Wimbledon 6-5 Newport County

When is a win not a win?

When it’s a draw and you win on penalties.

We started the season with a victory that technically was a draw. We’re through to the second round of the Carabao Cup. Newport aren’t. That feels like winning to us.

It was also a strange halfway point between pre-season and proper football. Evening cup football on a weekend. Competitive enough that we cared. Friendly enough that only half the stadium was open.

By the time Steve Seddon smashed the tenth (eleventh) penalty into the top corner, though, nobody was treating it like a friendly.

The Team

The Match

This was one of those games where we of seemed to spend most of it looking like we should be the better team without actually doing anything to justify it.

There were chances. Ryan Johnson nearly looped in a header. James Tilley tested the keeper. It was generally encouraging, without ever quite becoming convincing.

Then everyone stopped for a hydration break.

It was 28 degrees. Apparently this now requires organised hydration. We treated this with the respect it deserved by exclusively looking at the electronic hoardings for three minutes. We learnt that Carabao now make lager with caffeine. It probably tastes disgusting.

The game properly woke up in the second half.

Newport were awarded a penalty for something involving Isaac Ogundere, Jayden Stockley and Lee Jenkins. Never a penalty. If you can’t have one defender grabbing the attackers arm, and the other his shirt while defending a long throw then the game’s gone.

Bishop saved it with his legs.

Unfortunately, four minutes later Bambi produced an excellent finish from the edge of the box and suddenly Newport were beating us. And then right before we could kick off we had to hydrate again.

However we kept going and got an equaliser. Callum Augcock scored right at the end of added time after Newport failed to clear Seddon’s cross.

Thank goodness for hydration breaks and their added time.

Onwards to penalties.

Four Wimbledon players took penalties. Four Wimbledon players scored penalties. Then Bishop saved the fifth (sixth) Newport effort and Seddon absolutely buried the winner.

A win. Sort of.

There were also two Haydons in the ground. Newport’s new manager Hayden Mullins, while our Haydon was wandering around Plough Lane looking for people within high-fiveable distance.

Hayden lost.

Haydon won.

Sort of.

Womble of the Week: Nathan Bishop.

Not a difficult decision.

He saved Newport’s penalty during the match, then saved another in the shootout. Bishop returned from injury and reminded us why having a good goalkeeper is quite useful.

What the Manager Was Saying

Paul.

We discovered quite early that the referee was called Paul because Johnnie Jackson spent much of the afternoon informing him of this.

“Paul.”

“Paul!”

“PAUL!”

There is something amusing about JJ becoming sufficiently annoyed with a referee that he stops calling him “Ref” and switches to first name terms to get his attention.

Hayden Mullins took a different approach. He regularly just referred to the forth official as “Forth”. A bit dehumanising - his name was “Nick”.

Closing Thoughts

We’re through.

There was enough here to like. We created chances. We kept going when we fell behind. Augcock made a difference. Bishop looked solid. The penalties were very good. The blue and white hoardings looked very nice too.

But this still felt like the final game of pre-season. Huddersfield will be different. Next Saturday we need to step up.

For now, though, a win is a win. Even when it’s a draw.

WombleWorld

We left the game feeling optimistic. First competitive game of the season and still top of the league.