Tubbs penalty not enough as Dons lose cup tie

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Milton Keynes 3 v Wimbledon 1

Wimbledon’s record of not having won a League Cup tie since their return to the Football League in 2011 continued on Tuesday night (12 August) as they went down to a 3-1 defeat at Milton Keynes.

Matt Tubbs’ late penalty was little consolation as the gap between the division gap between the two sides was all-too evident.

With Adam Barrett unavailable for selection as part of his loan agreement with Gillingham, Mark Phillips came in for his debut alongside Alan Bennett, stitched up following his opening-day clash of heads against Shrewsbury. And the Dons’ cause wasn’t helped when they lost Jack Smith early on, Callum Kennedy coming on to replace him.

The Dons came close to opening the scoring in the 17th minute when Adebayo Akinfenwa fashioned space for a cross to the near post where Tubbs forced a smart save from David Martin, with Sean Rigg’s follow-up being comfortable saved.

But moments later Milton Keynes were ahead, a low corner driven in to the near post being flicked home by Kyle McFadzean with the Wimbledon defence bamboozled.

Although the home side continued to press before half time, Akinfenwa had a header just off target and then forced Martin to tip a looping effort over as Wimbledon stayed in the tie.

That changed moments after the restart when Barry Fuller was left one-on-one with Daniel Powell and the Milton Keynes man produced a firm shot that beat the wrong-footed James Shea in the Wimbledon goal to make it 2-0.

Any chance Wimbledon might have had of salvaging a result evaporated with quarter of an hour remaining when Benik Afobe capitalised on a slip by Bennett to race clear and slot home past Shea.

Tubbs’ penalty, after he was brought down, was scant consolation. The Dons will be hoping for a more lively performance when they return to league action as they visit Luton Town (16 August) and Southend (19 August) in coming days.

Milton Keynes: Marton, Hodson, Kay, McFadzean, Lewington, Potter, Alli (Randall 68), Green (Baldock 81), Reeves (Hitchcock 61), Powell, Afobe. Subs not used: Flanagan, Bowditch, Grigg, McLoughlin.

Goalscorers: McFadzean 19, Powell 49, Afobe 76.

Booked: Alli 55, Green 58, Afobe 64.

Wimbledon: Shea, Fuller, Bennett, Phillips, Smith (Kennedy 14), Rigg (Arthur 74), Moore, Bulman, Francomb (Sainte-Luce 63), Akinfenwa, Tubbs. Subs not used: Worner, Pell, Azeez, Nicholson.

Goalscorer: Tubbs 90 (pen).

Booked: Tubbs 45, Bulman 58.

Att: 7,174

By Rob Crane

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August 14, 2014