Glyn Hodges is under no illusions about the size of the task facing Wimbledon tonight and he has called on his squad to show more belief away from home.
Darren Moore’s men have accumulated 10 points more in League One this season with three fewer games played than Wimbledon, but the two teams were unable to be separated in the first FA Cup meeting 10 days ago, a match The Dons threatened to win before being pegged back.
Glyn's boys will be searching for just a second win on the road this season, but Wimbledon do have a good recent record against tonight’s opponents with just the one defeat in the last five – a 2-1 defeat at the Keepmoat Stadium just over 12 months ago. The venue in South Yorkshire is also remembered by Dons supporters for an important occasion back on 1 May 2018 when Wimbledon earned a draw that maintained League One status with a game to spare in that season. Of course, our squad will be aiming to recapture the spirit that swept Wimbledon into the last-16 in 2018/19 with Premier League club West Ham beaten along the way.
Below are quotes from both managers, plus stats, ahead of tonight’s game.
Glyn Hodges
“Our away form has got to improve. I’m trying to drive the players on to convince them of that and hopefully they believe the same as me that these games can be won. It’s a tough one at Doncaster on Tuesday and again I’ll be going for the win. We’re going to keep plugging away and see if our form picks up and we get some more points on the board.
“We went up to Blackpool and at times controlled the game. I wanted to go there and win the game, not settle for a nil-nil or a draw and take a point. We put things in place to play a certain way and we want them to go with a bit of belief and challenge the opposition and challenge them in certain areas. We didn’t do that and that is something we’re working on and will continue to try and improve.
Darren Moore
“The FA Cup does have a wonderful history of games being unpredictable. They made it really hard for us (in the first game), very difficult. They’ve had continuity. They’ve had succession and repetition of games. It builds understanding, team cohesion. It builds clear understanding as a unit and a team. Hopefully after this there will be a continuation of games where we can build on performances and on the season we have set so far.
"We come back together on our home patch and the players are going to have to be really good against a Wimbledon team because they are really good opponents. We want to stamp our authority more on it, especially at home in front of our own crowd. Take nothing away from Wimbledon, they made it difficult for us. Whoever stamps their authority is going to have to earn the right."
Last five meetings
- AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Doncaster Rovers (9 Nov, 2019)
- AFC Wimbledon 2-0 Doncaster Rovers (9 Mar, 2019)
- Doncaster Rovers 2-1 AFC Wimbledon (17 Nov, 2018)
- Doncaster Rovers 0-0 AFC Wimbledon (1 May, 2018)
- AFC Wimbledon 2-0 Doncaster Rovers (26 Aug, 2017)
The 2-0 win against Doncaster back in March was a key victory in our League One survival last season as it started a three-match winning streak. Steve Seddon and Shane McLoughin struck the goals. Take a look at the highlights below.
Last six games:
Wimbledon WLDDLL.
Doncaster Rovers LWWLDD
Tonight’s referee: Christopher Sarginson (Staffordshire).
Team news
Ryan Delaney and Max Sanders have both cleared by their parent clubs to play in the FA Cup for Wimbledon. Both players returned to action after injury in the defeat at Blackpool on Saturday. Centre-back Paul Kalambayi served a one-match suspension for the Blackpool game and he returns to the squad. Wimbledon will have to do without defenders Rod McDonald (knee), Will Nightingale (hip), midfielder Anthony Wordsworth (calf) and Watford loanee Michael Folivi (groin).
EFL Young Player of the Month Marcus Forss will also not be available, as Championship club Brentford don’t want the Finnish under-21 striker cup tied. Jack Rudoni and Tommy Wood are both ineligible to play tonight after playing for Tonbridge Angels and Leatherhead in the competition earlier this season. Under-18s Zach Robinson and Jack Madelin have therefore been added to the squad.
Tickets
Wimbledon supporters will be able to pay on the night at Doncaster with the following prices:
Adults - £10
Concessions (over 60 and 18-24) - £5
Under 18s - £1
All the tickets available are for seats.
iFollow
If you are not travelling to the game tonight, tune into iFollow to listen to full match commentary. You can buy a match pass for just £2.50. Visit our iFollow channel to listen to commentary from Mikey T and Rob Cornell.