Anthony Hartigan made light of the gruelling recent schedule by coming through every minute of Wimbledon’s five matches in 12 days – and he was proud to help the Dons to a landmark win at Plough Lane.
Brought up in Chessington and having coming through our academy, playing at Plough Lane is the realisation of a dream for Anthony. Alongside him in the midfield engine room for the win against Peterborough was 19-year-old Jack Rudoni, who also made his way through our academy, offering plenty of inspiration for other young talents to follow in their foosteps.
“Maybe it’s a bit of motivation for academy players, but me and Jack are just focusing on playing as much as we can, and helping each other out,” said Anthony, who played a key part in our first win since returning to Plough Lane. “I thought he was brilliant, and he played his part for both of the goals.
“I’m still only 20, and I think a lot of people forget that, so I’m young and fit. I went through a spell at the start of the season when I didn’t really get a run of games, so there’s no time for me to be tired. I want to play as much as possible, and I’m just thankful for the opportunity. I want to carry on playing, that’s what I’ve been like since I was a kid.
“It’s a dream to play for this club and playing here at Plough Lane is unbelievable, so I just want to be there for the team when I’m needed. You can always do better and I watch the games back to try to take good and bad stuff from matches. I’m always out on the training pitch trying to improve.
“It was just massive for the team to bounce back. It was a tough week for us with losing to Gills, going to Barrow, and then losing to Crawley. Bouncing back against a very good team was important, but we need to back it up with another win on Saturday.”
Anthony also had a message for supporters, who would have loved to be in attendance at our first win back at Plough Lane.
“Obviously, stay patient. It’s a shame you couldn’t be there for the first win, but the days are counting down, so we are getting closer. My Dad has been watching on iFollow, he has come and watched me play games ever since I was a kid, and it’s not the same without him there, along with my Mum, and brother. Hopefully they will be down soon.
“We’ve had to come and play in a different environment, and other teams like Peterborough want to come here and play their stuff because it’s such an amazing stadium, so it’s a different sort of challenge, but one that the boys have taken well to.”