Match report
AFC Wimbledon returned to the North-West for the second time in four days, making an even longer journey than on the previous Tuesday to Altrincham, but this time they returned pointless after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Barrow AFC.
Terry Brown had planned to rotate his squad in the midst of a busy period, but illness dictated a couple of the changes he made. Jon Main and Ed Harris were unwell and were replaced by Ismail Yakubu and Mark Nwokeji, while fit-again Sammy Moore returned to midfield at Steven Gregory’s expense, and Chris Bush replaced Andre Blackman.
The Dons started brightly in windy and wet conditions, and an early strike from Sammy Moore after three minutes went just wide. The opening 20 minutes were fairly evenly contested, with Nick Chadwick for Barrow and Rashid Yussuff for the Dons seeing shots deflected for corners, but the Dons were enjoying the lion’s share of possession.
On 22 minutes a Yakubu header forced a fine save from Mark Halstead in the Barrow goal, and from the resulting corner the keeper saved again from an acrobatic Fraser Franks effort.
It was becoming clear that the home side were not able to compete with the Dons’ superior skill, and sadly they chose not to try, preferring instead to attempt to stifle the play. Barrow became increasingly physical as the half wore on, with fouls on the player in possession becoming routine. But the referee seemed intent on letting the game flow, even when there was no obvious advantage.
Some might say that Barrow were a very ‘familiar’ team with their continual hugging of players, especially Kedwell; the referee appeared to share this view and rarely penalised the home side. As Wimbledon struggled to deal with Barrow’s overly physical approach, chances were at a premium.
Nwokeji was almost anonymous, underlining how much the suspended Christian Jolley adds to the side. On the right, Ryan Jackson found himself up against Barrow’s best player, Paul Edwards, who was quick enough to prevent the Dons man from winning more than a series of throw-ins. The visitors seemed unable to get a head on any of the succession of long throws, as the increasing wind in their faces prevented accurate range-finding.
There was a let-off and an unheeded warning for the Dons when a defensive lapse allowed Barrow to work Marc Goodfellow free, but he side-footed wide from eight yards out with the goal at his mercy in the 31st minute. Ten minutes later, a poor pass from Sammy Moore allowed the same player in, but his weak shot was turned wide by Yakubu. But from the resulting corner, following a goal-line clearance after Seb Brown seemed to have been impeded, James Owen opened the scoring from close range.
There were bookings for Robin Hulbert and Danny Kedwell following a foul by the former on the later, after which, bizarrely, the game was restarted with a dropped ball. Barrow were asked to return it to Wimbledon, but chose instead to play it into touch near the corner flag, just before the referee brought the half to a close.
The Dons came out firing in the second half, and Ricky Wellard had Halstead at full stretch after Nwokeji played him in. At the other end, Greg Blundell forced a fine save from Brown. However, Barrow once again sought to stifle the play, and after the second of two altercations involving several players, Bush was shown a yellow card.
For half an hour, Wimbledon pressed Barrow back around the penalty box, playing some fine football – continually passing the ball around and probing the home defence – but without scoring the vital equaliser. Yussuff had a couple of efforts blocked, and a fine run by Bush ended with a free-kick to Barrow, despite the Dons player having been clearly fouled. And when Sammy Moore was felled in the area, the decision was again awarded to the home side. When the Dons finally did get a decision in their favour, on 75 minutes, Sam Hatton’s strike went narrowly over.
Four minutes later, with the Wimbledon over-committed pressing forward, Goodfellow finally found his shooting boots to complete a breakaway Barrow move, firing past Brown to double the lead and end the contest, totally against the run of play. Terry Brown replaced the impressive Yussuff with Gregory, having already sent on Minshull for Wellard and Luke Moore for Jackson, but the Dons failed to register another noteworthy chance and Barrow held on easily.
Wimbledon will reflect that it just wasn’t their day. A failure to convert in the final third and some defensive lapses in concentration cost them dear. They will hope for better luck and better form in front of goal for Thursday’s FA Cup replay against Ebbsfleet United.
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