Alex Pearce was back proudly wearing the captain’s arm band and led us to a clean sheet, but he acknowledged the shift in power was only temporary.
Johnnie Jackson’s first signing for the Dons was called upon to take charge, having battled back from injury and illness in recent times, as we went on to take a hard earned point away from Crewe.
“I absolutely loved being back out there again,” said the Republic of Ireland international after his first full game for a month and half. “It’s been a very frustrating time for me personally, having got injured, then re-injured and then falling ill as well.
“I was buzzing to be out there and being made captain was just a bonus. Alex Woodyard wasn’t here today and when he’s back, he’ll take that over again. I’m more than happy to fill in and contribute to a good team performance.”
The 34-year-old did more than just fill in on this occasion, after a week of re-building for the Dons with the departure of several loan players – in particular, fellow centre-back Ryley Towler moving on.
“Fair play to Ryley, he’s been absolutely first class since he came to our club,” said Pearcey. “What a loan spell it has been for him, and that’s credit to the club and to Ryley. He’s shown in his performances how well he has done, and he deserves his move.
“Now it’s about recovering from that as a club and as a team. Opportunities then arise for other people. We’ll look to bring in some faces and I’m sure the club is working really hard to do just that and strengthen our squad and hopefully they can do that.
“Zach Robinson has been here a while before his time in Scotland with Dundee. He knows the club, so he won’t need much settling back in.
“For Sam Pearson, he’s a young player coming in from Bristol City with high hopes of doing well in the game. Hopefully he can do what the other loan players have done here and perform well. He’ll certainly get his chance and it’s about him taking it when it comes.
With the focus on the second half of the league season, Pearcey is keen to put his shoulder to the wheel again and help us push on, having steadied the ship on Saturday.
“It’s a positive point for us,” said Pearcey. “The lads were a little bit disappointed that we didn’t take all three, but overall – once the dust settles – we’ll be happy with that.
“We’ve had a tough week, lost some players, so coming here just showed the strength of the group. That’s what we pride ourselves on. The boys that were asked to play came in and did a job and we’ve got a well earned point on the road.
“That’s always the key thing for players coming back from injury – you want to get back out there and get that first ninety minutes under you belt and then build from there. Now its about recovery before the next one.”
Photos: Paul Thompson (Pro Sports Images).
You can see the full interview with Alex Pearce below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.