As we look ahead to the start of 2020/21, we’ve been recalling classic matches from the past and today we turn the clock back to 1987 when London rivals were brushed aside.
5. Charlton Athletic
Only occasional opponents in the last Millennium, meetings between the Dons and Charlton have become more frequent in recent seasons. Here we look back on a top-flight victory over the Addicks early on in Wimbledon’s FA Cup winning season.
Tuesday 1st September 1987: Division One
Wimbledon (1) 4 Ryan 45, Cork 70, Fashanu 74, 75
Charlton Athletic (1) 1 Stuart 29
When he was the mood he could be unplayable. After Charlton’s Jamie Reid was sent off in the 52nd minute with the scores locked at 1-1, the Dons, and John Fashanu in particular, took over. Following an equaliser by Vaughan Ryan – his first goal for Wimbledon - Alan Cork put the hosts ahead when he headed home Andy Thorn’s corner, before Fash scored twice in a minute from identikit goals. First he raced onto Cork’s through ball to make the score 3-1 and then he burst through from Terry Gibson’s flick on and fired the ball under Bob Boulder.
“That cannot do my England chances any harm,” the tall striker said afterwards. “Everything I do this season is with an England place in mind. I have to keep on scoring goals as Mark Hateley is doing it in France and I won’t be happy unless I get 25 for the season.”
Fashanu never got close to that figure but by helping Wimbledon win the FA Cup the following May and continuing to terrorise defences up and down the country he won two caps – against Chile and Scotland in the summer of 1989.
Always a controversial figure due to the aggressive way he played the game, former Barnardo’s boy Fashanu scored more than 125 goals in eight years at the club. His best season was the 1990-91 campaign when he was the First Division’s second highest scorer with 20 goals as his side finished seventh. Without him, the history of Wimbledon football club during those years would have been very different.
Wimbledon: Beasant, Scales, Phelan, Thorn, Young, Ryan, Sanchez, Wise, Cork, Fashanu, Gibson (Fairweather 83)
Dons v Addicks (1984-2019)
|
Season |
Comp |
H |
A |
|
1984-85 |
Div 2 |
1-3 |
1-0 |
|
1985-86 |
Div 2 |
3-1 |
0-0 |
|
1986-87 |
Div 1 |
2-0 |
1-0 |
|
1987-88 |
Div 1 |
4-1 |
1-1 |
|
1988-89 |
Div 1 |
1-1 |
0-1 |
|
1989-90 |
Div 1 |
3-1 |
2-1 |
|
1995-96 |
FL Cup 2 |
4-5 |
3-3 |
|
1998-99 |
PL |
2-1 |
0-2 |
|
2016-17 |
Lge 1 |
1-1 |
2-1 |
|
2017-18 |
Lge 1 |
1-0 |
0-1 |
|
2017-18 |
FAC2 |
2-1 |
|
|
2018-19 |
Lge 1 |
1-2 |
0-2 |
|
2018-19 |
CCT |
|
2-2 |
|
Total W11 D6 L7 |
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This series is written by Stephen Crabtree, the editor of the Historical Don. To sample a copy contact him at stephecrab@aol.com .