Johnnie boosted by duo's return

Our Manager is looking forward to a visit from one of his previous clubs

30 September 2022

Paul Kalambayi and Alex Woodyard were both able to take part in full training ahead of Saturday’s League Two visit from Colchester United.

Kalambayi (right knee) was given a vigorous work out in Thursday’s session, while skipper Woodyard (right calf) was eased back in with the squad having not played this season.

“PK has been really stepping up his return to action,” said Johnnie Jackson. “He was pretty much involved in the whole session. He hasn’t missed too long, fortunately. He’s a fit boy, naturally. Hopefully, we can get him integrated as soon as possible.

“It was good to see ‘Woody’ back involved with some of the group stuff with some of the lads. It’s been a long time coming for him, as he has been out for a much longer period of time. We have to be clever with how we play it with his return and build him up, so that when he does come back he stays back. But he is getting much closer and it's brilliant that he’s involved in some of the group work as well now, so hopefully he’ll be back in the fold.”

Isaac Ogundere impressed in last weekend’s draw at Bradford City on his first league start, but Chris Gunter has also returned having been away on international duty with Wales.

“Chris comes back, having missed last week,” said Johnnie. “But young ‘Ogs’ was a more than able deputy on the day. He’s made a big claim to keep the shirt in that position, so we’ll have a close look at that and decide what way we want to go with it.”

Defender Paul Kalambayi pictured at training.

Alex Pearce was substituted early on, in the match up in West Yorkshire, and his situation is being monitored heading into Saturday’s home game at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

“He came off with a groin complaint,” said Johnnie. “He was unable to continue, so we’re monitoring him closely this week. We don’t think it’s anything too serious, but he is going to be touch and go for this weekend.

“Paul Osew injured his ankle in the Trophy game against Crawley. He had to come off early on. He’s still sore, so we’re probably going to miss him for a number of games.”

Johnnie is very much looking forward to the visit of Colchester, a club he represented for several years.

“I’ve got some good memories of my playing days with Colchester,” said Johnnie. “I had three good years there and it's a good club. I enjoyed my time there and I’ve enjoyed playing against them. I’m relishing the opportunity to manage against them as well now.

“I thought the support up at Bradford was incredible, off the back of a tricky run and the fact it's a long way from home. The way they got behind us and the reception they gave the boys at the end, even though we conceded that late goal, showed they recognised that the players had given their all. We know that when we give them a performance like that, they’ll get behind us, so that’s got to be our aim on Saturday.”

You can see the full interview with Johnnie below, in which he pays his respects to volunteer David McKnight, who passed away on Sunday.

Match Reports

Davison double lifts Dons

A welcome win for Wimbledon

1 October 2022

Johnnie Jackson’s side banished their demons on Saturday afternoon as we marched onto a 2-1 victory over Colchester United.

A priceless brace for the hard-working Josh Davison eventually saw our side through to a first league win since August as we survived a late onslaught in stoppage time.

Colchester had originally taken the lead through Kwesi Appiah, only for the tide to swing our way again in the second-half, lifting both the crowd and the squad at a crucial stage of the game.

The hunger and the desire was there for all to see as our players fought for every ball right up until the full-time whistle.

We will now be aiming to build on this win with another busy schedule of games to come in the weeks to follow.

Chris Gunter returned to the starting 11 after being away on international duty with Wales, whilst Ryley Towler started in place of the injured Alex Pearce.

Meanwhile, new signing Courtney Senior was named amongst the substitutes for the game against his former club.

Emotions were high in the build up to kick-off as supporters, players and staff paid tribute to the late David McKnight, a loyal, hardworking volunteer who will be sorely missed.

Both sides struggled to maintain a good tempo in the opening quarter, but it was the visitors who would take the lead. A cross was lofted up to the back post with former Dons striker Appiah heading home.

The goal came as a result of a lack of organisation from our side who needed to find some confidence from somewhere to bounce back as we did at Bradford.

Jack Currie and Paris Maghoma were the first to come close, with both players firing wide of the upright after working good angles as we began to turn the screw.

The break came and went but our good spell continued into the second period and it was Wimbledon who would go on to equalise barely a few minutes after the restart. A ball found its way into the area for the waiting Davison to swivel and fire home.

Maghoma then swung in a cross that Currie headed back across into the opposing area – causing chaos in the process – however Colchester managed to scramble the ball away at the second attempt.

Nevertheless, the Dons would soon have their second, with Davison dispatching from the spot after Ayoub Assal was fouled in the penalty area.

Isaac Ogundere was in superb form once again for our side, timing his tackles to perfection and bravely driving forwards when the opportunities arose.

It was very much a backs to the wall job in the final 20 minutes, typified by a brilliant save from Nik Tzanev, but we battened down the hatches to secure a long overdue victory.

AFC Wimbledon: Nik Tzanev, Chris Gunter, Lee Brown, Harry Pell, Josh Davison, Ayoub Assal, Ethan Chislett, Ryley Towler, Paris Maghoma (George Marsh), Jack Currie, Isaac Ogundere (Paul Kalambayi)

PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)

Match Reports

Ticket News

Matchday Guide: A tribute to David McKnight

We'll be remembering the life of our long-serving volunteer

30 September 2022

Supporters will tomorrow be able to pay their respects to David McKnight as we remember a man who made such a big contribution to Wimbledon.

We've so far sold 6,900 tickets for this match, so we're expecting an electric atmosphere at the Cherry Red Records Stadium - and there will be a special tribute to David McKnight before the game.

Below is a summary of what's going on tomorrow:

Remembering the life of David McKnight

At 2.30 pm, we'll be introducing academy Under-9s to Under-12s players, who will walk around the pitch with a shirt that will have 'McKnight' on the back. This will be presented to David's family. Prior to kick-off, there will then be a moment of applause for David, who passed away last weekend. David was a Dons supporters who devoted so much of his life to the Club, including volunteering to help with pitch maintenance and working in the club shop.

Tickets

There’s still time to snap-up your ticket and be a part of it all by cheering on the Dons against a Colchester side who are three points below us in the League Two table.

Buy in advance from our online ticket shop .

Alternatively, you can get your ticket before the game from the Ry Stand ticket booth (close to gate five), but please note that prices increase by £2 for adults and concessions, if purchased in person or online on matchdays.

Programme

Our matchday programme focuses on Black History Month, which starts tomorrow, with our players from the past featuring in this edition. With John Fashanu having visited us for our last Saturday home game, there's also a special feature on a player who is still revered by Dons supporters.

The programme can be purchased for £3 at the club shop, the Phoenix Pub, and also inside each of our four stands. Sellers will also be positioned outside the Cappagh Stand entrance and along Plough Lane.

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Rail strikes

Another round of rail strikes is planned for tomorrow and it includes South Western Rail with Earlsfield station closed all day.

There will be a limited service to and from Waterloo, stopping at Clapham Junction, Wimbledon, Surbiton and stops to Woking, with some services continuing to Southampton and Basingstoke. Vauxhall can be reached by changing at Clapham Junction. Details can be found by visiting this website .

Note that the last train leaves Waterloo at 17:50.

You can also plan your journey by visiting the National Rail website.

There will be no Thameslink service to Haydons Road and The District Line will be suspended between Parsons Green and Wimbledon.

You can get buses that stop close to our stadium. From Clapham Junction, local bus service 77 leaves stop T (The Falcon) getting off the bus at Summerstown. Alternatively, the 156 departs stop M opposite the station exit. Get off at the Plough Lane stop next to the new development at the site of our original Plough Lane stadium.

From Wimbledon station, go to bus stop P outside Barclays Bank on Alexandra Road and take either bus 156 to Gap Road/Plough Lane or bus 493 to the next stop, Haydons Road. Please note the bus stop outside the stadium is still closed due to roadworks.

Another alternative is the Northern Line to Tooting Broadway, then a 493 bus from outside the station to Copper Mill Lane (outside Lidl).

For further detailed information about bus services check www.tfl.gov.uk

Food, Drinks and Pub

Our fantastic food park (situated behind the South London Movers Stand) offers the best of several different cuisines, as served up by local businesses, including the following:

Dough Shack
MyPie
Traditional Jerk Chicken
All Burgers
Ding Ding

There will also be an ice cream van situated in the Fans' Zone. Plenty of food and drink concessions are available in the Cappagh (West) Stand.

Unfortunately due to fire regulations, fans in the Ry and Movers Stands will not have access to the first floor concessions in the Cappagh Stand. As a result, all fans seated in the Cappagh Stand will need to show their match ticket or have their hand stamped in order to get back to the first floor concourse.

The food trucks will stop serving at 6:00pm with last drink orders on the Movers Stand bar at the same time. The Phoenix pub will remain open after the game. The pub will also be serving spirits. Please note that the full range of spirits will be available from after the final whistle until closing time. Pre-mixed cans will be available prior to the final whistle.

Fans are permitted to bring water in a clear plastic bottle if they wish. However, no glass, cans, or metal bottles will be allowed. Thermos flasks are permitted.

Matchday Guide pic.jpg

Beat the queues with the SwipeStation app

Do you want an easy way to get your matchday pint?

Try our innovative SwipeStation app, which enables supporters to order a pint anywhere in the stadium before the game - and then collect it at a fast lane, either pre-match or at half-time.

The app even works offline, which means you can place an order without Wi-Fi connectivity. Obviously, the app does require initial connectivity to download, so why not do it at home before you come to the game?

We will be operating SwipeStation machines in the Cappagh (West) Stand and in the Ry (East) Stand. Camden Pale Ale and Stella Artois will initially be the two drinks available on SwipeStation.

Download SwipeStation from the App Store or Google Play and add your card details and email address (like you would for Uber, or to buy a drink in a pub!).

We have a downloadable user guide made for mobile phones, so take a look now and get ordering your pint for the match!

Lifts in reception

Unfortunately, the lifts in our club reception will be out of service for tomorrow’s game. We fully understand that this will cause real inconvenience for fans with disabilities and those with mobility issues.

However, there is an alternative for those who require assistance. Please ask at reception and we will provide access to a service lift inside the stadium. As this is utilised for matchday operations, we would really appreciate your patience today.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Dons TV

Get in the mood for the big game by joining our 9yrs Podcast team from 1.55 pm on Saturday. There will also be a post-match show, starting at 5.10 pm approximately.

Tune in via our official Facebook and YouTube channels (links below):

Pre-Match

Post-Match

Club Shop

There will be a slight change to opening hours with the shop closed during the match, but open at half-time. The shop will also close five minutes before kick-off to allow our staff and volunteers to pay their respects to their friend and colleague Dave McKnight.

Opening hours will be from 11.00 am until 2.55 pm, during the half-time break, and then from 5.00 pm until 6.00 pm.

Our friendly club shop team have some new products on sale, with a new hoodie, a smart beanie hat with silicone crest branding, and women’s gloves, which match our very popular women’s bobble hat.

You can pre-order our smart hummel away shirt with stocks due to be replenished next week. Visit our online shop to make an order.

Golden Goal tickets

Tickets will be on sale at the Colchester game (priced at just £1) with the top prize of £100 (all funds raised are donated to the Club), so look out for our Golden Goal sellers on Saturday.

Access to the stadium

Turnstiles for home fans open at 1.00 pm and at 1.30 pm for away supporters. For fans who have purchased matchday hospitality, please enter the stadium via Gate 1, which will open at 12 noon.

All home fans will enter via the Plough Lane end of the Stadium only. Please note that fans in the South London Movers Stand or Ry Stand can only enter via Gates 3, 4 and 5. Fans seated in the Cappagh Stand can only enter via Gate 2.

Away fans can only access the Stadium via Gate 6 and 7, is accessed via St Martin’s Way or Maskell Road.

Tzanev DLAG.jpg

Dons Local Action Group Food Collection Point

We will once again be organising collection points on Saturday with supporters invited to donate food to those less fortunate in the community. Masterminded by our award-winning Dons Local Action Group (DLAG), fans will be able to drop off tinned supplies - with an urgent need for tinned meat, tinned vegetables, tinned fish, tinned fruit, and tinned pulses. Food collection points will be located at every entrance into the stadium.

Reusable Cups

We have a reusable beer cup scheme to replace all single use plastic pint cups around the stadium. Once you’ve finished your beer, please dispose of your cup within the reusable cup bins located around the stadium.

Kids Zone.jpg

Kids Zone

This will be open on Saturday. Fans will be able to meet Haydon, our favourite Womble, and there’s also plenty of fun activities for children to get involved with. The Kids Zone is positioned on the concourse behind the Family Section on the corner of the East and South stands. Specifically for kids aged between 5-12, it is open from 1.30pm to 2.45pm with activities organised on a rotation basis. Please note that children MUST be supervised by parents at all times.

For a map of the stadium, and other information, including details about bringing bags into the ground and our cycle store facility, see our Matchday Guide section on the official website.