Jake Reeves went for a tried and trusted method as he calmly, but powerfully scored from the spot at both ends for victory over Notts County.
Iraqi international striker Ali Al-Hamadi flew back in to bag yet another brace in Saturday’s impressive 4-2 win, as Jake skippered the Dons to three points against one of his previous clubs.
“I’ve had a few penalties over the years,” said Jake. “I‘ve changed techniques, changed styles, found a good rhythm - at Stevenage in particular - and I’ve stuck with it.
“With the second one, I’ve played with their goalkeeper Sam Slocombe. I thought that he would think I was going to be very confident in myself to put it in the same area - so I guessed that he was going to dive, it’s always a guess, it’s a gamble.
“I thought do the same routine, do the same technique, but I know where I’m going, and I think he’ll dive and luckily, he did on this occasion.
“If you give people penalties in training, they’ll score all the time - because there’s no pressure. It’s completely different, you can’t recreate that pressure. The only time you can do that is in games, the idea is to try and alleviate the pressure as much as possible.”
While Ali Al-Hamadi put the seal on the victory, Jake also highlighted the contribution of goalkeeper Alex Bass who made a save at a crucial point in the game.
“It was a huge save, the one in the second half,” said Jake. “It was massive, it was at 2-2 in the game. That’s what goalkeepers are there for. You need a good goalkeeper to do anything, particularly in this league, because other teams have their threats. Bass has stood up all season, I think he’s been brilliant.
“It must be tough for Ali. We’re always saying when we’re travelling to away games, like we did last month, it’s tough on the body. For him to be flying here, there, and everywhere, coming back in for a day’s training and then play - it must be tough on his body, but he’s a credit to himself and to us.”
Match photography by Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images).