Exclusive: AFC Wimbledon keeper Owen Goodman on Colchester spell, Ashley Bayes and fighting at the other end of League Two

EXCLUSIVE
BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

It was a campaign of firsts for Owen Goodman during the 2023-24 season.

The Crystal Palace goalkeeper was sent on his first loan spell to League Two side Colchester.

Then 19, Goodman was one of the youngest starting stoppers in the EFL and picked up his first clean sheet just four games into his senior career.

He made his first Football League penalty save in a vital 1-0 win over Morecambe in January and picked up his first man of the match award during his first game live on Sky Sports against Mansfield in March.

But it was also the first time Goodman had battled against relegation – an experience which saw the Eagles loanee dropped  towards the end of the campaign.

Danny Cowley – who will be in the opposition Plough Lane dugout tomorrow as AFC Wimbledon kick off their 2024-25 campaign – had an hour-long conversation with the youngster before he chose to go with the more seasoned Sam Hornby for the final three games of the season.

“It was a difficult one to deal with,” Goodman told the South London Press. “I had played every game prior to that. Things happened towards the end and he made the decision to bring me out of the team, which I can’t blame him for.

“There is only one goalkeeper, so you have to be supportive of the one who is playing. Sam had supported me. When he came in and played, I had to do the same for him.

“I like to think he appreciated my support. When we played Grimsby and won 2-0, I was the first one to go to him. I didn’t want the club to go down. Putting my individual pride aside, I was always going to be supportive of the team.

“I made really good friends at the club and I wanted them to do well.”

Goodman notched up 38 League Two appearances and pulled off a number of eye-catching saves.

Palace turned down a loan offer from League Two play-off finishers Crewe in January to keep Goodman with the U’s as he was being tested consistently.

“I can only take the positives from it,” he said.

“It’s never easy going into your first loan at 19 and not having experienced men’s football before. That was the big one for me. I played 40 games.

“In League Two the pitches are going to be heavier, the conditions won’t be great, and you learn to play Saturday and Tuesday.

“It didn’t end the way I wanted it to end. It’s me looking at it and saying: ‘I need to be better. I can’t give the manager a decision to drop me. I need to be the first name on the team-sheet every week’.

“That is my biggest motivator.

“I can only be grateful for the loan. It threw me different experiences. How different managers and players work, and how serious it can really get in a relegation battle.

“As a young kid, you might not understand how serious it is. Towards the end, you start to realise it’s peoples’ jobs on the line. It taught me a lot of lessons and it made me grow up fast.”

Goodman’s arrival at SW19 completed a goalkeeper revamp which also saw ex-Charlton keeper Lewis Ward, 27, arrive on a free transfer.

The lure of working with lauded goalkeeper coach Ashley Bayes was a massive pull in getting Goodman to join the Dons.

“I met with Bayzo and the gaffer [Johnnie Jackson] three weeks before pre-season started,” said Goodman. “I had been told a few weeks before that about how much they wanted to bring me in and how much Bayzo wanted to work with me. It was massive – you want to be in an environment where you’re wanted and appreciated.

“He has a massive reputation with the keepers he has worked with. I want to be one of those keepers who does well for the club and pushes on to go to the next step.

“I’m already seeing it now and I have only been with him for two-and-a-half weeks. He has me in much higher starting positions and wants me to affect the game more with crosses – it’s about being really aggressive.

“He’s told me he believes this loan will make me a different beast.I want to do the best I can and leave with a really high reputation and the fans saying my name.”

In contrast to Colchester’s off-the -field changes last season – Cowley was the third U’s boss that Goodman played under – Wimbledon are entering their third straight season under Johnnie Jackson and third consecutive League Two campaign.

Goodman has his second crack at England’s fourth tier and is set to be fighting at the other end of the table this time around.

He believes something special could be on the cards. Goodman said: “I want to leave here with the club being promoted.

“As much I want to do well, I want the club to do really well. I want us to win as many games as possible. With the squad we have, we look really strong. This is a big club.

“Promotion is the first thing on my list. When I met with the gaffer, he said we’re aiming to go up and really push for it this season.

“It’s a different test. Hopefully we’re up there in the table – I think we can win the league.

“Everybody probably thinks that at the start of the season but having worked with the squad for the last few weeks, there are some really good players in there.

“I want to leave Wimbledon Football Club knowing I played a big part in the season and the fans remember me for only good.

“I want to keep more clean sheets and win more games. I want to get into the Team of the Season for League Two – that’s a goal I want to set myself. I want to show people what I’m really about.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD & PA