Wally Downes was pleased with the resilience his side showed against Wycombe Wanderers today – and he believes it’s something for The Dons to build on.
“It’s our first clean sheet and I’m a great believer in keeping that clean sheet for as long as you can and chances will always come," said Wally. "It was unfortunate that the chances we had today we didn’t put them away. I thought that marginally we were worth the win, but Gareth will probably be saying the same. I think with the chances we had in the second-half we could have edged it and won the game.
“They’ve had a great start to the season, they are confident in what they do. They keep going until the end of the game, as you’ve seen with the amount of goals and points they’ve accrued in the last 10 minutes. It was important in our development that once we got to 85 minutes at 0-0 that we were strong enough and resolute enough to not concede and also to be pushing at them as well, so I was extremely pleased with that today.
“Will coped with him (Bayo Akinfenwa) well last season. To be fair, those two might as well just go in the car park before the game starts and have a fight together and let the teams get on with the game! It was a physical battle, they both relish it, they both get on with it. As dangerous as Bayo is, Will is effective against him. That was a great battle to watch between two solid, strong players.
“I was pleased with what we did because sometimes the ball isn’t there to be played and you can’t just have a game of football. Today was a battle and if you don’t go into local derbies and have a battle, you get rolled over. If you can play well after that, terrific, and you are going to win the game. In local derbies you have to roll your sleeves up.”
Wally praised Adam Roscrow’s impact after he entered as a second-half substitute, the forward stepping up to make his EFL debut after joining Wimbledon in the summer.
“It’s a big jump up for Adam,” added Wally. “Coming from where he has come from in Wales, bringing his family down and moving in, it’s not easy to come straight in and have an impact. I haven’t pushed him at all in training, I’ve just watched him. He’s a goalscorer and I thought that the time was right to get him out there. He’s got into two goalscoring positions, he’s created one, and for someone coming on for his debut for 20 minutes I couldn’t be more pleased.
“I hope the players have learned that they can be resilient, they can keep that clean sheet. On another day, Kwesi’s chance goes in and Pigs’ chance goes in, and we win 2-0. That’s to come and we have a solid foundation now. We can miss a chance here and there, keep a clean sheet, and you’ve got a point. You are battling away, and you are in the game.”
Take a look below at the full post-match interview with our manager.