Friendlies are back, some pure friendlies, some annual one off cups not sanctioned owned by county FAs or mini tournaments (but not testimonials or Internationals which I may come back to another time). Love them like Laurence Reade who embraces the chance to visit grounds not usually used by pyramid sides (like NESCOT in Ewell) or loathe them (and I am certainly at the cynical end of the spectrum) we will have collectively been to more than few over the years. What are your 5 most memorable and why - mine are:- Wimbledon 2 Moscow Dynamo 2, 1981/2 season. This was not a pre season but arranged during the this then Russian giants winter break. A gate of only 1,600 saw Wimbledon pull off quite a shock with two late goals in what was a very competitive game. Sutton United 3 Arsenal XI 4, 2013/14 Not just a friendly but a friendly against an XI which in my book is even worse usually. A load of trial players usually turning out for the league side. However this was a run out for the Arsenal youth team on a perfect evening in front of a presently full gate (and a chance for the boy to see his favourite league side sort of in action). See also the picture. Millwall 1 Hibernian 1 summer 1989 This was played on a summer night in 1989 and is memorable more fore the atmosphere generated by the 5,000 odd crowd than the football. This said neither side took any prisoners on the pitch, mind you no Millwall side featuring Terry Hurlock (who remembers him?) would ever be likely to play it any other way. And. I am (perhaps in the minority) still missing the original Den, a ground of character. Enfield Town 2 AFC Wimbledon 3, 12 August 2002 A historic game at Theobolds Lane, home of Cheshunt FC saw AFC Wimbledon win their first ever match after a total of 10 attempts. In doing so they claimed the Supporters Direct Cup, a regular pre season competition between fan owned clubs. Just 521 turned out for this game, by far the poorest gate the Dons had played in front of at that time but it was a thriller. As a bonus I got to see the Commonwealth Games boxing medal one by one of the AFC fans just a few days earlier. Raith Rovers 0 Wimbledon 2 in 1988/9 season. The first of three game tour of Scotland by The Dons and the only one I was able to get to. Fresh from winning the FA Cup a reasonable number if Kilkaldy residents turned out, maybe 1,200, to see a fairly strong Dons side go through their paces. But probably loved the ground more than the game. So, how about you. Any memories and if you just dont do friendlies at all please share why. I can take them or leave them myself though an international dimension helps; a sensible limit on substitutions even more so.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:01:30 +0000
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