Team news: JK in contention

Omar also vying to be in the squad for trip to Lancashire

13 February 2024

John-Kymani Gordon returns to the squad for tonight’s match at the Wham Stadium against Acccrington Stanley.

The forward missed Saturday’s victory over Barrow due to concerns over a possible hamstring injury, but he took part in the final training session at our New Malden base on Monday before the squad set off.

“He comes back into our thoughts,” said Johnnie Jackson. “He got through training great and he gives us another attacking option.

“He was unable to train last week, he did a little bit on Saturday morning just before the game, but he trained properly with the group on Monday morning.”

You can listen to the full interview with Johnnie below.

Omar Bugiel, who scored our second in the 2-0 win at the weekend, is also expected to play a part against a side he bagged a brace against back in October.

“We’ve looked after him today, with the recovery strategies that we put in place,” added Johnnie. “With it being a night game, it gives him a bit more time to recover. We’re hoping that he’ll be fine.

“Omar always comes out of games feeling something! I think it’s down to the way he plays and what he puts into it on a Saturday. He gets knocked about and puts in a real good shift for the team.”

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Harry Pell could come into Johnnie’s thinking to face one of his previous clubs, having made a difference as a second-half substitute when he came on for the last quarter of Saturday’s game.

Johnnie said: “He’ll be going back to one of his old stomping grounds, where he’s really well thought of and did so well. Knowing Pelly, he’ll be bang up for it, want to put one past them, and will be looking forward to it.

“I thought he was excellent when he came on, he really helped to see the game out against Barrow. He showed touches of quality, touches of know-how and how to see a game through – he’s done that many times for us this season.”

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While tonight’s game will be too soon for two players on the comeback after injury, captain Jake Reeves (hamstring) and Josh Neufville (back) are now making good progress outdoors.

“They’re building up, getting closer and closer. They are hitting some decent speeds with their running and are starting to bring in the changes of direction for their movements – the last stage really.

“They’re introducing the ball into their rehab. We’ll look to dip them in and out of training really soon. With Josh having been out a while, we’ll have to build-up a bulk of training, but probably less so with the skipper as he’s not been out as long.

“The sooner we get them back, the better. It just gives us more options.”

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If you’re not attending this evening’s clash, you can catch all the action by purchasing a video match pass – with full coverage from our Radio WDON commentary team – from iFollow Dons.

Main photo: Pro Sports Images.

Match Reports

Dons beaten by double blow

Defeat at the Wham Stadium

13 February 2024

The Dons fell to two moments of quality as Accrington Stanley emerged as 2-0 winners on a wet Tuesday evening.

A promising first-half had seemingly teed us up for another step towards the play-off places before any optimism was knocked back by Jack Nolan’s rising drive.

Wimbledon rallied as expected, however we were met by an inspired Radek Vitek in the opposing goal, who pulled off a number of key saves to keep us at bay.

Then came the straw that broke the camels back, as Ben Woods also found the net from distance to put the game to bed and dent our hopes of entering the top seven.

Nevertheless there is little time to wallow in self-pity, with a congested schedule of games to come in the weeks ahead.

Johnnie Jackson made one change to the side that defeated Barrow 2-0 as Ronan Curtis dropped out for the returning John-Kymani Gordon. This meant the former took his place amongst the substitutes, replacing Aron Sasu.

There was an early effort from James Tilley, with the Dons making good use of a ball in behind down the channel to fashion the chance.

Gordon also offered a big threat on the left-hand side, getting at his full-back at every opportunity as he continually looked to create opportunities for Omar Bugiel and Josh Kelly in the centre.

It would be Tilley who came close again just before the break, with his cross coming mightily close to creeping inside Vitek’s far post.

The goalkeeper pulled off a smart stop, meaning the contest stayed goalless heading into the second-half.

There was a sniff of a chance early on for the Dons as Bugiel met a corner at the near post, but James Ball only managed to slice his effort off target as he stretched to connect.

It was the hosts that took the lead against the run of play, as Nolan fired into the top corner, giving Alex Bass little chance.

Vitek was proving to be the man to beat for the hosts, pulling off an incredible double save to keep out Kofi Balmer’s downward header and Lee Brown’s follow up as we pushed hard to get level. Kelly was then seemingly impeded in the penalty area, but our appeals fell on deaf ears.

Curtis was introduced just past the hour mark as we sought an all important goal, with the Republic of Ireland international entering the field in place of Gordon.

A further roll of the dice saw Harry Pell, Josh Davison and Ryan McLean enter the fray for what was developing into a grandstand finish to the game.

It wasn’t to be, with Accrington pulling another sucker punch out the bag as Woods cannoned home from distance after a corner was cleared to wrap up the game for the Lancashire outfit.

We’ll be aiming to get back to winning ways this coming Saturday, with Morecambe the visitors to the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

AFC Wimbledon: Alex Bass, Lee Brown, Kofi Balmer, James Tilley (Ryan McLean), Josh Kelly (Josh Davison), Armani Little, James Ball (John-Joe O’Toole), Omar Bugiel (Harry Pell), Jack Currie, Isaac Ogundere, John-Kymani Gordon (Ronan Curtis)

Attendance: 2,032 (201 away)

PICS: Paul Thomspon (Pro Sports Images)