Post-match reaction from Wimbledon manager
Neal Ardley praised his side’s fighting spirit after they dug in for a valuable point at promotion-chasers Scunthorpe United today.
The Dons boss was delighted with his side’s response after last Saturday’s disappointing defeat at the hands of lowly Torquay United.
“After last week we had to start with a bit of steel, especially away at the league leaders,” said Neal. “It had to start with that togetherness and we had that in abundance today. I asked them to play like they were best friends with each other and they did that. We had to weather a couple of storms, but you would expect that at the league leaders.
“We had to really dig in and we have to learn to do that better. I think we lacked a bit of quality in our decision-making, but I’m willing to forgive the boys that. If we could add that bit of quality with our passing then we will start picking up a lot more points. But we started after last week with a very good base of hard work. At times, we got opened up a little bit, but we stayed strong and there were a lot of good performances out there.”
New signing Aaron Morris was certainly one of Wimbledon’s top performers after he replaced Andy Frampton in the first-half, but Neal says his comeback after 10 months out will have to be managed carefully.
“We have to be careful of the bounce effect after he’s had 10 months out,” added Neal. “Aaron has played just 60 minutes for the Under-21s before coming on today. He did a fantastic job and that’s what I know Aaron can do. I’m really pleased for him because I know the agony that he’s been through.”
Dons Player subscribers will be able to watch video interviews with Neal Ardley, Ross Worner and Aaron Morris during the weekend.