Striker interviewed after his retirement
wasted no time returning to AFC Wimbledon after announcing his retirement from playing – and he unsurprisingly selected THAT solo strike against AFC Hornchurch as his favourite goal.Jon MainDons favourite
.Dons PlayerJust days after deciding to call time on his eventful playing career, Jon (pictured above after scoring a vital goal against Hampton & Richmond) was a guest of the club at Saturday’s Northampton Town match and he took time out to relive the glory days in an interview for
Jon’s memorable goals against AFC Hornchurch in the Ryman Premier semi-final of 2008 paved the way for three promotions that took the club all the way into the Football League. But it was his clincher in the 3-1 second leg win against AFC Hornchurch which is the most memorable of his 61 goals for the Dons.
Speaking to Rob Cornell, Jon said: “I could probably stand here and tell you every goal that I have scored on this pitch, but my second one against Hornchurch was my best here by far. It has been brilliant to come back here today and see the old faces – it still feels like yesterday that I was playing here. I am sure you will all be seeing a lot more of me now!
quite a bit and he has told me how much it has changed and that he is really enjoying his time at Wimbledon. You can tell by the results and Wimbledon’s position in the table that they are going in the right direction.”Luke Moore“I still speak to
At the age of 32, serious knee injuries had taken their toll on Jon and after struggling to recapture his best form at Thamesmead Town this season, he decided to call it a day.
“It has been in my head for a few months now,” Jon added. “I felt that I was not preparing well for a game of football and when it gets to that stage you know it’s time. It was unfair on the manager and my team-mates. I will have time to play a bit of golf and do a bit of coaching at a local club Erith and Belvedere. In the New Year I will start my coaching badges and see where that takes me.”
says that Jon’s contribution to AFC Wimbledon’s success will never be forgotten by the fans.Simon BasseyFirst-team coach
“Jon made a massive contribution to the club,” said Simon. “We knew when we were in the Ryman League that we needed a goalscorer to get us out of it and we managed to bring in the best around at non league level. His performances in those games against Hornchurch sum up his contribution. However, he then went onto have a great partnership with Danny Kedwell and played a part in our other promotions.
“Getting out of the Ryman League was probably one of the biggest achievements of this club as it was hard for us to get out of it at the time and Jon played a big part in it. Jon did not play as much football as he would have liked when we got to the Conference. However, he was still a great lad to have around the place and contributed to the squad in other ways.”
Everyone at AFC Wimbledon wishes Jon every success in his future career.
Dons Player subscribers can watch the full video interview with Jon Main on our premium site and we also feature the thoughts of Sammy Moore and Luke Moore on their old team-mate.