More fun in the play offs

Last night I went to Peterborough V MK Dons in the League 1 play-offs semi final second leg. The first match had ended 3-2 to MK Dons with the Posh remaining in the tie with a controversial last minute penalty. Therefore the stage was set for an exciting game that didn't disappoint.

The game was a sell-out, well apart from a few tickets that MK Dons didn't sell, and the atmosphere was electric. I have to say that I always enjoy a trip to London Road as the chance to stand on a full terrace reminds me of football gone by and last night the terrace was as full as Health and Safety allows nowadays. I think that it was the first time in ages that I have had to queue up to get into a ground in England, mainly because the games I go to at the top end are all ticket affairs with computerised tickets or are not the type of games to attract a crowd. Before the game Peterborough's owner Darragh Mac.Anthony walked around the pitch whipping the fans up; not that they really needed winding up and they make enough noise when they are 5-1 down in a game nevermind before the biggest game of the season.

Peterborough might have an old fashioned type of ground and following, although there are plans for a new all seater stadium and if they manage to get into the Championship and establish themselves an all seater stadium will become imperative, but MK Dons are the antithesis of traditional football.

I might shock a few people here though and say that I really don't have a gripe with the MK Dons. Whatever you think of them taking Wimbledon's place in the league there are a few factors that perhaps should be remembered. I honestly think that Pete Winkelman looked at the proposition from quite a practical view. There are too many clubs in London and MK is a massive place that didn't have a team. He probably showed a naive understanding of the traditions of football, but it probably made sense to him apart from that. The media really like to stick up for AFC Wimbledon, who are now one play off win from the league, but I think that a lot of Wimbledon fans of old protest a bit too much. I remember going to Plough Lane when the crowd was about 7,000 and there were 4,000 away fans in the top division so in some ways the support wasn't there. Don't get me wrong I don't have anything against AFC Wimbledon, but I also think that the vitriol aimed at MK Dons is getting a bit hackneyed. That said MK have never had the support they banked on, but surely the locals already supported a team before Milton Keynes had a club and you do wonder what the fans did before. Also the left back Dean Lewington is a git and you have to hate the name of their stadium, Stadium:MK. I mean what's that bllody colon doing there? It's almost as annoying as people who write @ for 'at' when not in an email address.

Anyway, I have digressed far too much from what was supposed to be about a superlative night of football fun and match action. As I have already said the atmosphere in the stadium was electric and the mood was expectant. It was one of the noisiest games I have been to in a long time. Not surprisingly Peterborough, who needed a goal came out firing on all cylinders and the frantic speed was only equalled by the speed that the game was playing out. Grant Mc.Cann had said in his programme notes that the first goal was critical, so he must have been satisfied when on 11 minutes he smashed in a free kick from 25 yards out to send the Posh fans into an even bigger frenzy. Posh continued to dominate the first half and what few chances MK Dons had were kept out by stand in goal keeper Dave Jones who had replaced Joe Lewis after he had been injured in the first leg. George Boyd, Mc.Cann and Craig Makail-Smith all came close for Peterborough and MK Dons managed to hit the crossbar, but at half-time the score remained 1-0 to Posh. It could have been more and everybody seemed to expect it to have been more. I have lost count of the number of reports that I have readnthat have reeled off the fact that 109 goals were scored at London Road in the regular season, meaning an average of over 4.5 goals a game. I'm not a big fan of statistics, but the number of times I've read that one it's stuck in my mind.

So when the second half got under way everybody was expecting more goals. Posh had the ball in the back of the net on 53 minutes when Lee Tomlin had the ball in the back of the net with a fine strike after the ball had been cleverly worked to him by George Boyd. Unfortunately the referee had blown for a foul on Boyd before the ball went in the net, not that anyone could hear the ref's whistle. Tomlin was keen to make amends and take the free kick, but Mc.Cann was never going to give up his free kick rights; unfortunately the kick was just wide. On 60 minutes Peterborough did have the 2 goal lead that they craved when Craig Mackail-Smith scored after Boyd's shot had been palmed away brilliantly by Dons's keeper David Martin.

You might have expected Posh to shut up shop after this, but this is the team with the best scoring and one of the worst defensive records in the whole league, so the game continued with Posh attacking like their lives depended on it. The Dons didn't really threaten but the Posh fans must have been nervous about the cavalier attitude and to be honest the whole second half felt like it was about 5 minutes long. Even when the time was ticking off there wasn't much of playing it simple and keeping posession. Tomlin clearly wanted to get his name on the scoreboard and Mackail-Smith hit the bar in the last minute.

The game finished 2-0 to the Posh, so it wasn't the goalfest many predicted, but the Posh fans weren't complaining and now they face Huddersfield in the final. Hopefully they will be able to do what Ebbsfleet did and gain promotion and hopefully the Posh will be playing Birmingham City next season.

I didn't get a chance to take any photos, but at the top is a shot of Craig Mackail-Smith celebrating his goal from the Press. It looks likely that he will soon be on his way to pastures new though, but let's hope if he does leave he signs off with yet another goal in the final.