A late winner from Bobby Mills rounded off an impressive fightback from AFC Wimbledon Under-18s against Southend United on Saturday.
The Dons triumphed 3-2 in the Football League Youth Alliance South East and you can watch highlights and an interview with Assistant Manager James Oliver-Pearce at the bottom of this page.
Wimbledon started well with Zachary Robinson having an effort cleared off the line, but Southend marched into the lead in the 14th minute when Matt Rush got in behind the Dons defence and finished clinically. It wasn’t long before the visitors doubled their lead when an under-hit back-pass was latched upon by Charlie Kellman, who doubled the advantage.
At this stage, Wimbledon had a mountain to climb at 2-0 down, but the deficit was halved in the 25th minute when Huseyin Biler sent over an excellent cross that Ayoub Assal met well on the volley, but his effort was saved and Mills (pictured above) followed up to score. With 56 minutes on the clock, David Fisher entered the fray and it didn’t take long for him to have an effect on the game. With an hour gone, more good work from Mills and Robinson set-up Fisher, who took a good first touch before finishing off in style.
With the momentum now well and truly established, a winner looked to be a real possibility for Wimbledon. It almost came when Assal was denied by a brilliant save. However, there was no stopping Wimbledon shortly afterwards. Though the corner was cleared, Finlay Macnab put in a fine cross to pick out Mills, who finished with great composure. Though Wimbledon were reduced to 10 men after Assal picked up a second yellow, the hosts held on for a 3-2 victory.
Click on the link below to watch an interview with James Oliver-Pearce.
Watch the highlights from the win against Southend below.