There’s a landmark for Sam Long on Saturday as the defender stands by for his 200th appearance for the club.
Sam has been with the U’s since he was nine and having captained the youth team he stepped up to make his senior debut on 27th April 2013 when he replaced James Constable at Accrington Stanley in a 3-0 win.
“I remember that really clearly” he told us. “There were about five minutes left, we were 2-0 up and Chris Wilder sent me on for Beano. We ended up winning 3-0 and I was proud to have made my debut, even if it was only for a few minutes.
“That was a young team - Max Crocombe and Tyrone Marsh were both involved and me and Callum O’Dowda were both on the bench.
“My first start was at Morecambe and there was a bit more time to be nervous about that one! It’s amazing to think it’s ten years since my first game but I’ve loved every minute.
“There are a lot of great memories and the fans have been brilliant with me. Obviously you get ups and downs and right now we have got to turn a run of bad results into wins. We know that and we’ll be doing our best to get a positive result at MK on Saturday.
“I did know about the 200th game and it’s a nice little milestone. But it won’t mean anything unless we get a win. Hopefully I can play a part and make it a day that we all remember.”
See a full interview with Sam in this week’s Preview Show
Sam Long
Games: 199 (170 starts, 29 sub)
Goals: 11
Debut: 27/04/13 v Accrington Stanley (A) W 3-0
First start: 22/02/14 v Morecambe (A) D 1-1
First goal: 17/01/15 v Southend United (H) L 2-3
First (only) brace: 17/04/21 v Gillingham (H) W 3-2