A free-kick from Reece Weekes earned another pre-season victory for AFC Wimbledon Under-18s, but a tougher test awaits on Monday afternoon.
Following an equaliser from Bobby Mills, Reece struck with 19 minutes remaining to secure a 2-1 victory against Woking on Saturday and it's Swansea up next on Monday for the young Dons (2.00 pm kick-off at Carshalton FC).
In a match played at Farnham Town on Saturday, Wimbledon fell behind in the 15th minute when a poor clearance allowed Harry Mark an opportunity and his fine run ended with a brilliant 25-yard strike. The lead did not last long though, just two minutes in fact, as Mills finished clinically after being set-up by Ayoub Assal.
Though the Dons enjoyed more of the ball than Woking for the rest of the half, the game remained very even with Woking certainly carrying as much threat as Wimbledon. A much-improved second-half display followed from Wimbledon with the ball moved around more effectively, acting as a platform to stretch Woking. The Woking goalkeeper was called into action on several occasions, but there was nothing he could do to stop a cracker from Reece Weekes. Man of the Match Finley McNab showed good forward play to win the free-kick and Reece found the bottom corner with a brilliant strike.
Under-18s manager Mark Robinson felt that the young Dons showed a good mentality to win the game after a tough test from Woking.
"The first half was way off where we need to be," said Mark. "Woking put us under pressure, but the boys let that pressure lead us to doing the opposite to things that we know can cause teams problems. It was not a case of players shying away from responsibility. In fact, players wanted the ball too much in the wrong areas and we failed to stretch the play. Socially, some of the players were way off it and that is something that will need constant work.
"The second half was much better. The players had the mentality and game understanding to carry out what we needed to do. We stretched them and played through them. Our final pass or shot could have been better, but it was a very difficult surface. When you need to play even quicker it's natural that you will not get the quality you hoped for because the ball will not sit down on a bobbly surface. As with all the games so far, there have been plenty of positives, but also a lot of things that need improving."
Spectators are welcome to attend Wimbledon's match against Swansea at Carshalton.