Dons boss explains his side's dramatic turnaround
Neal Ardley saluted a “fantastic achievement” from his side after Wimbledon came from behind to snatch a point against the League 2 Champions today.
The Dons are still in charge of their own destiny as a win against Fleetwood will see Wimbledon climb out of the bottom two because Dagenham & Redbridge face York City in the final round of matches.
Speaking after a thrilling encounter at Priestfield Stadium, Neal Ardley said: “To come back from 2-0 down at the home of the Champions is a fantastic achievement. That point could be crucial for us because it is still in our own hands now for the last game of the season. Hopefully, after the last game against Exeter the boys will believe they can stay up. There is obviously pride after the way we played in the second-half, but huge disappointment with the first-half.”
Neal Ardley explained that tactical changes at half-time played a part in Wimbledon’s memorable fightback.
“We worked all week in training on the way that we were going to do things and we did not do them,” the Wimbledon manager added. “That is why we fell 2-0 down and at that stage you felt like going in at half-time and ripping into a few of them. Everything they had worked on had been thrown out of the window.
“But we had to make them believe that they could get back into it. Neil Cox had a big part to play in it as he wanted to change the shape. We talked about that at half-time and I listened to what ‘Coxy’ had to say. We went with a slight change of shape and and we pushed them on in the second-half. We had to instil belief that they could still do it if they did what we asked them to and they really responded.”
Dons Player subscribers can watch a full video interview with Neal Ardley later on this weekend.