Saturday was just one of those games, wasn’t it?

Nothing went our way: the second ball never seemed to drop to a Wimbledon player; we conceded via a kick-in-the-teeth deflection out of nowhere; for every shot at goal we had, a Shrewsbury player was always there to get in the way.

Two points dropped, and a pretty annoying day at the office.

There was one shred of silver lining, though, and that was the return of James Shea in goal.

It’s been a tough year for Wimbledon’s number one; injury and a dip in form at the start of last season saw him being dropped for a goalkeeper who doesn’t understand how the wind works (*cough* Ben Wilson *cough*), before watching from the sidelines during our promotion charge while another loanee stopper (some bloked called Roos?) kept net.

When Ryan Clarke was given the starters job for this season, you wouldn’t have blamed him for going off in search of pastures new.

On that note, it’s a shame it didn’t work out for Clarke, and quite sad to see so many Wimbledon supporters revelling in his departure.

I thought our fans were better than that, but sad to see that’s not the case. Good luck at Eastleigh, Ryan.

Anyway; it would have been so easy for Shea to quit. But that’s not how Shea works. Giving up is a foreign concept to him.

This is a player who left the comfort of Arsenal’s bench to slum it in the Ryman leagues in search of regular starts. He’s a cool but frighteningly determined character. Shea wasn’t just going to sit back and accept defeat.

He didn’t sulk, he didn’t kick up a fuss, he didn’t abuse any of our lot on twitter (*cough* Ben Wilson *cough*).

He trained hard and ultimately was rewarded with a start at Charlton. His keeping was as vital a component in our victory that day as Tyrone Barnett’s winner.

A second start in a row on Saturday followed, and he oozed confidence.

He dominated his area, he communicated well with his defence, he pulled off a great save the one time he was called into action.

This was a very different goalkeeper to the one who struggled this time last year.

This was the goalkeeper who displaced He Who Struggles With Traffic, the much-loved Ross Worner, in his debut season.

I think I speak for most Dons fans when I say it’s brilliant to see him back.

Shea’s return is testament to not only his professionalism, but also his own strength of character.

And there’s nothing Wimbledon fans appreciate more than a player who is willing to stand and fight rather than give up at the first sign of adversity.

He’s only been back two games but I fully believe this is the start of the ‘re-Shea-ssance’. Yes, I’m still trying to make that a thing, allow me.

There’s only one Sheldon Cooper, and he plays in goal for Wimbledon. Long may that continue.

@Edd93Paul