Next time, I’ll try not to leave it quite so long between updates…
Thanks to a mixture of work, other things taking priority and general incompetence down to other people, it’s taken me from when we beat Notts County to put fingers on keyboard again.
I had a horrible feeling that today would piss me off even more than normal, so you have no idea how much Wombles 4 Magic Roundabout 0 pleases me.
Whether it was an entirely fair scoreline or not, I don’t think I really care. But it looks good on the scorecard, and we’re almost in danger of becoming quite good.
I said “almost”.
It was a bit of a weird buildup, insofar as there wasn’t much of one. True, the glow from beating Ramsgutter last Monday very comfortably helped, and we’re starting to get a bit of confidence.
But it was undeniably weird to be sitting in my seat ten minutes before kickoff and still seeing it half empty.
Come on, MyPie isn’t that good.
Anyway, it all filled up come kickoff, and after nearly taking the lead on nine five minutes – we did exactly that sixty seconds later.
Bugiel doesn’t find the net as often as I would like, so this was definitely a big tick in his “plus” column this evening.
And while we went for the second goal, there was always that nagging doubt in the back of my mind that we needed a cushion.
Swindon were capable of getting a goal back, and you just felt that we needed half time. Which eventually came, by which time I’d even managed to get a cup of tea.
And at least the outlet by the Phoenix has twigged that an old-fashioned urn is much quicker than the fancy electronic machine that took a week to pour half a cup.
This being AFCW, we looked vulnerable again after the restart. And it might well have been different if Swindon had hit the target rather than the post straight away.
Which strangely seemed to wake us up. No, I don’t know why we always treat the restart like we’re just going to bed, but it’s killed us so many times in the past.
To our credit, we weathered that particular little storm, but again – we just needed that second goal to give us a little bit more breathing space.
And then, just before the hour mark, up popped Armani “Gucci” Little.
I don’t think the words I type can do his strike justice, so after you’ve read this (not before, please) feel free to watch it on repeat until Xmas Day.
I bet our number 14 will be, certainly. Although you can’t blame him if he did.
And that seemed to kill the game off. Don’t get me wrong, Swindon were still dangerous and could have made it uncomfortable when they got a goal back.
But I think any nerves we had before then were just lifted, and we put them down. Properly, lets-put-them-to-the-sword-and-leave-them-crying-for-mummy.
AAH had been quiet, until he made it a third. Supplied by none other than a Mr H Pell, who came on and reminded everyone that he was still about.
Manbun also came on, I guess it was that kind of game, and to be fair he also supplied the ball that made it four in injury time.
The Iraqi Scouser again. Forget about singing ten more years, it’s not guaranteed he’ll be here ten more weeks.
That’s for another day though. The players (and coaching staff) fully deserved their applause, and did anyone notice JJ himself clapping in time to “Two times out of non-league”?
Speaking of our current manager, he sounded pretty pleased on the post-game OS comments, and you can’t begrudge him.
Indeed, some are now even praising him for being more flexible in his tactics (even though I tune out as soon as anyone even begins to utter about formations), which is some turnaround from what he’s been accused of.
He’s still a young manager, if not still a rookie too, and he may well be learning about game management. If he is, it’s having a very good effect.
I don’t know how long this will all last, the club itself is going to be under immense pressure to keep this squad together next month and resist any attempts to cash in.
But for now, we should enjoy it. It’s only been two years since we can call it Fortress Plough Lane without taking the piss…
Plus points: Four goals. Clean sheet. Little’s screamer. Double for AAH. Managing the game well. Pell’s contribution for the third goal.
Minus points: They nearly got back into it.
The referee’s a…: It was no surprise there was eight minutes injury in the first half, as he did seem keen to blow his whistle every ten seconds.
Them: Swindon aren’t a bad side, although you can see how they managed to lose 7-4 to Aldershot in the FA Cup.
I overheard one of their fans walking down Plough Lane afterwards saying they couldn’t hit the proverbial banjo with a barn door, or something.
Maybe that’s true, but apart from them hitting the post I’m not sure if we were properly battling to keep them out.
I would have been disappointed if we had lost or even drawn, put it that way. Unsurprised, perhaps, but certainly gloomy.
Their number 10 used to play for Franchise, as he was reminded of on a regular basis. We can thank fuck he didn’t score.
Decent turnout from Wiltshire, although many of them decided that they needed some late Xmas shopping to be done when we netted our third.
Oh, and I know I’ve been a tad out of the loop the last fortnight, but have we suddenly developed a fierce rivalry with them and I’ve only just noticed?
I say that, because we gave it “2-0 on your big day out” and seemed happy when they were making early tracks.
Why? I understand it if it’s Franchise, or Crawley, or even Sutton to a lesser extent. But Swindon…?
Truth is stranger than fiction: 1) The Rainbow Laces thing being widely ignored. It always was performative nonsense anyway, and it’s a gimmick that has as much authenticity as a £9 note. Time to bin it totally. 2) Two coppers in front of the south stand after the break, clearly looking for something/someone.
Anything else? I touched on it earlier, but isn’t it nice that we’re in a good spot right now?
There were times today, and especially on Monday against Ramsgutter, where you just felt we clicked and could have just blitzkrieged the opposition.
Even at the back, we’re hard(er) to score against these days. Praise to all concerned, and I include the coaches as well.
When I was typing this, somebody elsewhere made the comment that if we bottle a promotion push this season, we might not get one for some time.
I’m not sure I necessarily agree with that, because our future success will rely on being able to find replacements for those who inevitably leave.
The issue for this season isn’t so much losing AAH but how we replace him if we do. Ditto anyone else.
We could lose the Iraqi Scouser, Jack Currie, Reeves and Joe Lewis and still get promoted if we identify the right replacements and they fit in seamlessly.
I’m not suggesting to our bean counters that’s what we should do. It’s better to keep them for this season if we can, and see what they can achieve.
I wonder if history might be repeating itself at AFCW. And by that, I mean that especially in our push through the divisions, our on-field success sometimes caught the club by surprise.
It may well be happening again, and if you look at where we are right now – it could be a genuine shock.
We’re currently in the playoffs, starting to be almost invincible at home, and playing a style of football that when it comes off is genuinely great to watch.
Did the club bank on that happening two weeks before Xmas this past close season? I know it took a big risk keeping JJ on this season, and kudos to them holding their nerve.
But maybe they’ll need to make decisions next month they had no plans to deal with…
So, was it worth it? Absobloodylutely.
In a nutshell: No longer Theme Park Plough Lane : where all visitors go home happy.