.

Baudry kept attacking the opposition goal mercilessly. Although his shooting was below par and his missed sitters on many occasions. Still, by the 70th minute, the score stayed at 1-0 to the home team.

Boro tried to attack, and they even got close in the 86th minute, but Pena did well to finish with another clean sheet. It was the end of the game, and Dons had won the match 1-0.

AFC Wimbledon had won the English Premier League. The fans were dancing, and everybody was rejoicing over Dons’ relentless run.


Final Score:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> --------------------------------------------------------- AFC Wimbledon 1-0Middlesborough --------------------------------------------------------- Carvajal (27)| --------------------------------------------------------- </pre>

retired_acivin

English Premier League, as of 15th April, 2024

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | AFC Wimbledon | | 34 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 60 | 24 | +36 | 83 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Newcastle | | 34 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 34 | 10 | +24 | 66 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Man Utd | | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 24 | +29 | 64 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Arsenal | | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 31 | +13 | 54 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Man City | | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 54 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Liverpool | | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 53 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Chelsea | | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 52 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Aston Villa | | 34 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 29 | 16 | +13 | 51 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Leicester | | 33 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 28 | 19 | +9 | 50 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Stoke | | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 38 | 39 | -1 | 48 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Plymouth | | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 27 | 34 | -7 | 46 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Watford | | 34 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 45 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Tottenham | | 34 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 43 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | West Ham | | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 29 | 41 | -12 | 35 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Charlton | | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 32 | 48 | -16 | 32 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Bolton | | 34 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 24 | 47 | -23 | 32 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Coventry | | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 39 | -15 | 30 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Blackburn | | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 30 | 41 | -11 | 29 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Middlesbrough | | 34 | 3 | 18 | 13 | 25 | 37 | -12 | 27 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Swindon | | 34 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 21 | 72 | -51 | 11 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

P.S. This table is 1 game later!

retired_acivin

16th April, 2024
New signing unveiled
AFC Wimbledon have finally managed to sign young Italian midfielder, Marco Giusti.. Regarded as a very good player by the Italian fans, he has been an expensive addition to Dons’ growing expensive player catalogue. This signing comes a day after Dons won the EPL for the 6th time. The actual transfer would however go through on 1st July.

Furthermore, after winning the premiership, the focus of attention was diverted to Barcelona, the team we would be facing the the Champions League semi-final. But this game was a week away, and till then, we had to confront Liverpool and Aston Villa in the premier league.


17th April, 2024
Our 3rd consecutive match at home saw the 6th placed, overachieving Liverpool visit Kingsmead. The match itself didn’t have much significance, since we had won the league. But I decided to put the best team out.


The match begins:
Liverpool, in a surprise move attacked from the word go. David McCarthy, their Scottish striker missed a volley and the ball ended up going wide and behind the goal. In return, Amauri gave ‘Pool a run for their money as his low cross was saved by the keeper.

In the 15th minute, however, Carvajal scored. He jumped up from Amauri’s corner and headed the ball in, even before the keeper could react. Carvajal had been a revelation after spending a lot of time on the bench. 1-0 to us.

Things didn’t go uphill for the visiting fans from their on as a battery of chances were finally converted into another goal by Carvajal. This time, an outstanding striker, assisted by Stevens. Score: 2-0 to us.

Both teams tried to score again but a couple of good saves from the respective keepers saw the clock ticking past the 45th minute.


Second half:
The dressing room was in an excited state. A victory looked very probable on the cards.
As the players took the field for the second half, I told Carlos “Well, don’t we look like a team of world-beaters.”

I had to almost eat my words, as ‘Pool striker scored a one-on-one against Davenport. It was worrying, because now, in the 54th minute, the score was 2-1 to us.

A free-kick in the 62nd minute meant that Baudry had a chance to add another goal to his tally. However, his rather tame shot was parried away the keeper, only to bounce in front of Reynolds, the left back; who duly concerted the chance to send the Dons’ fans into raptures. 3-1 to us.

Unfortunately Reynolds got injured in the 75th minute and was taken off. Singh was brought onto replace Reynolds. Smirnoff also substituted Ruiz at the same point.

Liverpool kept trying, but McCarthy kept missing. His shots were going high and wide. In the 90th minute, Doons grabbed another goal to complete the drubbing of Liverpool. Perez ran with the ball, all the way down to the byline, and crossed for Baudry to score in the 91st minute.

All in all, a breathtaking performance.

Final Score:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> --------------------------------------------------------- AFC Wimbledon 4-1Liverpool --------------------------------------------------------- Carvajal (15, 28)|Jackson (54) Reynolds (62)| Baudry (90)| --------------------------------------------------------- </pre>

retired_acivin

20th April, 2024
We were traveling to Villa Park today, to see off the challenge from Aston Villa. Since the trophy was already won, and we had the Champions League semi-final clash next week, I decided to give my first-teamers a rest and made wholesale changes to the squad.

Smirnoff started the game with King and Bayle assisting him upfront. So far, the Latvian striker had been less spectacular in the 3-striker formation, but I gave him a chance to fix that. Giles, who was an anchorman in Dons’ early seasons in the EPL, also got a start. He had been forgotten lately, due to the influx of more technically gifted young midfielders.


The match begins:
The match started slowly as none of the teams tried to ruffle the opposition’s goal. Moreover, the game got a bit physical, as Amauri and Giles were given stern warning from the referee.

The Villa defense kept the Dons strike-force at bay for quite a while, and by the 45th minute, no goals were scored as both teams canceled each other out.

It was a boring game so far, and Carlos gave the team a talking to in the dressing room. “We need to impose ourselves here, we need to win this one”, he had said.


Secong half:
Unfortunately, the second half wasn’t any better. However, by the 60th minute, both teams had started taking chances, but were parried off by the respective keepers.

Things got heated in the 62nd minute, earning Perez a yellow card. The free-kick was given just outside the box and Pena had to jump very high to punch it away. Still 0-0.

Arthur earned a yellow as well in the 77th minute, and Carvajal tried to convert a chance 10 minutes later, but failed miserably.
The final whistle was blown with the score tied at 0-0. It was a boring match, but atleast we had earned a point.


Final Score:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> --------------------------------------------------------- Aston Villa 0-0 AFC Wimbledon --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- </pre>

retired_acivin

23th April, 2024
After resting a few players for the game against Villa, I decided to put up a full strength side for the home leg against Barcelona. It was going to be a tough game, and the media was hinting towards this too. I was hoping that some kind of advantage here would take Dons a long way towards cup win.


The match begins:
We came across a stumbling block when Baudry got injured in the 3rd minute. “It would be a big loss, for the game, as well as the future”, King told me, before going to the field to take injured Baudry’s place.

Things were not looking good, but still Dons kept attacking, hoping to make the most out of their home advantage. It took a couple of good saves from Stenild, the Barca keeper and a missed chance from King; to keep the scores level at 0-0.

These chances were soon converted to a goal by the centre back Singh. He leapt up at the near post to head in the out-swinging corner from Arthur. 37th minute, and 1-0 to Dons.

Barca tried to counter but Singh did well at the other end to deny their striker, Delago, a chance. By the half time, the score was still 1-0 for the Dons.


Second half:
There wasn’t much I could say to the team in the dressing room. They were playing well; no signs of slacking. I could only hope that they would not get complacent.

They didn’t.

Ruiz scored within 28 seconds of the beginning of the second half. The ball was passed by King, but it took Ruiz’s individual brilliance to take the goal out of nowhere. 46th minute and 2-0 to us.

Alarm bells soon rang as Barca retaliated with a goal in the 50th minute. William, Barca’s striker managed to jump higher than Lea to latch onto a beautiful cross. The ball was headed in and the score now read 2-1 in Dons favour.

However, that was as far as Barca would go today, I realised. Carvajal’s cross in the box saw Eugino, Barca’s defender score an own goal to send the Dons’ fans into rapture. 3-1 in the 59th minute and no turning back. This half was going pretty well.

Carvajal decided to cash in on the fiesta as he scored from another of King’s pass in the 62nd minute. His 10th goal of the season came in good time, and in the end, it earned him a MoM award. 4-1 to us.

The attacking see-saw remain unbalanced as both teams tried to score another goal. Things remained stagnant and by the full-time, as referee blew the whistle, Dons had completed a dominant victory.


Final Score:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> --------------------------------------------------------- AFC Wimbledon 4-1 Barcelona (1st leg) --------------------------------------------------------- Singh (37)| Williams (50) Ruiz (46)| Eugenio (og 59)| Carvajal (62)| --------------------------------------------------------- </pre>

retired_acivin

25th April, 2024
By this time, Man City was the only English team in the Euro cup. And they were struggling against Seville away, losing 0-2.


27th April, 2024
Today we were hoping to travel to Charlton. I was not worried about the result too much, since we had already won the league. But I was hoping for a win, or even a good performance, since our last game against Villa had been really dull.

Even then, I decided to field a weaker side. Reasons that prompted this included many unhappy players in the first team, and out forthcoming visit to Barca, in the away leg for the Champions League.

I personally asked King to take place in the centre of the strike-force. His recent performance had been good, and even though not normally considered a forward, I decided to experiment a bit in order to get the best out of him.

“Charlton have played 8 games without winning”, Carlos told me on the bus. I was hoping to make this 9.


The match begins:
Charlton started with a diamond formation, and played narrow, hoping to make a break against Dons.

Dons started attacking and Smirnoff’s shots were parried away by the Charlton keeper. However, things changed in 12th minute when Charlton snatched the first goal in the 12th minute. It was not what I had imagined, and we were down 1-0.

I was hoping to turn the game around from there on and Gonzalez missed a sitter, only to see Charlton add another to thei tally in the 16th minute. Santrelli’s back pass and some schoolboy goal keeping from Pena meant that the score was now 2-0 to Charlton. At this point, I was worried since this was completely unexpected, and recovery was essential.

But it did not stop there. As the match progressed, Charlton scored another one in 23rd minute. This was a 30-yarder free-kick and by this time, Pena’s performance meant that he was substituted for Dillon. 3-0 to Charlton. This was really not going to plan.

Both teams tried to grab another goal before half time; but a few missed chances meant that the score was locked at 3-0 to Charlton, going into half time.

Second half:
There wasn’t much I could say to the players in the dressing room. They knew that their performance today had been despicable, and I had hoped that they would be able to get their act together. After all, these were model professionals.

Unfortunately, today was not our lucky day as Charlton banged another goal in, in the 48th minute. The whole script was being undone. 4-0 to Charlton.

Some good saves from Dillon meant that the score was restricted to 4-0. Charlton deserved more goals. Dons tried and tried, but failed miserably.

It was a day I’d really like to forget! What a shameful loss!

Final Score:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> --------------------------------------------------------- Charlton 4-0 AFC Wimbledon --------------------------------------------------------- Hudson (12)| Kamstrup (16,23)| Leon (48)|--------------------------------------------------------- </pre>