Defender far from pleased with penalty award
attempt last night, but he was more concerned afterwards about helping the Dons to an elusive first victory in English Football League One.thDarius Charles struck his first AFC Wimbledon goal at the 16
The experienced defender accepts that AFC Wimbledon’s overall performances have not been good enough so far this season, but he is convinced that the squad can cope at League One level.
Speaking to Dons Player after the defeat to Scunthorpe, Darius said: “We’ve not been good enough of late. We’ve been conceding at least two goals a game and not scoring enough at the other end. They are not the performances we want to be putting in, but what we do know is that we can perform better as a squad. Judging on the first few games, I don’t think there is anything for us to be fearful of and if we can put together the performances we know we are capable of consistently then we will be fine.
“We showed great character to come out and play in the second-half as well as we did. It shows we have the potential to go and pressure teams like that, but we need to show that for more than 45 minutes. We need to do it for 60 or 70 minutes to really go and push for the points we want to get in this league.
“Tom Elliott is a phenomenal player and it was no surprise that we got better when he came on. Whether it’s Tom Elliott or anyone else, this squad has got the potential to damage sides as long as we keep working hard every day and we believe in the process. If we keep working hard we can repeat the second-half performance more often than not.”
Darius was convinced afterwards that the penalty awarded against him in the first-half should not have been given.
“If I felt it was a penalty I would have held my hands up and apologised to the boys,” added Darius. “As a defender I pride myself on not giving away those types of fouls, but the referee has given it. I was not pleased by the decision obviously and in my eyes it was not a penalty. The linesman has not given it and he was 15 yards away and level with the play, but the referee gave it and that’s that.”
. Dons PlayerExtended highlights of last night’s game, along with interviews with Darius Charles and Neal Ardley are now on