With a League Two play-off spot up for grabs, captain Jake Reeves is eager to return to Cherry Red Records Stadium’s lighting on Tuesday night.
Following our 2-0 victory at Notts County on Saturday, we are now just one point behind Gillingham, our next opponents, who are in last place.
It’s going to be a huge game, and we’ll need all the supporters again, Jake stated. They’ll definitely show up in large numbers. We’ve historically performed well under the lights, so maybe we can do so once more.
“It was amazing to have well over a thousand people support us here. In certain clubs that are higher up the Football League, you won’t even see that. That should be evidence of the club’s strong ties. There is a genuine sense of belief throughout the entire club, and they are enjoying what they are seeing.
Jake is aware of the requirements for entering the home straight, having achieved automatic promotion out of League Two with Stevenage the previous season.
“We had a meeting within the company last week,” stated Jake. “There was some frustration there, and I’m sure the supporters felt the same way, especially after a few recent results. We believe that we ought to have gained a few more points and finished a little higher.
“We had to put that to rest when we discussed things, and these past ten games have turned the series into a mini-league. The goal is to gain some momentum so that you can enter those areas.
The outcome from yesterday was the same as it was the last time we went to Meadow Lane, which was eight years ago. Jake was a member of Wimbledon’s midfield on that particular day. Naturally, we would go on to win promotion later that season through the League Two play-offs.
“We were aware of the difficulty of the match,” said Jake following a late own goal and a first from Kofi Balmer to seal the victory.
“We had a great chance to win the game if we could stay in it, be tenacious, frustrate them, and hopefully have a few moments of our own, which is exactly what happened. They play a wide style of football, and we have been playing a new system.
Jake remarked, “Hopefully Kofi can get a couple more before the season ends.” The boys who were on the verge of being placed in a new system deserve a great deal of recognition as well. Naturally a left-back, Lee Brown has excelled in his fill-in roles.
While John-Joe is primarily a midfielder, he can play center-half as well. He’s been amazing these past three games, looking like a total rock. It’s a huge credit to him that he was able to join this team and perform despite not playing for Mansfield.”
