As a real fishing enthusiast, Alex Woodyard has certainly been taking the festive period in his stride.
That's because there was a special surprise from Santa to indulge his passion away from football!
“I got some fishing vouchers for a shop near me," said our captain. "And also some new wellies to walk the dog, so I had a good couple of days off.
“I know some of the younger boys were gutted (that our game against Charlton Athletic was postponed) but for me I have been playing football for a long time now, so personally it was nice to spend time with my family. I was obviously disappointed the match got called off, but I still managed to gain a positive from it, so that was great.”
Turning back to matters on the pitch, Woody’s partnership with Anthony Hartigan in the centre of the park has been one of the key components of our best performances this season, and it didn’t take long for our midfielder to sing his teammate’s praises.
“It’s good to play with Ant. We learn off each other. We’ve also got Marshy, who can come in as well. It’s good to work with both of them and it’s a great trio. We all keep each other at the top of our games.”
Given that his first and only goal so far for the Dons came against Oxford last season, Woody is understandably keen to start hitting the back of the net again soon, starting with tonight’s game against the same opponents.
“It would be a bonus! I actually thought about that this morning, so it would be nice to get another goal against them to help the team.”
The 7.45pm clash at the Kassam Stadium will be the Dons’ last league game of 2021 as Woody and his teammates look to end the year on a high.
Despite Wimbledon having recently gone on a five-game unbeaten run across all competitions, Woody was keen to stress that Oxford will pose a tough test.
“We know they’re a good side," said the experienced midfielder. "They’re where they are for a reason, and they ask a lot of questions. They move the ball well, have good rotation, and there’s no doubt it will be a tough match, as it always is against them. We will need to be at the top of our game in order to get anything from it."
The central midfielder was also quick to point back to our previous 3-1 victory over the U’s back in September as a source of confidence that could stand us in good stead this evening.
“We’ve watched that game back and seen where we got joy in it. They’ll obviously now know what our strengths are as well, so we need to assume that it could be a totally different game. We just need to get what we’ve been working on right and put it into practice on the night.”
As for where the team is at as we reach the halfway stage of the campaign, Woody was reflective in his evaluation of what he had seen so far.
“We started the season strongly. Then we had a dip in form, but we’ve come back well recently and got some good results. We’re in an okay position. From what I see personally, day in, day out, there is a lot more to come. So, we need to get going again on Wednesday night and look to get some more points on the board.”