Preview for tonight's London Senior Cup clash
The Dons have selected a young squad for tonight’s London Senior Cup Final with just three first-teamers involved against Metropolitan Police.
Chris Arthur, Seb Brown and AFC Wimbledon academy product Jim Fenlon (pictured) will add experience for Shaun North’s Under-21s at Imber Court (7.30 pm kick-off).
The match against Ryman Premier Metropolitan Police, a side that play their home games at Imber Court, offers many of the players who helped Wimbledon into the final an opportunity to shine.
However, Under-21 Development Coach Shaun North has stressed that the priority is their overall development in the build-up to tonight’s match.
“I’m very proud of them, but I’ve said many times that the aim is to progress players towards the first-team,” Shaun said. “That’s my job and is the most important thing, but winning football matches is why we play the game. I went to the game recently when Met Police got beat by Woking (Surrey Senior Cup Final). Woking put a strong side out and though the scoreline was difficult for Met Police, they did not embarrass themselves and played some good football. The squad have worked hard and it’s just a case of playing the game now. It would be nice if the boys get good support.”
Will Nightingale, who has been with AFC Wimbledon since the age of nine, is relishing the opportunity to finish the season on a high after his campaign was interrupted by injury.
Will said: “It’s a big game for us with cup medals up for grabs and a chance to impress first-team coaches. It will be a tough test for us against a strong side. We need to get players such as Chace Jacquart on the ball as much as we can to win the game.”
Towering centre-back Will actually played against Chace at Imber Court in a junior cup final when the latter was playing for Hampton & Richmond Borough, but now they will be aiming for glory in the same team.
.Dons You TubeIf you haven’t yet watched a video of Shaun preparing his youngsters for the London Cup Final, click on
The AFC Wimbledon squad is as follows: Seb Brown, Billy Bishop, Rob Switon, Will Nightingale, Ryan Sweeney, Jim Fenlon, Chris Arthur, Harry Cooksley, Tom Beere, Dan Gallagher, Billy Frost, George Oakley, Chace Jacquart, Dan Agyei, Taylor Roles, Callum Wilson.
The prices for tonight’s match are as follows: Adults £10; Over-60s and Under-12s £2.