Report: Dons Do It Again

The Dons came behind to win at Kingsmeadow for the second successive game on Tuesday. Neal Ardley claimed responsibility for a tactical mistake which he felt was the root of the Dons poor showing in the first half. Neal rang the changes in his team selection with 4 changes. As anticipated, Jim Fenlon came in at left back for the injured Callum Kennedy. Kevin Sainte-Luce was finally given the opportunity to start. Bennett and Wyke were rested with Aaron Morris & Sheringham junior coming in. The Dons struggled to get going first half and Hartlepool’s crisp passing caused problems. That said, the vast majority of the Pool’s chances came from speculative long range shots which the excellent Worner dealt with well, that is until minutes before the interval when the Monkey Hangers got in behind on the right and the centre was nodded in from a marginally on-side close range position following a headed knock down.

But, despite the raft of changes, it was the system not the personnel that Ardley considered was the problem in the first half. With KSL playing as a forward alongside Midson and Sheringham the Dons were almost playing a 5-2-3 which left them short in the middle. But with Midson and Sheringham making way for Wyke and new boy Danny Hylton at half time, the Dons also switched shape with KSL dropping to the right wing, where he saw much more of the ball, in what was almost a regular 4-4-2.

The Dons looked much more impressive second half and, although they never totally convinced when snuffing out Hartlepool’s counter attacks, most of the attacking pressure was Wimbledon’s. The breakthrough came with just quarter of an hour to go and involved a large slice of luck. A Sammy Moore delivery from a free kick inside the opposition half met Antwi’s head and cannoned high up in the sky looping goal-wards and somehow dropping over the line despite a host of defenders on the line. And it was 2-1 moments later as Danny Hylton, who looked most impressive in his debut 45 minutes, turned & shot from the edge of the area and found the bottom corner. The Dons managed to see out the game well to secure the points.

In addition to Worner and Hylton, Morris deserves special praise for performing well despite having to play 45 minutes at centre back, 20 minutes at left back and the remainder at right back.

So 2 consecutive home wins following the Scunthorpe draw mean 7 points out of 9 which marks an upsurge in form and the Dons now sit 9th in the table. It was crucial to get some points on the board to avoid getting sucked down the table. with a difficult run of games coming up against play-off chasing teams, comprising tough away trips to bogey-team Oxford and Newport, sandwiched by the visit of Rochdale.

Match rating:
Worner 9
Fuller 6 (Arthur 7)
Fenlon 7
Antwi 7
Morris 8
Jones 7
Pell 7
Moore 7
Sainte-Luce 8
Midson 6 (Hylton 9)
Sheringham 7 (Wyke 7)

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