And some people still don’t like the playoffs…
It’s a shame that Magpies 0 Ravens 1 is job only a third done (let alone half-done), although I’m quite happy that we don’t have the return leg until Saturday.
I think I might have calmed down by then.
As I drove away from Meadow Lane last night, I think I sensed something good happening. It might end up being a false dawn, and this time next week we’ll be planning for L2 life again.
But maybe we’re finally onto something?
I’ll expand on that later on, although it’s my biggest takeout from a sunny Saturday evening in Nottingham.
Yesterday did have that feel of it being that kind of day, even down to seeing a fair few of us at both Newport Pagnell and Leicester Forest services.
If you’re not a football fan, you can’t really describe it. If you are (and most reading this will be), you’ll know about that excited anticipation.
Weirdly, I wasn’t nervous beforehand. It wasn’t like Doncaster away, where I was glad to get through it.
Even during the game, it didn’t drag like these kind of ultra-important fixtures can do. Indeed, I’m surprised how quickly it went.
The vibe was there throughout, though in truth – we rode our luck a fair bit.
Not throughout the whole game, it has to be said. I think we more than held our own, and it wasn’t like we were getting battered.
It was a nervy affair at times, too. Both teams did an amazing job of passing to invisible players off the field, which takes a lot of skill and dedication to the craft.
Seriously – I know it’s L2 level, but surely professional footballers shouldn’t be doing that?
The game kicked into life before the break though. Alex Bass, he of AFCW hero fame last season, pulled off a decent stop from Johnson.
I still would have liked him to be our player.
But our current #1 and equally heroic shotstopper, one Mr O Goodman, did likewise up the other end straight afterwards.
And boy, did he keep us in it after the interval.
I don’t know what they put in the home side’s cup of tea at half time, but they were full of beans and we, well, weren’t.
All except Goodman and Harbottle, thank fuck. If you haven’t already, look at the replay of the save and – perhaps best of all – the followup challenge.
That didn’t win us the game, but it went a long way to ensuring we didn’t lose it.
Come to think of it, we were being exposed a bit. Too much for my liking, if truth be told.
But we responded through a Harbottle header after a Jake Reeves cross. I’ll never forget the goonage in our away end, as I was in genuine fear of my glasses being broken.
Imagine we did that in the last minute at Wembley to gain promotion? There will be at least four deaths in our end, and not all due to cardiac arrests.
Speaking of heart attacks, I think it was best for all concerned that we collectively forgot County hit the post straight away.
Though it was one of those where it probably wasn’t going in anyway, Goodman had it covered, and it just clunked against the woodwork for dramatic effect.
To me, the moment came when our keeper was finally rounded, and it looked inevitable that the valuable win would be snatched from our grasp.
I’m not sure what I remember more – Ninetown’s last gasp clearance or the sheer guttural roar from our supporters when he did it.
You can’t fake that emotion. Just as you can’t fake us celebrating afterwards, although it is only the first leg.
As for their sending off, I’ve watched it on the Sky website and while Smith did roll around a bit too much afterwards, you can’t really show your studs like that nowadays.
Just as some of our fans still need reminding it’s not 1981 any more, players need to know it’s not 1991 either.
Their player’s reaction when sent off will make sure he won’t get it rescinded, and even seven minutes of injury time didn’t feel catastrophic.
Job half-done. Or a third done, if you prefer.
So, what? If I had been given the chance of 0-0 beforehand, I would have taken it. Hell, I would have given my right bollock beforehand for a win, and I genuinely didn’t expect to see one.
Granted, I would like to see us try and get more than one goal during a game, because at some point we’ll fall behind and we’ll need to.
But while I’m going to downplay yesterday a little bit, simply because it’s the first leg, I can’t fault that.
And that’s something I’m glad to write…
Plus points: We won. Clean sheet. Goodman. Harbottle. The defence performance. Feeling we’re going in the right direction.
Minus points: It’s only the first leg. Johnson going off.
The referee’s a…: Didn’t seem to blow up for the slightest infringement, which made it a more watchable game than it otherwise might have been.
Not popular amongst the home support, probably because he wouldn’t give them any penalties for them falling over.
Them: More attack minded than we were, although the Italian army in WW2 puts on more of a front-guard action than AFCW, but they met our defence.
Your editor inadvertently caught their manager’s post-game interview on BBC Radio Nottingham, and he said that County should have won, that they cut us open like no other teams did.
Maybe, maybe not. But if they were better in front of goal, they would have been watching the playoffs at home, after their auto promotion party.
You know, same as us.
I’m not going to tempt fate here, because the second leg can easily change things, but one wonders if last night was their big chance?
They were at home, we came for a 0-0 or 1-0 if we got lucky, and they still couldn’t find the net.
And yes, they’re better away. But we’re better at Plough Lane.
Not full up, no doubt helped (?) by the stupid kickoff time. Although ironically it might be better for away fans if they’re spending the night and having an evening out afterwards.
Called the Pies, which I’ve only just twigged comes from Magpies. A reference to the meat what is in the pies and burgers in the ground?
If we’re going to do that, we can rename ourselves the Doner Kebabs. Though some members of the Dons Trust would pass an urgent motion requesting a vegan offering with kale.
Oh, and it was interesting to hear that pre-game, Forest and Mansfield fans were hoping we’d win. The latter I understand, but perhaps the former see them as the annoying little cousin…
Point to ponder: If if if if if if if if if if if if if if if if if if if if IF we find ourselves in L1 next season, could this game be where it started to happen?
The players looked a unit last night, in a way I’ve not seen for a good while. Crazy Gang-esque, almost.
Feet were put into tackles where previously they weren’t. Not giving 110% because we were putting in 120% instead.
The way everyone reacted when Goodman made saves, or Harbottle, or Ninetowns coming in as backup, is a sign that we won’t let this go without a fight.
It’s a helluva contrast to Gillingham away, just a few short weeks ago, although did we need that football equivalent of a slanging match?
Yes, we blew auto promotion. But I’m not sure we were quite good or consistent enough for it.
Even the post-game celebrations from the players was muted, bar the Goodman/Harbottle (?) fist pumps when everyone else had gone back inside.
Which is something I’m glad happened.
I think they know it’s job half/third done, that next Saturday is going to be a l–o–n–g ninety plus minutes, where if anything we’ll have to battle twice as hard as last night.
And should we succeed in the second leg, that game at Wembley becomes more of a collective effort than the semi-finals put together.
What’s pleasing is that everyone appears up for it. I won’t say there’s the same vibes as 2016, but we got promoted then because the team clicked at the right time.
Time will tell if we come together. But if it’s going to happen, the next (two) games aren’t a bad time to do it…
Truth is stranger than fiction: 1) Our fans taking over Hooters. Very apt. 2) Nottingham is a nice city, but finding a working ATM was… challenging. 3) “Sky TV is fucking shit”, followed by “We’ve got our Firesticks”. Bet the crowd microphones suddenly stopped working.
Anything else? If there’s one downer from last night, I just hope some of our fans didn’t tempt fate by over-celebrating the result.
Yes, it was a fantastic conclusion, but it’s only the first leg. Next Saturday can still go badly wrong.
I’m being a bit prickly when I say we shouldn’t be singing about Wembley until we actually look like we’re getting there.
But it was Saturday night, and the Dons were truly on the piss.
That said, over 1700 of us at short notice to a game up North at one of the most inconvenient kickoff times going** is legitimately impressive.
** – because it was due to be played today (Sunday) until they realised Forest were playing Leicester.
A bit tasty, that fixture, but it might have been entertaining having the two games on the same day.
And we weren’t exactly church mice either.
We all want to succeed, and in our case I wonder if the pathetic way we got relegated from L1 is in the back of our minds.
In the sense that, we’ve got the chance to get back to the third tier and we’re going to fucking take it if it kills us.
I haven’t seen the post-game Goodman interview, but he was apparently mentioning the atmosphere at Plough Lane next week.
And I do expect us to be up for it, if only because Wembley – and L1 – are so tantalisingly close.
As ever, there’s not a lot fans can actually do. The game will be won (or lost) on the field of play in SW17 next week, and the players know that.
We may yet fail. But it won’t be through the want of trying – off the field too.
So, was it worth it? It could be.
In a nutshell: Advantage us.