Dons and Greens looking for new season buzz in unfamiliar territory

It is exceedingly rare for a Championship ground to be hosting a League One fixture, but 2020 has been downright strange.

With AFC Wimbledon’s new 9,300 capacity stadium at their spiritual home of Plough Lane still under development, Loftus Road will be hosting its fair share of third tier football this season as well as QPR’s Championship clashes.

Just how the Dons will settle in to their new temporary home remains to be seen, after sharing Kingsmeadow with Chelsea Women and previously Kingstonian since AFC Wimbledon’s inception 18 years ago.

However, the early signs for Glyn Hodges’ men have been promising. In their sole competitive fixture at Loftus Road so far, Wimbledon triumphed over recently relegated Charlton Athletic in the EFL Trophy. While admittedly not always a great reflection of league performance due to squad rotation, Wimbledon have matched both sides they’ve played since, despite their opponents’ home advantage.

They took much fancied Oxford United all the way to penalties in the Carabao Cup first round before taking the lead twice against League One newcomers Northampton Town in their league opener only to draw 2-2.

Despite the lack of fans able to attend a new era for the Dons, Hodges spoke excitedly about the prospect of playing in Shepherd’s Bush: “We had a seven-and-a-half week pre-season and you have your eye on the opening home league game. It’s upon us and we are looking forward to it.

“It was good that we could bring the Charlton game forward – I was looking to hold another training session there (at QPR), but we haven’t been able to fit that in. The good thing about the Charlton game was that we actually got the win. We got a positive result the last time we went there, so we are looking for another one on Saturday.”

Plymouth Argyle will be the first ever league opposition to a Wimbledon-hosted Loftus Road, and the Pilgrims have enjoyed an equally promising start since their promotion from League Two last term.

Ryan Lowe’s side overturned higher league opposition in their first competitive game, a 3-2 home success against QPR (rather fittingly), before showing excellent defensive application to beat Blackpool 1-0 on the opening day.

However, much like the last six months for all of us at home, it isn’t quite as straightforward as it may appear for Plymouth Argyle.

Despite keeping a clean sheet against Blackpool, Lowe’s men allowed 19 shots at their goal and had to be bailed out numerous times by a stunning display from 20-year-old goalkeeper Michael Cooper on his full league debut.

In fact, in all of Argyle’s four competitive games so far, there have been at least a combined 26 shots. Moreover, their midweek EFL Cup defeat to League Two Leyton Orient featured a whopping 47 shots, with 22 of those hitting the target.

Lowe’s style of play, with an emphasis on his team playing through the thirds, might also play into Wimbledon’s hands. With the away side looking to dominate possession, the Dons can sit back and wait for their moment to break forward quickly.

They had more attempts than both Charlton and Oxford, despite having a 36% and 28% share of possession respectively. However, when they had the higher possession percentage against Northampton (52%), the Dons managed their fewest attempts on goal so far this season (11).

Hodges may just see Argyle’s style as a good chance to play to their strengths, but Argyle boss Lowe was bullish about the upcoming test for his side: “We learn every time we play. Every game you win, lose, or draw it’s a learning curve. We know we’re in a competitive league. AFC Wimbledon will certainly be competitive. It might be a different style of football, but it’s one we’re relishing.”

“They’re different – they do go back to front quite quick. They get bodies behind the ball, but it’s up to us to have a game plan to try and break that down. We respect them as we always do, but we aren’t going to fear them. We’ll go toe to toe and they’ll be the same as us.

“It’s up for an exciting game with different styles but we’re going there full of confidence in the league.”

However, Lowe was less enthused when asked about the lack of fans, with a trip to Loftus Road in normal circumstances representing a 1,000+ away following from the Green Army.

“We’ve got to get away from the situation with the fans. We’re gutted that they can’t be there, we want them rallying us on.

“Will [no fans]help some clubs? Yeah. Will it disadvantage some clubs? Yes, certainly. But we’ve got to worry about what we do on the pitch. It’s tough because there’s no one in, no fans and no family and friends. You want them around you and for them to get the same buzz as you. 

“At the moment, the buzz for us is being new into League One. We want to keep that going, but it is weird.”

Will it be the Dons or the Greens buzzing come the full-time whistle tomorrow? What we do know is both sides will come into the game full of confidence and expect to be on the right side of the result, even if the setting for the game will look just plain wrong.

AFC Wimbledon v Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road takes place Saturday 19 September at 3pm.

Our reporter Kieran Wellington will be live from the match providing all team news, match updates and post-match reaction.

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