Match report
AFC Wimbledon made it six points out of six over the Easter period against local rivals Walton & Hersham, to resurrect the Dons' play-off hopes while ending those of the home side.
Dave Anderson made just one change from the side that sealed victory against East Thurrock with a last minute goal the previous week - with Wes Daly returning to the side in place of Tony Battersby as the Dons lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Plummer playing off a strike pairing of Shane Smeltz and Paul Barnes. Recent signings Scott Curley and Luke Garrard were paired together in the engine room, while Simon Sobihy faced his former side in his conventional centre back position.
From the off it was the Dons who took the game to the hosts, playing some neat football and never letting Walton settle on the ball. The result was that Walton were forced to rely on long balls forward which Sobihy and Howard were able to deal with comfortably. And it took just 15 minutes for the Dons to make the breakthrough, with Barnes hitting his fourth goal in the yellow and blue with a crisp finish.
As the half wore on, Wimbledon were able to boss the game in midfield with Curley and Gerrard both impressing. However, with clearcut chances few and far between, the sides went in at half-time separated by the narrowest of margins. And, the Dons could have paid the price in the second half when Andy Little was called into action on two separate occasions - saving smartly from an edge of the area drive before plucking the ball out of the air just as a Walton forward looked primed to head into an unguarded net. Things looked ominous when Wes Daly and Sobihy were forced to leave the fray with knee and toe injuries respectively - injuries that were to later rule them our for the rest of the season.
But with able replacements coming on in the form of Mickey Wooler and Robert Ursell, the Dons refused to be knocked out of their stride. Despite being unable to extend their lead, the Dons looked in control right up until the last few minutes, when Dave Anderson put Richard Butler on in place of Smeltz, and it was a bonus when Butler latched onto a through ball to chip esquisitely over the advancing Walton keeper to make it 2-0 in injury time.
The result put the Dons firmly in play-off contention and, coming on the back of a good performance at East Thurrock, showed signs that the side were coming into form at exactly the right time.
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22) Sean Thurgood