Post-match reaction from the manager
Neal Ardley apologised to Wimbledon supporters for a performance that he described as “unacceptable” at Hartlepool today.
A total of 203 Wimbledon fans made the long trip to Victoria Park hoping to watch their team build on a decent run of form, but the Dons produced a display that angered Neal.
“The coaching staff and physio work incredibly hard to freshen the players up and get them ready to give everything,” Neal said. “We always say that we win together and we lose together, but I hope the players are as angry as I am because I’m livid. I apologise to the fans who made the long journey up here today. It was the same old Wimbledon because we did not perform against a team scrapping for their lives. That’s unacceptable.
“We have played well lately, but today our game management and energy was nowhere near what it should have been. If I was a supporter making all this effort to come up north to watch the game today then I would be angry today too.”
Neal added that today’s performance fell well below the standards his squad had set with their recent performances.
“I’ve praised the group in the last few weeks because we had been very good, but today we were not good enough,” said Neal. “We never had enough energy or penetration about us. Yes, we had some chances in the first half and we got in some great positions, but we had a lot of chances the other night and we did not take them.
“We did not score the other night and we did not score today. We should have got at least four points from the last two games, but it has been turned into one and that’s really disappointing. I selected the same team that started against Luton, but the players just did not perform today. Now we need to bounce back.”
The full interview with Neal Ardley will feature on Dons Player later.