Match report
Although the Dons secured the three points they needed against Carshalton Athletic, the level of the performance proved a disappointment for the Boxing Day crowd.
Terry Brown made two changes from the line up that had started at Ramsgate. Sam Hatton came into the midfield to replace Mark Beard and Tony Finn came in for Steve Ferguson.
It was the home keeper who was quickly called into action, as a hopeful long ball from the left seemed unlikely to cause a problem. But Jason Goodliffe appeared to duck under the ball and as the ball bounced in the box Danny Knowles was quickly off his line to punch away and avert the danger as Phil Ruggles moved in menacingly.
The first real attack of the game came shortly afterwards and gave the Dons the lead. The ball found its way to Hatton on the half way line and his measured pass found Jon Main’s well timed run into the inside right channel. Main’s pace gave the defence no chance to recover and as Aaron Howe advanced from his goal Main coolly slotted the ball home, for his second goal in two games.
With such a morale boosting start, the crowd’s expectation of a good performance, with goals to match, was raised. However, having taken the early lead, the Dons seemed to ease off and play at a tempo which suited their opponents. The visitors’ defence had little difficulty in coping with Marcus Gayle’s aerial threat, and Main’s runs were, more often than not, out to the wide areas where he was used to hold the ball up and bringing others into play rather than striking directly for goal.
Carshalton had their fair share of possession, either picking off the misdirected Dons’ passing or winning a majority of the loose balls in midfield. Although their short passing to feet was neat there was a lack of penetration from their forwards as Jason Goodliffe and Antony Howard again looked a formidable centre half pairing.
It was Wimbledon who came close to increasing their lead when a Hatton shot from over 20 yards out had Howe flying across his goal to make a good save, but otherwise the keeper was not particularly troubled. At the other end Knowles was alert in coming out of the penalty area to clear into touch. Minutes later, the Robins had their first shot on target which was comfortably saved. Soon after, their best chance fell to Ruggles, who escaped the attention of Antony Howard to latch on to a through ball but his shot was scuffed horribly wide.
Clearly unimpressed by his teammates’ efforts, Jason Goodliffe ventured well into Carshalton’s half to put in a crunching tackle to demonstrate the urgency and passion required. This appeared to be the wake up call the players needed and at last pressure was exerted on Carshalton’s back four as they tried to play out of defence. A rushed defensive clearance only fell to Hatton, who quickly found Finn who in turn put in Main. Howe smothered his close range shot but in the melee that followed Hatton’s attempted shot was also blocked and the ball squirmed out to the far post where an unmarked Gayle prodded home, albeit from what looked like a suspiciously offside position.
The final action of the half saw more good work by the impressive Michael Johnson who put in Ruggles, and after Goodliffe had blocked the first effort, Ruggles put the rebound over the bar.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with the flat atmosphere in the ground being matched by a similar performance on the pitch. Mark De Bolla had a free kick well saved by Howe but it was Main who was again proving the threat as two chances fell to him in successive minutes. First he was slipped in by Finn, but as he broke inside the penalty area he poked his shot just the wrong side of the far post to the surprise of everyone. Then receiving a throw on the right he got away an early left foot shot which had the keeper scrambling across his goal as the ball skidded past the near post.
Carshalton’s best attempt was a stunning volley by James Evans and Knowles did extremely well to get down low to his right to keep the ball out. Knowles was again involved as MacLeod was put through and as he rounded the keeper he went down in the area. Everyone looked at the referee who pointed for a corner. The lack of protest from the visitors showed he had made the right decision.
The Dons’ inability to score continued with a number of poor crosses when well placed and it was again left to Goodliffe to lead by example. Supporting the attack the ball fell invitingly for a left foot volley but the miss hit shot flew well wide of the goal. However the ball found Main, whose flighted cross found Goodliffe charging in at the far post and his header smacked against the top of the bar and out of play for a goal kick.
The win was achieved but a more impressive performance would be required for the games against Staines and Hendon.
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