There were bragging rights involved here. Just who has been treated most harshly by a football "business" that punishes its own customers?

Football fans invest a lot of hard earned money into supporting their team onto success. So here you have AFC Wimbledon, formed by fans from the ashes of a club destroyed by allowing it to relocate to an alien environment seventy miles away, taking on the plummeting Hatters reeling from subsequent points deductions which punish the fans and their investment as their team ends up out of the league.

In fact Milton Keynes may as well be on another planet given the state of the M25 at the moment. I have now spent six hours on the orbital car park trying to reach Hampton and Kingston. No time then to sample local hostelries: instead freshly prepared food inside Kingsmeadow. Before the game some excellent Dons banners were being put up at the home end, some of them resembling the Trade Union banners of old. The Dons have had to fight to reach the Blue Square Premiership with promotions to the league above not always automatic. The welcome Mick Harford received from some of the Dons fans showed just where the real Dons are based.

The game ended in a draw and both sides could say that once again they were dealt a poor hand by the officials. The Don's defender Lorraine pulled Blackett's shirt at a corner and Tom Craddock duly scored from the spot. There would be a penalty from every corner in the football league by this reckoning. Similarly Blackett's dismissal was harsh. A last ditch tackle on Jon Main seemed desperate but fair. The linesman saw no problem and he was better sighted than the ref. Luton though should have capitalised on their better play and possession.

The Dons mascot is a Womble called Haydon. He trundles a blue wheelie bin around the ground using it as a drum whipping the crowd into "a frenzy". He goaded the Luton fans at close range and an altercation followed. In a blur of shiny orange nylon and blue fur, the eco-warrior was toppled and he crashed beheaded to the ground. In the end Haydon was banished along with his wheelie bin, not before some young Dons fans were crying inconsolably at the realisation that Haydon was a sweaty person in a giant Womble suit and not a direct descendant of Great Uncle Bulgaria at all. At least Basil Brush is real and will be playing Buttons to Jane Ledsom's Cinderella in Dunstable this Christmas. Can't wait!

So an inconclusive day out in the lower reaches which leaves more questions than answers.

Meanwhile a couple more observations. Relegated Chester City have been unable to start their BSP season after the Football League deducted 25 points and thereby consigning them to the football equivalent of Haydon's blue bin. The League knew it was going to happen. Why wait until the season kicks off? More ineptitude by the football authorities who don't give a stuff for people who spend thousands of pounds a year supporting the industry they represent. Let's hope that 20/20 transparency and AFC Wimbledon resilience teach the authorities a lesson and become a model for the future. After all, there were hundreds of people who wanted to spend money attending this game. That's going to happen over and over at Hatters away games this season.

And finally a great chant by the Luton end for John Hartson who played for both clubs. His desperate fight for life puts it all into perspective.

[ --- www.bbc.co.uk]