The orange sun glared over the trees of Sutton as the fans swarmed into the ground. A pub nearby was heaving with fans, blue and yellow being waved around, a sense of liberty was in the air. From empty seats came cheering fans, blue and yellow all around the pitch. Songs were being sung, the fans were happy. For the first time since 1991, we had a team. Our emblem was unveiled, and the team came out onto the pitch. The roar was phenomenal from the 4,657 supporters. Everyone was standing, clapping and cheering; this indeed was something special. I felt giddy with joy: football was home.
It was explained to us that our sponsors, Sports Interactive, had donated a kit to us, as our kit was not yet ready. We kicked off.
The first half was solid, especially from a new team who had never played together before. The back-four line was obvious, and they held their shape nicely, allowing the goalie protection from a potentially lethal attack. The right midfield was given solidity by a very confident player, who defended well, yet allowed some breaking attack. A torrent of Sutton United corners subsided and we gained equal pegging. Passes were flowing, and some lovely long balls were being made; some met, some not. From a team that had never played a match together, they were able to take control of parts of the half and embarrass Sutton with some flamboyant moves. The break came from a throw in on the right side, just level with the edge of the penalty area. Our players were in there. The ball came in, and was flicked on, allowing Dean Martin to head the ball into the back of the net. The crowd went wild; a huge wave surged through the crowd, as the ground shook. Sutton were baffled. This was Wimbledon. Whistles were blown and the celebrations turned to silence, the goal was inexplicably ruled out. The first half was a mostly equal affair, with the Dons attack looking very sharp in some moments, and the Sutton one looking fairly subdued.
The half ended and the fans cheered, something magical was happening. The second half started, and with almost half of our team being substituted, including the goalkeeper, the side looked a little less flowing; a little disjointed. In the 56th minute Sutton took advantage of this immediately, and played a ball, which looked very offside, allowing the Sutton forward to have a one-on-one affair just outside of the box on the left. The shot was struck and the ball hit the back of the net. The keeper stood there, as if in a trance.
This did not subdue the fans, they sang, they whistled; the claxons sounded. The defence had seemingly lost its shape. The player who was meant to be on the left back, was nowhere to be seen for the Sutton attacks, and put pressure on the remaining three to do extra work. Sutton capitalised on this, and struck three times more, all from very similar looking goals. The midfield did not feed the ball to the two strikers, thus meaning that the attacks in the second half were few and far between, and leading to a match played in the midfield. The Dons striker who stood out was for two reasons: his hight (6"4'!), and also his ability and energy on the field: Martin. He played his heart out for the 90 minutes, and found himself working in midfield to feed the ball up to his "partner" striker, who seemed lacking on the left of him. This led to a team that showed the first half was a better team.
The whistle blew and the Dons fans cheered, even though their team had lost 4-0. This was more than a game, this was the Rebirth of the Phoenix. The Sutton United players trundled off the pitch, but the Dons' remained. They jubilated fans ran onto the pitch, hoisting the players into the air, celebrating them as heros; and heroes they were.
The chairman of AFC Wimbledon, Kris Stewart, gave a speech to the fans, who sang with joy for their new team, the real team. The fans dispersed, and the air was still.
Football in Wimbledon was reborn...