Callum Reilly said that Jack Rudoni and Ryan Longman offered a ‘real outlet’ for Wimbledon to emerge with an excellent result at Sunderland last night.
'Rudi' won the penalty that led to Joe Pigott's opener with a wonderful piece of skill, and Longman was an attacking threat throughout, both players shining brightly at the Stadium of Light.
“They put in a brilliant effort for the team," said Callum. "They were tasked with playing on the right and left side of me and Woody. They were fantastic for us both, they got into position really quickly, and when we did get the ball they sprung out and they offered us a real outlet on the flanks. They were brilliant and they put in a real shift for the team.
"On reflection, we are disappointed. To concede in the manner that we did, we felt there was a foul in the build-up, but there was obviously work we could have done to make sure it didn’t happen. It was a great result, we played really well, and there are a lot of positives we can take to build on it."
Next up for Wimbledon is a home game versus Crewe Alexandra with the Dons determined to improve on the recent record at Plough Lane.
“We were confident coming into the game and we felt we applied ourselves really well. We didn’t come away from Hull with a result, but we put in a good positive performance and the manager spoke about that on numerous occasions. It was a game we wanted to use as a standard bearer, so hopefully we can approach every game in the same way. We will be raring to go on Saturday, and to take three points back at Plough Lane.
“We were disciplined in the way that we played, myself and Woody had to stay in that shape and we couldn’t break from that, but there were a lot of lads that had to put in a disciplined performance and they were fantastic. We were up against a team with aspirations of going up and we came here and we were solid. I don’t see why we can’t use this as a standard setter for the games coming up over Christmas.
"There were some leaders out there for us, and they made sure they were heard. They were communicating well with the rest of the group and that really helps the midfielders and the rest of the team. The defence came out of this game with a lot of credit, I thought they were brilliant. They dealt very well with the crosses coming into the box. Hopefully, it’s one that we can build on from the defensive point of view. We don’t just look at the back three, we look at the whole team."
The highlights from last night's game are below.