The Dons produced a stirring second-half to end a winless run that stretched back to 28 January.
Will Nightingale's powerful header swept Wimbledon into the lead, before Ali Al-Hamadi marked his return from international duty with Iraq by scoring only five minutes after his second-half introduction.
Though the 2-0 victory was soured by Al-Hamadi departing through injury, this was certainly a hugely positive night for the Dons. The swashbuckling nature of the display, particularly after the break, belied the fact that Johnnie Jackson's men had gone 11 matches without victory. The cauldron of noise created by a partisan home faithful showed exactly how much this win was needed - all in yellow and blue had waited a while for this.
Indeed, this performance was more reminiscent of the steely stuff that helped us to 10 matches unbeaten earlier this season, a run that included Johnnie Jackson earning the Manager of the Month award.
That all seemed a long time ago, but the nature of this victory was an emphatic way to bounce back after recent struggles.
Johnnie Jackson made just one change from the side that started the narrow defeat at Barrow on Saturday with Aaron Pierre recalled in place of Luke Jenkins, who was an injury doubt after his goalscoring debut in Cumbria.
The Dons made a bright start and a fine move almost resulted in the opening goal with Kasey McAteer shooting just wide of the far post. There was better to come as Wimbledon came even closer a couple of minutes later. Lovely play by Chislett on the left ended with a fine cross that Alex Woodyard met superbly with a powerful header, but it was tipped over by Owen Evans.
Walsall gradually started to come back into the match, but it took until the 35th minute for them to threaten. Saddlers skipper Donervon Daniels sent over a dangerous cross that Conor Wilkinson headed towards goal, but Nathan Broome got down well to tip wide. In response, the Dons put together good possession and forced another corner, but yet again another fine delivery by Armani Little came to nothing.
As we approached half-time, there had been encouraging signs from Wimbledon that a long-awaited win could be the cards. Certainly, Johnnie Jackson’s men had created the better chances, so there could be positives to be taken from that aspect. However, the visitors had stemmed the early pressure and more was needed from the Dons to secure all three points.
What followed at the start of the second-half was exactly what was needed in the circumstances. The tempo was raised from the Dons and so too were the decibel levels around the Cherry Red Records Stadium. All of a sudden Wimbledon were looking threatening again and it was no surprise when the breakthrough was made. It was a good old fashioned goal in its execution as Armani Little sent over a lovely corner delivery from the right and Will Nightingale gave it the finish it deserved with a towering header that left Walsall keeper Owen Evans with no chance.
Far from settling on the one-goal lead, there was better to come from the Dons as substitute Al-Hamadi made the perfect impact after his return from international duty. This time Little played the corner short to Kasey McAteer, who sent over a fine cross that Al-Hamadi powered home from close range. It now seemed a case of how many for the Dons and Al-Hamadi had the ball in the back of the net again shortly afterwards, only for it to be ruled out for offside.
The disappointing aspect of this game was still to follow as Al-Hamadi departed injured and he was replaced by Sam Pearson. However, the Dons quite comfortably coasted to victory, the only moment of worry coming when Broome reacted well to tip over a header. All in all, a great night for the Dons and something to really build upon with Rochdale at home up next on Saturday.
AFC Wimbledon: Nathan Broome, Isaac Ogundere, Will Nightingale, Aaron Pierre, Jack Currie, Alex Woodyard, George Marsh, Kasey McAteer, Armani Little, Ethan Chislett, Saikou Janneh (Ali Al-Hamadi), (Sam Pearson).
Pic: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images).
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