Wally Downes felt that Wimbledon played the conditions better than Southend today and he saluted Joe Pigott’s valuable contribution at Roots Hall.
Speaking during his post-match interview for iFollow, our manager said: “I’m very pleased because at this stage of the season it’s not about the football you play, it’s about winning games. It was difficult for both sides, but fortunately we managed to sneak it.
“I think it was about the team that made best use of the wind. At half-time I was not too pleased with the way we had performed in the first-half. I thought we were trying to play a little bit too much. We gave a few chances to them that we shouldn’t have, but in the second-half we had a lot of mobility in the team and we used the wind better than they did.”
Joe Pigott scored another important goal today, his fifth in five games, but Wally praised his overall display.
“Joe is leading the line really well,” Wally added. “When I first came in I knew Joe was a goalscorer, but it was just about getting him to be a bit stronger up front and he’s been magnificent for the last five or six weeks. He’s really led the line well and he is getting his just rewards now. He battled all day and when it’s not the conditions for forwards then sometimes you have to work, work, work. Today, I was really pleased that he got his goal.”
Wally was delighted that his side kept a fourth successive clean sheet today, rewarding the ‘superb’ support his players received at Southend.
“The clean sheets speak for themselves. The only thing you are given in football is a point and a clean sheet at the start of a game. The longer you retain it the more chance you have of winning the game. That’s what we’ve been doing and long may that continue.
“A lot of fans turned up today. It’s not very far for them, but it’s a great day out. I am sure they can see that the players are putting the effort in and equally the fans are singing and supporting us superbly. It’s great for both sides.”
A total of 748 travelling Dons provided great backing for the team today and we are grateful for that support. The interview with Wally is available to watch by clicking on the link to our iFollow channel above.