LET’S talk about Dylan Jones.
Up until around about 9pm last Tuesday, September 10, it could be argued that the high point of the Yellows’ season had been when the young Welshman had agreed a deal in which he committed to playing the rest of the season at the Ian Moorcroft Stadium.
The phrase ‘fans’ favourite’ is much overused, easily and thoughtlessly lifted from the Book of Football Clichés but, in Jones’ case, it fits perfectly.
In two previous seasons at Ladysmead, the 22-year-old utility player has established a deep rapport with the club’s supporters, and it is easy to fathom how and why. His barrel-chested pugnacity, his never-say-never attitude, his indefatigability, stand out. You can see the eye-bulging, sinew-stretching evidence in almost every one of club photographer Viv Curtis’s pictures. His commitment was greeted with delight by the Yellow Army.
Jones was not given a new deal to mollify fans anxious about the then disappointingly winless start to the new season, though, understandable as that tactic might have been from a Committee eager to rally support for a club in transition.
No. The characteristics that endear Jones to supporters are loved by coaches, too. Not just Tivvy gaffer Leigh Robinson, which is why tying Jones to a new deal sent an important signal to rivals and potential suitors – not only do we reward talented players; talented players want to play for us (“My heart has always been at the club, since I've been here,” said Jones as the ink dried on his contract).
Which takes us back to last Tuesday, when Tivvy were seeking a first victory of the season at Frome Town’s charmingly named Badgers Hill Stadium. Fifteen minutes into the second half of a goal-less match, Jones picked up the ball deep inside his own half and drove forward, diagonally from the centre of the field to the left-hand side, two home players trailing in his wake.
Running out of grass, Jones was forced to turn inside, allowing his pursuers to catch up with him and catch breath. Not for long. Facing his own goal, Jones barrelled through his markers – part Cruyff Turn, part bull in a china shop – and continued his run. Reaching the edge of the area, he fired off a shot, low across the opposition goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net. He still had the energy to run and seek out his coaching team as celebrations ensued.
It was a jaw-dropping moment. If, for instance, Eberechi Eze had done the same for England, or Crystal Palace, we would be seeing endless re-runs of the goal ad nauseum. It was that good. See for yourself.
From that point, Tivvy barely looked back. Captain Matt Britton added a second goal with a powerful header and, although home substitute Marcus Day pulled one back in injury time, Tivvy were not to be denied their first three points of the campaign.
Seasons turn such moments as Jones’s wonder goal and that is the hope, and the belief, of all Townspeople. Next Saturday’s home game against Winchester City (tickets for which can be purchased here) is now one to be anticipated with relish certainly, rather than with trepidation.
Unless, that is, you are Winchester’s coaches, working out how you nullify the potential threat of a Dylan Jones in full flow.
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