'Cody - You deserve that!' 27th JANUARY 2010

 ‘CODY -YOU DESERVE THAT!’

In an era during which footballers increasingly seem to believe their own publicity I find last night’s match-winning  hero, Cody McDonald something of a breath of fresh air. Whilst the rest of us have been suffering severe bouts of ‘Oli Fever’ there’s just a chance that the rapid rise of our new signing from Stockport has not gone down so well with the Chelmsford scaffolder. After all, who’s patiently bided his time on the bench watching the Horse-Martin combo terrorising League One defences? Who’s shown his commitment to the cause by even donning the goalkeeper’s jersey in the Carling Cup tie with Sunderland? And what do you think has kept him going all this time as he’s spent more time on the bench than most magistrates? Presumably the hope that when The Horse pulls a fetlock or Chrissy tweaks a hamstring, or one of them gets a suspension it’ll be Cody that St. Paul calls upon to step into the breach.

There doesn’t seem to have been any outward sign of impatience from Cody. If there have been tantrums they’ve been well-hidden. He just seems to have got on with his work –  training, warming up before games and when called upon by the coaching staff.

Enter (pitch left) Oli Johnson, from Stockport. Cue mass hysteria.

Ironically one of the few league games in which Cody has actually played for a significant period was against Stockport County at Edgley Park on Saturday October 31^st. He was introduced to the action in place of Wesley Hoolahan in the 75^th minute. Oli Johnson also came on as a substitute in that game – for Stockport, of course, in the 79^th minute. I was there and there is no doubt in my mind which of the two made the greater contribution. McDonald made the game safe for the Canaries and set us into raptures behind the goal when he chased the Stockport left-back, dispossessed him right on the touchline with a sliding tackle before jumping to his feet, driving into the box and setting up Grant Holt to tap in  the third City goal. I have to admit that I, like many other City fans present that day, didn’t actually notice Oli Johnson, though I am told that it was his shot which struck Jens Berthel-Askou on the arm prompting howls for a late Stockport penalty.

Fast forward to this month and consider, then, Cody’s reaction as Johnson first signs for us and then gets the nod ahead of him as a substitute called into action on three occasions. And Johnson, of course, seizes his chance with three brilliant cameos, including a goal and a crucial assist. You, me and the rest of the Carrow Road faithful go Oli-crazy!

Meanwhile The Horse has a ‘red-mist’ moment and suddenly there’s a vacancy up front against Walsall. This is the moment Cody’s been waiting for since September but it turns out none of us are surprised when Oli makes the starting line-up in the West Midlands.

I arrived at the chilly Banks’s Stadium as the lads were warming up, and there was Cody as usual, joining in the stretches and the little sprints as keenly as ever, a smile never seeming to be too far away from his features. He looked, as ever, like a guy happy to be involved, happy to be playing football for a living and not one who was sulking at being leap-frogged in the pecking order by a player who has not been out of non-league football much longer than himself.

And as the memorable evening unfolded Johnson did catch the eye with some useful runs, some smart twists and turns, and even came close to opening the scoring with a little lob over the keeper. However, the poor surface and fairly uncompromising approach of the hefty Walsall back line did little to help his dribbling skills. And still Cody waited.

Then in the 66^th minute St. Paul called upon the two Macs – McDonald and McNamee. In the crowd we shouted our appreciation of Oli’s efforts and then cheered their introduction as we hoped for a point at least.

The rest, of course, is history. What a great battling effort by the lads! Never at our best we kept going – and I felt this was true of the supporters as well, who never stopped singing- and Chrissy Martin showed again what a great goal poacher he is becoming, with a pretty sharp finish in a crowded box. We went wild at the goal – I don’t know about anybody else but I enjoyed standing up all night in the stand by the corner flag without ever being told to sit down- and upped the volume as we sensed a possible win despite having gone behind.

THEN CAME CODY’S MOMENT!

A gem of a ball from Wes, a crowded box, a volley, in off the post and chaos! Cody charging in our direction, smiling, shouting, swamped by jubilant team-mates. ‘We are top of the league!’ filling the cold night sky.

And I just thought ‘Cody, you deserve that! For training hard, for working at your game, for being patient.’

A great win, and with Leeds losing maybe a crucial one. A night few of us will forget in a hurry.

A night, I reckon, Cody will never forget!