Match report
Wimbledon displayed the character of champions to take a point from a very cold and snowy Spytty Park.
Trailing 3-1 at the break, the flu-hit Dons came up with a stunning second-half fightback to earn a share of the spoils and maintain their grip on the top spot of the Blue Square Bet Premier. Rashid Yussuff was the hero, firing home the equaliser ten minutes from time and within 60 seconds of coming on in place of Luke Moore.
His appearance was another inspired substitution from Dons boss Terry Brown, two days after his triple half-time change had set the league leaders on their way to victory over Hayes & Yeading after a lacklustre first 45. Yussuff likes coming to Wales – at Wrexham earlier in the season he scored a winner in the 84th minute.
There was no need for Brown to be quite so dramatic in South Wales as at Kingsmeadow. His charges looked dangerous throughout the game but let themselves down defensively as they struggled to cope with the aerial threat of County forward Robbie Matthews.
Perhaps this defensive frailty had something to do with the constantly changing starting line-ups forced on the Dons boss in the post-Christmas period as he struggled with the consequences of injury, sickness and suspension. It was not helped by an injury to Ismail Yakubu in the pre-match warm up which led to a quick re-organisation of the line up. Sam Hatton was back from his one-match ban at right-back, and James Mulley moved into midfield alongside the returning Stephen Gregory, Sammy Moore dropping to the bench. Ed Harris had recovered to partner Fraser Franks in central defence. Kirk Hudson impressed enough against Hayes & Yeading to earn a start, and Luke Moore was back from injury; Mark Nwokeji and Rashid Yussuff were named as substitutes.
The presence of the towering Matthews consistently unnerved the young Dons back line, and led to the opening goal after ten minutes, Chris Todd rifling home after Wimbledon failed to clear their lines from a Danny Rose cross.
Eight minutes later, the visitors were caught on the break after they had pressed forward. Gregory piled in a shot from 25 yards out, and County swiftly hit back; Graeme Montgomery played in Jamie Collins, who, despite a suspicion of offside, stabbed the ball past Brown.
Mulley’s second goal in two games since signing for Wimbledon halved the deficit just before the half-hour mark. The referee played a great advantage after a foul on Luke Moore, allowing Mulley to beat his marker hands down and unleash another brilliant strike.
But the Dons shot themselves in the foot ten minutes later. Collins appeared to rise unchallenged to head a Darryl Knight corner past Brown’s despairing dive to restore the hosts’ two-goal advantage. The Wimbledon defenders appealed for a foul, having seen Collins push Harris in the back to make room for himself, though the officials failed to spot the offence through the crowd of players.
Thankfully the Dons refused to let their heads drop and were back in the game within two minutes of the restart. County keeper Glyn Thompson let Hatton’s 25-yard free-kick slip through his fingers to give the visitors hope, and Wimbledon could have been level just a minute later, but Hudson shot wide when well placed.
The snow, which had started to fall before kick-off, now reached blizzard proportions, and the freezing Dons supporters in the open A48 end of the ground felt the full force of nature. The snow began to cover the pitch, and the referee called for a coloured ball. Players from both sides were slipping over, and there was a danger that the referee would have to call a halt, which would have been a great shame in front of Newport’s biggest home crowd of the season so far.
But the game was allowed to continue, and incredibly became even more exciting, with play rapidly switching from end to end. The home side should have finished the game off when Craig Reid ran through on goal, but his chipped shot hit the post, and from the rebound, and with an open goal gaping in front of him, he somehow contrived to fire wide. There were protests of offside from the Dons’ back four, and the referee booked Franks for dissent after he’d remonstrated with the assistant.
The miss spurred Wimbledon on, and from that point they took charge of the game, forcing County back into their own half and deservedly equalising ten minutes from the end when Yussuff latched onto a Danny Kedwell reverse pass through the legs of the defender to power home from 15 yards.
Both sides had chances to win the game in the closing stages, but a draw was a fair reflection on what was a fantastic advert for Conference football. The point kept the Dons on top, albeit with a slightly reduced points margin over Crawley Town, who won at Forest Green Rovers. |
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