Young Dons hit four away from home
AFC Wimbledon Under-18s bounced back to form in style on Saturday with a resounding victory at Peterborough United.
Following two successive defeats, goals from Toyosi Olusanya, Neset Bellikli (pictured right above with Alfie Egan), Reece Batchelor and substitute Jayden Antwi earned a 4-0 away win.
Towering defender Dom Bongo marshalled the defence brilliantly against Posh with a man of the match performance after playing for the Under-21s last week.
minute when Seanan McKillop delivered a through ball for Olusanya and he used his pace to get there before Peterborough defenders, before slotting past the goalkeeper from 25 yards.thThe Dons dominated early on and earned reward in the 25
It was 2-0 just 10 minutes later when Alfie Egan and McKillop exchanged passes to find Bellikli, who made a feint to shoot with his right, before coming back onto his left foot and curling home superbly from 22 yards.
Dan Ano and Olusanya both came close to extending the advantage before half time and at the other end goalkeeper Will Mannion showed his authority in the air by claiming crosses from the hosts.
Great football after the break so nearly made it 3-0 when Emmanuel Mensah and Egan combined to set-up a chance for Olusanya, but he was denied by the Peterborough goalkeeper.
minute, the Dons effectively killed off the hosts with 20 minutes left. After Woods had won a corner, McKillop whipped in a great delivery and Batchelor gave it the finish it deserved with a bullet header from eight yards.rdJust after the hour, Nathan Woods entered the fray with the influential Bellikli departing after a job well done. Though Post hit the crossbar in the 63
The young Dons held a good shape with Bongo, Batchelor and George Marchant all in excellent form at the back. Seven minutes from time, Paul Kalambayi was introduced for Reece Williams-Bowers, who had influenced the game well from attacking midfield.
There was still time for substitute Antwi to round off the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, the young striker spinning his marker superbly, before finishing clinically from 10 yards with his left foot.
Mark Robinson said: “I put back in a couple of our older Under-18 players and made sure the younger boys watched the game closely. We set-up a little differently after conceding heavily in two games as it’s important that the boys do not suffer a dip in confidence. It was a thoroughly professional performance and a well-deserved win. Though a winning mentality is vital, the boys need to understand that it is not my job to set them up solely to win football matches.
“We have a lot of pace in the team so that is not the hardest attribute for us to utilise at this level. My job is to develop every player on the pitch by giving them situations where they have to make different decisions based on the difference circumstances they are faced with.
“Today served its purpose in other ways, especially in terms of having the hunger and desire to keep a clean sheet, but we need to be able to do that and be more expansive. We want all 11 players on the pitch to be continually developed as technicians and decision makers. If that means we lose some games then so be it. We just need to get better at what we do.”