The boss on Wycombe draw
Neal Ardley admitted his frustration after Wimbledon squandered a chance to earn their first League 2 home victory since 23 October.
After starting 2013 with two impressive away wins, the Dons missed out on making it a treble when they let a 2-1 half-time lead slip against Wycombe Wanderers and the Wimbledon manager said it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Speaking to Dons Player, he said: “It is mixed emotions really. I am angry and frustrated that we dropped two points in a match when we should not have done so. On the other hand the performance was really good. We started poorly during the first 15 minutes, but then we got to grips with what we should have been doing in the first place.
“But I thought for the first 20 minutes in the second-half we were excellent. I turned to ‘Bass’ during that spell though and said that we need to make sure that we get a third. That would have been the killer. I said to the boys at half-time that if they scored then it would be that sort of goal with us switching off. That’s the way it happened, a poor clearance from us and everything we had talked about happened. It is very frustrating, but at the same time I am very pleased with the way that the boys went about their work.”
Paul McCallum’s double made it four goals in five games for him since joining on loan from West Ham and Neal Ardley said it was the striker’s best display in a Wimbledon shirt.
“That is the best Paul has played for us,” he said. “Apart from the goals, his work-rate and the way he used his body was good. We have worked on him and he is growing as a player – it is great for him to get another two goals.”
The Wimbledon manager also confirmed that Rashid Yussuff missed the match due to a knee injury and Curtis Osano was taken off at half-time with a calf injury. Neal Ardley admitted in his post-match press conference that he is optimistic of extended McCallum’s loan deal, which runs until 19 January.
The full video interview with Neal Ardley can be viewed on Dons Player.