Johnnie Jackson • Tactics, AFC Wimbledon League Two Playoffs • Masterclass

We spoke a lot about in the buildup to the game in that week about not giving away silly free kicks anywhere pretty much in our half because even if they have a free kick on on the halfway line there, the goalkeeper's coming up or Allan's taking it on his left foot and it's coming into your own box. So, and they're putting you under pressure that way and they're very good at it. [Music] This is the the uh League 2 playoff final from the 2024 25 season.

We come up against Walsaw. Both teams got to the final winning both their playoff games, but actually getting into the playoffs, both teams were in a little bit of a tricky run of form actually. and Warsaw had been the leaders of the league for a long time and then sort of came back to the pack a little bit and we'd sort of pretty much always been in and around the playoff positions, flirted with the top three at times but couldn't quite sort of stay in and amongst that but we was in the class for pretty much the whole season but going into the last regular league game we was in a position playing playing Grimby away where they was actually directly below us and if they'd have beaten us that that day uh the likelihood is we would have fallen out the playoffs on on the final day and for the first time all season.

So that would have been obviously a a huge blow. So sort of went into that Grisby game under under a fair bit of pressure. We won 1 nil which is probably my favorite result in football.

1 nil away from home. We managed to to go there and get the result. But um having got that it almost felt like we we'd overcome a quarterfinal one knockout game already.

So I think that helped give us a lot of confidence going into the the two-legged semi-final against Knox County. We had a really tough game up there. They're they're a really good side.

They're possession base. We uh we had to be really disciplined with our press and our organization. Around the hour mark, we scored 1 nil and and and then we sort it out.

Defended really well. So, second one nil in a row. Got them back home the following weekend.

Same story again. Another 1-0il win, but I'd say that second leg was a lot more comfortable the way that we play. We scored again early.

never feels comfortable when you're on the touch line but sort of having looked back at the game and you know we speak to people after comfortable win. So another one nil win three in a row and then obviously we set up the final then against Warsaw. [Music] >> Our starting lineup for the final was was the the same team that had that played in the second leg at at Knots County.

It was Owen Goodman in goal on loan from Crystal Palace who'd had a great season. Big part of why we were so strong defensively. We had a back three of Ryan Johnson on the left, Joe Lewis centrally and Riley Harbottle on the right, a midfield three, so more of a a deep liar centrally, Jake Reeves who was our captain and then on the left the left foot of Miles Hippoly and Alistister Smith on the right.

two wing backs actually swapped them over for the playoff games and the Grimby game. Normally we would have had a left footer on the left and a and a right footer on the on the right, but we swapped them over. So we had Josh Nerfield playing on the left and James Tilly playing on the right and then a front two of Marcus Brown and Matty Stevens.

[Music] Warsaw set up very similar again a back three but what what they'd done in their very final game of the the regular season they would normally have set up in exactly the same shape as us with a sort of a deep line midfielder and two two eights if you like who who who got on in support of a front two but they actually flipped that round in their in their last game and they play two sort of holding midfield players one number nine and then two number 10's off of that so it become more like a a box midfield field and they'd been struggling for form going into that last game, but they went to crew on the last game of the season. They won 1 nil playing this shape, got a good result and then in the two playoff games against Chesterfield, they stuck with this system and obviously they won both of those games as well. So, we both managed to turn it around a little bit form-wise, and we was pretty sure that we prepped for both of those systems, but we felt that that Walsaw would definitely stick with the two deep line midfield players and and and that box that had got them success over the last few games.

[Music] We'd come up against this shape quite a lot in the season. Uh most teams that that play this way with the three center backs and the the two two deep lies and that box midfield is to really try and dominate possession and and play out from the back and try and sort of play through you if you like. Against that system, we would normally just go man for man.

I would send my my two frontmen and a and a midfielder on. we'd match up we'd match up their midfield with with our two deep lies against their 10s and then obviously have our spare men there at the back. So, um that's what we would normally do against a possessionbased team, but Wallaw was slightly different the way they're the way that they do it.

They're a lot more a lot more direct. So, they almost want you to come man for man to bypass your press. So, they want your they want your midfielders to jump out.

They want your midfielders to jump out and really try and overload you centrally. expose your your deep line midfield player direct balls into J Matt up front who's obviously a massive aerial threat and in in Jealous and Hall who were their two number 10s loads of energy loads of legs so every time it does go up to to Matt they're either getting beyond or they're coming around the front into these sort of areas and really trying to overload that central part of the pitch we wanted to avoid that because big strength J Matt a real aerial threat you know, scored a lot of goals that season um and throughout the years really, you know, of sort of a veteran striker who's been there and done it. So, we wanted to avoid him being able to not even necessarily win headers, but just be a bit of a nuisance for our center back and and and and allow their two tents to get into the game.

And like you see, if if we jump out here and we jump out here, then we really leave ourselves exposed, especially our deep line midfield players centrally. So, one of the things that and we try to do as a team is always talk about protecting protecting central areas and always trying to force the play round us if we can and and not through us. So, we just we just adjusted the way that we press a little bit in this game because we knew that if he jumps out, Miles Hippolite, who would normally go and press the right center half there when he's got the ball, that's just going to get bypassed and and Miles is going to find himself out the game and he won't be able to affect that first ball.

So we decided to just instead of pressing with our outside forwards, we we set up where we would go a little bit lopsided with our our defenders. This player here for for Wallaw Taylor Allen really really good quality on his left foot. Scored against us in the regular season.

Someone that I wanted to avoid being able to step in find diagonal passes again into Matt cuz he would have we felt he'd have more quality on the day. So, we just sort of went a little bit lopsided with our press, sent our two forwards there, if you like, and we we almost gave up the the pass to the right center, right center back who we felt had less quality on the ball. His passes forward wouldn't affect us so much.

He might take too many touches and force passes in here when we could be really really aggressive. So, the ball went centrally there. We would be aggressive.

Our deep lies would would um pivot off like that. But we knew we knew that really they wanted to get it and they wanted to get it forward as quickly as possible direct play. So we actually kept we kept Hippoly down.

We kept Reeves down. We kept Smith down. Part of the reason we inverted our wing backs and had left footers there is they would naturally roll inside and roll inside and become a bit little bit more uh narrow and we could really really protect the middle of the pitch.

And then we just asked our forwards to just do the work then. So as soon as the ball come here, Marcus Brown would press. Matty Stevens would then would then lock on and hopefully we taken their their left center back out of the game.

Now obviously we knew we couldn't always stop that service into into Matt, but we'd have bodies around it and it would definitely then allow Joe Lewis, who's the middle center back in R3, to compete. And in Joe, we've got one of the, in my opinion, the best defender in League 2 who's capable of covering the space. So, if they do if they do hit those sort of channel balls, Joe's able to to cover the space, but also able to compete really really well with with Matt.

And I felt on the day we really limited him one, the service that he was getting, two, stopping them landing on those balls centrally and stopping him being able to to affect the game once it goes wide. And they did work it into their wing backs. You had a Simway here who good good quality on his right foot.

Really good quality. Same with Gordon on the opposite side and they're a crossing team. So once that happens, you Matt comes alive.

He wants to be between the post. You've got Hall and and Jeal will make the box and these two will just back it up really. So it was very important.

We call it tagging in the box. So as soon as the ball goes wide, it's a one v one. Your wing back is up against the wing back and now they're fullbacks.

They have to do the defensive work for the team. and they have to try and stop crosses on both sides. But when it does come in, it's so important that that especially Matt being the big aerial threat that he was tagged and Joe Lewis was basically tasked with almost doing a man-for-man job on on Matt when the ball went wide.

It was important that that he wasn't allowed any space, any room to move. And then when Hall and Jealous did make the box, obviously we had our outside center backs there to to also mark with the protection that when it did get cleared, we then had our our two or three midfield players there to try and land on it and get us playing. [Music] Jake Reeves is is key to what we do.

He he's the one I would say gets us ticking. We, you know, I ask my center backs that if he's, if he's free and he's available, can we get him on the ball? Can we can we get him turn?

Because we want to get him turn and then we want to get our eights in in in attacking positions where we can feed them and and they can drive forward. So, obviously, Wolves all know this. They're going to try and stop him getting the ball.

And normally they do it with with Matt dropping in, trying to get on his toes and and they press with with their outside forward. So what was really important for us if we was going to build at times we would try and bypass their press cuz they're very very aggressive especially with these guys on that one. So anything slow and ponderous in there is going to come under a real a real press.

So it was could we get it to our side center half suck him out a little bit like what what they was trying to do to us and and bypass their press in Matty Stevens and and Marcus Brown. We had two players there who were really capable of holding the ball up and bringing our two eights in or switching the ball quickly across the back three. We felt if we if we could move it and then if we had to recycle it and go the other side eventually Matt he gives up a little bit in the press.

So he might press one, he might press another, but on that third switch of play he might get a little bit lazy and then open up spaces for for Jake Reeves to get on the ball. So we worked a lot around the back on moving that ball quick. Could we go over their press at times, but could we suck him on to to to get Jake onto the ball?

With our front two, Marcus Brown, he ended up playing as a striker for the later part of the season just because I felt he was a really really big goal threat for us and probably our most creative player in in the final third, but more of a a natural 10 if you like. So between him and Matty Stevens, Matty Stevens would always try and stay on that top line, try and occupy their three, hoping that their two deepline midfield players would would attach to our to our attacking eights and then it would open up spaces for for Marcus Brown to to almost operate in that box. If they narrowed up to try and stop and get him in the ball, then we wanted to get could we get our two eights in those sort of attacking positions.

And we felt Jake Reeds if we could get him on the ball, he's the best at finding those sort of passes to try and get Miles Hippolite turned on his left foot driving crosses in the box. Once we get into these sort of areas, obviously our wing backs will be really high, both excellent in in 1 v one situations. So if we're going to get a wing back on the ball there, we tend to just leave them in 1 v1s.

We felt Josh Nerfield and James Tilly and we could get them on the ball in those sort of situations. It wasn't a It wasn't underlaps or overlaps. It was leave them alone.

Let's let's trust them in those 1 v ones. Let's really give them the license to be positive in that final third and get crosses in the box. And then really got, you know, you've got the option of the the opposite eight going in the box.

You've got your two forwards making the box and perhaps even your opposite wing back. So when we're crossing, we should have at least three bodies in the box. But in the in this the lower third of the pitch, if you like, it's the key the key to everything was was trying to get Reeds on the ball and and get us ticking.

When we did go direct, again, the flip of of what they was trying to do to us, their 10s were jumping out and if we did go direct into our frontmen, still allowed us to have that midfield overload. And now we've got we've exposed their two sixes deep lies against our midfield three. And even if even if we was going long and Williams centrally who's quite goodly was winning the ball, it was a clearance and we was picking up a lot of second balls in here.

And the game become for me it become a lot about who was winning those the jewels and and the second balls landing on that and then really starting to to dominate uh the ball in these in in in this midfield area. I think the key for me was going to be who could dominate in there, who could get the overloads. Obviously, they wanted us to jump out so they could get it, but it ended up being those those guys who would who would vacate centrally.

And we managed to to overload them. And we we're not a team generally that that that always dominates possession, but we in the final we had a lot more possession. We had a lot more passes and we was able to play in their half.

I felt um a lot more than them [Music] throughout the season. and they had been the the strongest team set piece-wise. Obviously, I spoke a lot about about J Matt, but but Taylor Allen, who who had scored against us only a few weeks previously at Walsaw, had scored a free kick where edge of the box here and and Taylor Allen on his left foot um which one over the wall.

We spoke a lot about in the buildup to the game in that week about not giving away silly free kicks anywhere pretty much in our half because even if they have a free kick on on the halfway line there, the goalkeeper's coming up or Allan's taking it on his left foot and it's coming into your own box. So, and they're putting you under pressure that way and they're very good at it. Anything from a corner, J Matt as good as anyone in the league.

So, we obviously worked on our setup and really really overemphasized how important it was um that we marked properly, that we marked aggressively, but also unusually for us um V was was a part of the final. So, we knew as as aggressive as we had to be when we was defending set pieces, it was was also important that we, you know, we didn't pull and give away silly silly penalties that way because we'd been briefed earlier in the week about what VAR was was looking for. Thankfully, in the end, VAR wasn't used once during the whole game.

There actually wasn't a booking in the in the whole game. So ultimately I think we just started to to get the better of this in here when balls were cleared out that we had bodies in and around the midfield to pick up those second balls and kept it alive which ended up ultimately allowing Miles Hippoly to get to get first of all Marcus Brown to get a shot off from the edge of box that was blocked and then and then Miles Hippoly on his left foot followed up and and that's how we managed to score our goal and um which proved to be the winning goal. [Music] Coming on to our goal.

Obviously came come from a set piece which was was quite pleasing to be honest cuz I felt like we hadn't scored enough of those um all season really. Defensively we'd been solid but hadn't scored enough needed more I felt from from the center back. We spoke a lot about rather than routines and you know blocks and trying to get free just just using the the train if you like four of our our best headers to just be really aggressive and go and go and head the ball.

Wols will bring everyone back for their set pieces here. They had four marking our train. They have two zonal on the sixyd box, one on the front post.

We send one in to always try and go and block the goalkeeper to stop him being able to come and they have one spare. But this allowed us to have probably one extra on the edge of the box. Looking at the goal when when they when they clear it, this is where we had our overloads and our extra bodies.

Tilly Till's our taker on his left foot and liking swingers to try and sort of hit the the space between six yard and the penalty box. We want the ball landing there really. I think he overhits it.

It goes out the back and and Walsaw get first contact. It gets cleared, but it falls to Jake Reeves here who's now spare. He helps it back in.

gets cleared again, but this time it lands at Marcus Brown. So, we've got our we've got our overload here now. Obviously, our four have gone and attacked it.

They're in the box. They're getting marked force to Marcus Brown who's spare. He has a shot.

We're now in the random territory of bodies in the box. So, obviously ricochets and stuff like that can happen. But we've still got our bodies here.

One to avoid getting countered on. Two if it does get cleared back out. We've got our bodies and it Marcus Brown has his shot.

Ricochet gets cleared, falls to to Miles Hippoly on his left foot and it's it's a lovely clean strike from the edge of the box. Obviously could go through legs, could go through bodies, but it's a difficult one for the goalkeeper then when there's so many people. One of the disadvantages I suppose of bringing everyone back is that you create a little bit of chaos in in the penalty box and uh can become very difficult for the goalkeeper to see.

But it's a lovely clean strike from Miles. He hadn't done many of them for a while. I hadn't scored since I think back in October, November.

So delighted for him and obviously turns out to be the match winner. [Music] Warsaw obviously made some changes to try and affect the game in the second half. They brought Charlie Laken on in midfield just an extra body there and they they changed the to a front two.

A Manchi come on and Albert Adom come on who, you know, been been a top player and still got loads of legs and energy and it become even more of a focus on on forward balls trying to sort of run those channels down, run those channels down and we felt like Adom was starting to get a lot of joy down this side against Riley Harbaugh who had made a brilliant goal line clearance early in the second half actually when's probably best chance across from the right from a Simway and good bit of movement from from Matt who highlighted as a big threat in the box. The probably the one time we didn't tag him, he ends up getting a chance there on the front post and and Harbaugh cleared it off the line. But as that half grew and they made the changes, it just brought him a little bit more energy up front.

They obviously now have an extra body in midfield, so we're pretty much matched up there. Um, and I think that they was just trying to exploit us a little bit down this side with with Harbottle, who had just come back to fitness. So, we felt like that might have to be a change that we'd anticipated.

So we brought on Isaac Aundere in this position who's loads of energy, loads of legs, really good 1 v one defender. So it was important that when when they made the changes that we just managed to to match their energy and for that 5minute period probably where we didn't do it Doma and the Mani started to get into the game cause a few issues especially the Doma trying to operate in this left channel and drag our right center half out and I just felt if Harball got exposed as he was getting tired that that that would be something that that that might hurt us. So that was a natural sub to make bringing a Gundere on there and definitely helped um make a Doma and a Manchi less effective.

And we done something similar just more about freshness really at the top end of the pitch. We spoke about how we'd asked Mate Stevens and Marcus Brown to to take care of their three. And that that's hard work to press that whole time giving up that right side to constantly press to constantly get across and do the work for the team that it was naturally going to take a toll on them physically.

So, we just made a change that we'd been doing really in the playoff games, bringing Josh Kelly on again, someone who who's got a lot of pace, a lot of energy to burn. We knew he'd do the work and give us that that press at the top end of the pitch because what we didn't want to do was start sagging off, not get any pressure on the ball. And now Kag Buies bringing the ball and and and they're loading it into our penalty box from much higher up, especially Allen on that side.

So it was important, really important that we that we still managed to get pressure on that top end of the pitch. We brought Callum Mayok on for for Miles Hippolite who had obviously got through a lot of work. Sometimes pressing, sometimes staying down, but a big outlet for us in possession as well.

So top end of the pitch really important that that we get still get pressure on the ball, keeping our energy and our legs in midfield. Reeves and and Smith saw it through well, just bringing that freshness there for for Miles Hippolite. Probably the biggest one was bringing on a Gundere on that right side just to match their their changes and and the energy that that the two front men had brought and probably for 5 10 minutes when they came on they caused a bit of bit of chaos bit of randomness but then I felt once we made those changes and and got a bit more freshness on the pitch that we actually saw the game out really comfortably because we was able to still get a lot of pressure on the top end of the pitch which meant that we didn't have to drop deep and allow our balls into our penalty box.

[Music] Going into the game, I felt like we'd been under the players had been under a lot of pressure. I spoke about how we'd been in the class for the whole season um with the possibility with the tricky runner form of of maybe falling out of it in that last game at Grimby. And I I felt like the players were were feeling the heat and I I lent on some some people that I really trust in the game.

I'm sure you won't mind. one one of sort of my biggest mentors in the game is Chris Pal. He was he was my manager at Chelton.

He made me captain. He was probably the the first manager that showed a real faith in me and he he was the first manager that got me looking at at the game a little bit differently. And one of the things that I remember about him really beyond tactics and technical detail and stuff like that was just the way that he would communicate with his players, the way that he would make make me feel as a player walking on the pitch.

I always always felt confident playing under him and you can't always put your finger on that and and what it was but I think it was just the way that that he spoke with you, the conversations, his man management skills and I knew in that week that he would be a good person to speak to. So I reached out to him, messaged him. I think it was the I think it was the the the Saturday night before we we'd lost at home to Port Val and I'd watched them get promoted on our pitch and it stung me a little bit to be honest cuz I wanted that to be me and I knew that we still had an opportunity to do that but also it could all go wrong the following week if we didn't get a result.

So, I felt there was an opportunity to to strip back the a lot of the tactical work during the week, try and try and focus on as as silly as it sounds, like having fun and and embracing the position that we was in because as a football club, we hadn't been here for a long time and you can easily lose sight of that. So, for me, a big big focus in the playoff campaign and going into the final was just just trying to take the stress off my team and trying to get to to enjoy the the the occasion. And obviously Wembley is unique to any game of football that you that you're playing during a season.

So we went we went down to Wembley a couple of days before, visited, got a feel for the place, the changing rooms, went on the pitch, and just um got a feel for the surroundings. I think a lot of teams do it, especially at our level because some of the lads would never have been in that been there before, let alone let alone played there. So I didn't want them turning up on game day, you know, like a tourist with the cameras out and and taking it all in.

I wanted them to have seen all that, got all that out of their system really and just turned up with a with a focus on the game. But for all the pressure that I'd seen in the buildup to to to the last league game against Grimby, I didn't really see that again after. I think once we got into the playoffs, that was guaranteed.

It really took the pressure off my team and they really felt like they'd achieved something already. And I think that really gave them belief that they could go on and and do something special. And um I just sort of tried to let them like ride that wave really.

Obviously always one eye on the work, but um a lot of it was was just just spending time together, being around each other, conversations, and just trying to keep them as cool and relaxed as possible. Even though they're they're huge pressure gains, but I got to say the the boys they dealt with it brilliantly. And I think on the day we probably handled the occasion a little bit better than Warsaw.

[Music] to get that fourth one nil in a row uh to keep another clean sheet. I think the bedrock of our season was was built on our defensive solidity and we probably actually didn't score enough goals, but to get 25 clean sheets in the regular season and then to go and back it up again with with two in the playoffs and one in the final was really satisfying. I think that sort of summed up what we was like as a team.

Walsaw were one of the best attacking teams throughout the season. and had scored a lot of goals, created a lot of chances, but we on the day we managed to to limit them to their lowest xG of of the season actually, and they didn't have a shot in in the first half. They obviously cranked it up a little bit second half, but still didn't have too much on our goal, and our goalkeeper didn't have too much to do.

So performance-wise, really really satisfying that that we managed to go there and implement our game plan on the day, handle the occasion, but obviously bigger than that is is what it means to everyone, what it means to to the football club, you know, to give the the supporters and and the people that have shown faith in me to repay that. Hadn't always been plain sailing for me. The first season was very tricky.

we improve second season and then third season. We all had real hopes that we could go and do something like this, but but to actually go and do it and deliver on the big stage was incredibly satisfying on a personal level when I ever got to play at Wembley, that was one of my probably big regrets as a player. So to lead a team out there was the proudest proudest moment of my career, just leading the team out.

But then to obviously go on and and win it and um be able to celebrate with everyone, friends, family, teammates, when you're with your staff and your teammates day in day out throughout a 10 month season, you you become incredibly close. So to share that with everyone was a special moment and obviously to get that promotion as a manager um is something that we all strive for and when you get a little taste of it, you you want you want more. So um yeah, a day that I'll never forget and and hopefully there'll be a lot more to come.