Kai Jennings and Harry Sidwell have been midfield teammates in our Academy for quite a while, but at the weekend came a new experience - they were on opposing sides.
“I got one tackle in on Kai. It almost didn’t feel right though because we’ve been on the same team for years,” said Harry with a smile. “It did feel a little strange,” replied Kai. “But it was all part of a good experience.”
Harry was named in Kingstonian’s starting line-up on Saturday for the Isthmian Premier match with Whitehawk, who included Kai amongst their substitutes. At the final whistle, it was Kai who came out on top. Having come on in the 68th minute, he set up the Sussex side’s third goal with his first touch in a 4-1 victory at Imperial Fields.
“It was great to get my first minutes for Whitehawk,” said Kai who was on the bench for our Carabao Cup tie at Chelsea in August, before making his first team debut as a sub in our FA Cup victory over Cheltenham in November.
“Everyone at Whitehawk have made me feel welcome and been supportive and it was nice to repay them by getting an assist. It was also good to see one of my teammates starting for Kingstonian, as he had a decent game. I’m looking forward to pushing on now and getting more minutes.”
The score line failed to dampen Harry’s enthusiasm, after what was a landmark occasion for the young Dons scholar.
“It was a massive test for me,” said Harry. “It was my first game at senior level, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a really good experience and hopefully there’ll be many more to come. Obviously, the result wasn’t good enough, but we now look to put it right against Dulwich Hamlet on Wednesday night.
“It was a tough one to take, but the lads were brilliant and made me feel really welcome coming into the changing room. During the game they were really positive - they kept talking to me and helped me out. The senior players took me under their wing, which really helped me to be confident out there on the pitch.”
Having helped Simon Clark’s Under-18s to a second place finish in the Youth Alliance South East and reach the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup, the duo are among a number of our brightest prospects set to develop their talents elsewhere.
Defender Ollie Downs impressed on loan to Fleet Town last season. He’s now settling into his latest stint at non-league level with Isthmian South East side Burgess Hill Town.
“We faced top of the league Ramsgate on Saturday, who of course Wimbledon beat in the FA Cup this season,” said Ollie.
“We were unfortunate to lose 2-1, but I started at left-back and played for around 70 minutes. It was a good game though and I’m learning a lot. I also came on last week, for Burgess Hill, on the wing against Chichester for 15 minutes or so.”
Goalkeeper Max Foulkes was yet again involved in Saturday’s warm-up with Coach Ashley Bayes and senior players Alex Bass and Nik Tzanev, for the first team against Newport, but he’s aiming for game time with Ashford Town (Middlesex) of the Isthmian South-Central.
“I’ve been training with them, but I'm yet to play,” said Max. “They have a few games coming up though, so hopefully I’ll be involved in those.”
Defender Leo Young and forward Tom Wilson played for our Under-18s on Saturday, in their second Merit League 1 game. Following a 2-0 defeat at FA Youth Cup quarter-finalists Swindon Town, they have different plans for the rest of the campaign.
“I’m not scheduled to go out on loan,” said Tom. “Instead, I’ll be playing out the season with Wimbledon in the Merit League. We have a very young squad now, so it’s all about the first years getting that starting experience really.”
“I had an injury last week,” said Leo. “It was only confirmed I could play on Friday and the Carshalton Athletic manager had already picked his squad, so I played for the 18s instead. I’ll join up with Carshalton, who are doing well in the Isthmian Premier, for training this week.”
Defender Sean Sankanu continues to get minutes with Corinthian-Casuals. He started in their 4-1 defeat at former FA Vase winners Chertsey Town, as bottom visited top in Isthmian South Central.
There was also more game time for defenders and second year professionals Ethan Sutcliffe and Josh Hallard on Saturday.
Ethan was a part of the Tonbridge Angels side that beat Torquay United 4-1, in front of a crowd of 1,308 at Longmead Stadium in National League South.
Meanwhile, Josh played the sixth game of his loan with Cray Wanderers. Having come on as a substitute eight minutes into the second half, he provided the assist for their fourth goal in a 4-0 win at Haringey Borough in the Isthmian Premier.
Forward Quaine Bartley started for Merstham, who drew 2-2 with Herne Bay at the Hybrid Fitness Stadium in the South East Division.
Match photos: Pro Sports Images.
