Under-18s prepare for difficult away match
AFC Wimbledon Under-18s warmed up for a tough test against Norwich City this Saturday with a victory at Barking Abbey yesterday.
Jayden Antwi (pictured left above with manager Mark Robinson) and the impressive Nathan Woods got the goals in a 2-0 win against a side that started their own pre-season with a 3-1 defeat against Dagenham & Redbridge.
The Dons took the lead at Barking in great style with Antwi finishing off clinically from 14 yards after a fine team move that involved Alfie Egan. Though Barking enjoyed an equal share in terms of possession, Wimbledon created plenty of chances in the first 20 minutes. Trialist Toyosi Olusanya, Dan Ano, Woods and Antwi all caught the eye to make life difficult for Barking.
minute when another excellent team move ended with Woods finding the back of the net via a post. In a match consisting of 3 x 30 minute periods, Barking changed to a very structured defensive shape to nullify Wimbledon. It was a ploy that worked to a certain extent as Wimbledon struggled to find the attacking fluency that was such a feature of the first period.thIt was 2-0 in the 26
Though Olusanya, Reece Williams-Bowers, Judah Chapman, David Ompreon and Neset Bellikli all threatened to score, a third goal did not arrive.
Mark Robinson said: “The game started very brightly and though I was not happy with Barking enjoying equal possession, we were a real force going forward and it looked like we might score every time we went forward. At 2-0, Barking changed things and made it much more difficult for us by sitting deep. We still had opportunities to extend our lead, but we moved the ball far too slowly and we were not creative enough with our play and movement.
“It was only our second game though and we have over four weeks on the training ground before the season gets going. We split pre-season into blocks in terms of our principles of play and we have barely touched on attacking phases. From that perspective, a clean sheet, creating good chances, and a couple of goals was a reasonable enough start.”
Man of the Match for Wimbledon was Toyosi Olusanya.
It will be a tougher assignment for the Dons on Saturday at Norwich City with the Premier League club’s academy expected to field a strong Under-18s side, plus a few Under-19s.