Shot-Less Dons Lose To League Leaders

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Wycombe 2 v Wimbledon 0

Wimbledon slipped to a 0-2 defeat against league leaders Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday (18 October).

The home side, manager by former Dons favourite Gareth Ainsworth, extended their unbeaten run to 10 games against a lethargic Wimbledon side that rarely got going.

The Dons were hampered from the start by the loss through suspension of influential midfielder Dannie Bulman, with Jake Nicholson coming in to replace him.

However, Wimbledon started the better side and enjoyed the majority of the possession before James Shea was forced into the first save just after the quarter hour, holding a powerful drive from Josh Scowen.

And the home side started to exert their influence as the first half drew to a close, with Barry Fuller blocking a goal-bound effort from Sam Wood and then Shea turning away an effort by Peter Murphy.

Having made it to the break without conceding, Wimbledon lasted just five minutes of the second period before falling behind. Steven Craig set through the deep-running Scowen who made no mistake, slotting the ball home to make it 1-0 to the hosts.

Shea was again forced into action to deny Murphy, while at the other end Adam Barrett wasted a rare Wimbledon opportunity by heading over from a corner.

But 20 minutes from the end the Dons were 2-0 down. A clever backheel following a throw-in worked its way to Craig, and his fiercely driven effort was diverted home by Wood’s head with the Dons defence appealing without joy for offside.

Wimbledon rarely created openings of their own, and manager Neal Ardley told BBC London 94.9 afterwards that he had “no complaints” about the result.

 “They out-worked us. They won most of the second balls and had quality in the right areas when they needed it. ”

The Dons will be hoping to produce better displays as they entertain Plymouth and Tranmere at Kingsmeadow in the coming week.

Wycombe: Ingram, Jombati, Pierre, Mawson, Jacobson, Cowan-Hall (Kretzschmar 86), Murphy, Scowen, Wood, Hayes (Bloomfield 90), Craig (McClure 82). Subs not used: Lewis, Richardson, Rowe, Walker.

Goalscorers: Scowen 51, Wood 70.

Booked: Jacobson 32, Murphy 44, Jombati 89.

Wimbledon: Shea, Fuller, Bennett, Barrett, Smith, Francomb (Azeez 89), Nicholson (Pell 74), Moore, Rigg (Sainte-Luce 64), Tubbs, Akinfenwa. Subs not used: Frampton, Kennedy, McDonnell, Fitzpatrick.

Booked: Akinfenwa 29, Rigg 32, Tubbs 37.

Att: 4,329.

By Rob Crane

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October 23, 2014