Reeves Goal Earns Dons A Morecambe Point
Morecambe 1 v Wimbledon 1
Jake Reeves’ first goal for Wimbledon wasn’t enough to give his side victory as the Dons drew 1-1 at Morecambe on Saturday (31 January).
The former Brentford and Swindon Town midfielder got on the scoresheet after just 12 minutes, capitalising on intelligent play by his team-mates as they dominated the first period.
But a goal conceded just before the break turned the game on its head and ultimately the Dons did well to emerge with a hard-earned point.
‘I thought we were the better team in the first half,’ manager Neal Ardley told BBC London 94.9 afterwards.
‘Their goal in the 40th minute knocked the stuffing out of us a little bit, and up until then it was comfortable.
‘We didn’t get our transition from defence to attack right – there were loose passes and the ball kept coming back because we didn’t get that right.’
The Dons had their first opportunity after just 30 seconds, when Adebayo Akinfenwa volleyed just wide.
But Reeves’ goal came just minutes later following a well-worked corner. Sean Rigg rolled the ball to George Francomb who delivered a low pass to the near post where Akinfenwa turned and teed up Reeves to shoot home.
The Dons could have gone further ahead had loanee Craig Tanner managed to retain his footing after losing his marker.
And they were made to pay the price when the hosts equalised just before the break against the run of play.
Padraig Amond timed his run perfectly to slip between young centre-backs Will Nightingale and Deji Oshilaja and head Adam Goodall’s deep cross beyond James Shea.
And the home side continued pressing forward in the second period, with Barry Fuller and Nightingale both given opportunities to show their defensive prowess as the Dons held firm.
Wimbledon started to come back into the game following the introduction of veteran substitute David Connolly, but an Akinfenwa header from Callum Kennedy’s cross that nestled into the arms of Andreas Arestidou was the closest they came.
And it was Morecambe who finished the stronger, with Fuller clearing off the line and Shea saving from Andy Fleming to preserve a precious away point for the Dons.
They have the opportunity to build on that when they entertain Newport County at Kingsmeadow on Saturday (7 February), followed by a midweek trip to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s Burton Albion.
Morecambe: Arestidou, Parrish, Hughes, Edwards, Beeley, Goodall (Kenyon 72), Fleming, Devitt (Ellison 73), Wilson, Redshaw (Mullin 79), Amond. Subs not used: Sampson, Williams, McGowan, Jones.
Goalscorer: Amond 42.
Booked: Redshaw 79.
Wimbledon: Shea, Fuller, Kennedy, Reeves, Oshilaja, Nightingale, Bulman, Francomb, Rigg (Beere 77), Akinfenwa (Azeez 81), Tanner (Connolly 66). Subs not used: Phillips, McDonnell, Harrison, Fitzpatrick.
Goalscorer: Reeves 12.
Att: 1,841.
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February 2, 2015
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