MK Dons disability teams took part in a full day of fixtures in the Berks, Oxford and Bucks Inclusive (BOBi) Football League on 15th January at Marlow.
Under 12's
This was our third meeting with the Marlow team and although at first the Dons dominated the games, the second meeting showed that they could match us so we knew that this game would be difficult. Dons started off the first game with a full complement of players and substitutes and although Marlow scored an early goal past our goalkeeper, Reece, we managed to follow up with a fortunate break and follow up by James to score an equaliser. The Dons enjoyed great striking support during the game from Solomon and Connor who were playing up front for the first time, and that was the only goal from the MK Dons team on the day.
In the second game, Marlow worked well and one of their older players, James, worked hard to get past our defence to score goals. Willaby, Alfie and Harry were playing well in defence to make it hard for Marlow, but struggled with the pace of Marlow's James. Sam in midfield made a great stop against an older and taller player to prevent a shot on goal.
The final game was close after changing the teams around to give everyone a chance to play in different positions. Dillon, who had played superbly well as an outfield player then went in goal, and did a great job but again like our other goalkeeper on the day was beaten by the speed and power of Marlow.
Under 16's
The Under 16's played four games at the weekend, with Christmas still heavy in the boots and only one training session before the fixture they started the first game against Red 10.
This was a game where the boys tried to shake off the holiday. They defended deep with good numbers getting back to help the defence. The pressure that Red 10 put on the squad almost paid off with a long range shot only partially stopped by goalkeeper Josh, it was slowly creeping to the goal only to be cleared off the line by a dazzling weekend performance from Ben. The forwards managed to get a couple of chances but failed to hit the target. The game ended 0-0.
The second game saw the Dons pitted against Oxford. This again was a game where the boys defended deep and in numbers and tried to hit on the break. Their usual game play of short sharp passing was still missing but nobody could complain about the effort and persistence they put in. Again, some great diving saves from the goalkeeper kept the game at a 0-0 draw.
Game three was against a strong Red 10 team and although it was a great game to watch with both teams creating good chances, the only thing missing was a goal. This was now the third draw of the day.
Oxford provided the fourth and final game of the day. With no goals scored and none conceded, things did not look bad. With a quick start from the Oxford team they had soon scored with a missed tackle on the right side of the pitch allowing the winger to score in the far corner. The goal did not affect the boys as they still tried to play their style of football. But with a quick shot from the Oxford team and a big deflection they found that they were now 2-0 down. With this the whole team upped the effort and moved the ball round with ease and carved out a great opportunity for a strike from Andrew they had pulled a goal back. Shortly after this Ryan hit the post. Time now ticked away as Oxford tried to hold on for the win, but this was not to be with a goal from Ryan to claim the 2-2 draw.
Conference A
Today consisted of four big games for the Conference A team with our first game being against Red 10. It was not the easiest of starts for the team resulting in a 4-0 defeat but it could have been a much bigger margin if it had not been for some big brave saves from our goalkeeper Samsun! The team struggled to keep up with the pace and the strength of the Red 10 squad but the players remained positive and continued to encourage each other.
Our second game was against Oxford City Casuals. This was a very close game with the final scoreline being 2-1. A much improved performance saw Aaron getting himself on the score sheet with a very tidy finish but it was another fantastic performance from Samsun the goalkeeper keeping out numerous shots from the Oxford players.
After this we moved into our third game against Northampton Town with the players putting in a very good performance against a tough side. In this game there were chances for both teams but good saves from both keepers kept the game close. Northampton eventually won the game 1- 0.
Our final fixture of the day was against MK Dons B. The players did themselves proud and put in a great defensive performance with players putting their bodies on the line in an attempt to stop the other Dons team scoring. This was coupled with yet another heroic goalkeeping display from Samsun but still could not prevent a 3-0 defeat.
League
Our first game of the day was against Banbury, it took the players a little while to get used to the size of the pitch as it was a lot wider than usual. Once they were used to the size we began to pass the ball around Banbury and created some good chances. We went a goal down through a penalty that was initially well saved by Lewis but the ball somehow squeezed under him and found its way into the net. With some quick passing and Matt using the width of the pitch to his advantage he ran down the line and crossed for Henry to pull a goal back. The lads were full of confidence and went on to get a second winning the game 2-1.
Next up was the most difficult game of day and this was against Northampton. The game ended 0 - 0 with both sides having few chances but Northampton are our biggest rivals for the title so this was a good result.
We went straight from the Northampton game into our third game of the day where we played Oxford City, this was a 1 - 0 win, with Dons having a penalty saved and Steve hitting the post.
The final game of the day was against Henley YMCA. Matt scored the only goal of the game with a cross come shot to ensure another 1 - 0 win. In similar fashion to the game against Oxford City we had a penalty saved and unfortunately failed to convert some great opportunities created by some excellent passing using the width of the pitch.
After four games and only conceding one goal, it was definitely a great team effort ensuring that we keep the pressure on Northampton at the top of the table.
Championship
Another tough set of fixtures for the Dons in the Championship ended with three losses and a draw. The first game against Northampton was a hard game for the Dons and we were played off the park by some great passing and great finishing and the game ended 4-0.
The second game was against Oxford and we got off to a much better start with Darren Ollard scoring early on. Following that it was quite an even game and after a bit of sloppy defending Oxford equalized and the game ended 1-1. The third game was against Northampton again but this time a couple of their best players sat out and the game was a close battle and we had a few chances but didn't put them away and then Northampton scored late on to win the game 1-0 which was a much better performance by the Dons than the first game.
The last fixture was against Oxford again and we fancied our chances in this one but obviously went into the game too confident because we lost 4-0. In all we did our best but we are playing at a much higher level and we need to learn from this and grow as players and improve in all areas.
