Glyn Hodges took plenty of encouragement from Wimbledon’s display at Oxford after his side showed their strength of character to come back into the game.
Though being eliminated from the Carabao Cup on penalties was not the scenario anyone in blue and yellow wanted, the battling display from Wimbledon was in stark contrast to our last visit in February to the Kassam Stadium.
"I am pleased with being disappointed, if that makes sense," said Glyn. "The last time we came here was atrocious with a 5-0 defeat on a miserable night and now we are disappointed not to have won after coming from behind. I was pleased with the overall performance. It was a test on the fitness side and I thought we finished the match really strongly. It was a test of our organisation and how we were going to work set pieces. We scored through one of those. Things are coming together, but you are sitting there thinking 'we would be in a much better place if we had won the tie'.
"These were the best side in the division last season and I can't believe they didn't go up. To come here and play like we did against them was enjoyable to watch and enjoyable to be a part of. We put a conscious effort in to go again and put more pressure on them after they scored. We can take a lot of confidence from this."
Glyn felt that Alex Woodyard and Cheye Alexander were among those to impress with both players making their full debuts.
"There were lots of positives out there," added Glyn. "Alex was strong in midfield, Ryan Longman stuck to his task and he's a strong physical boy. Cheye and Connal were also good today, so there were lots of things that were pleasing. We just have to keep going and make sure that next Saturday we turn in a similar performance. We came from behind today after doing the same against Charlton, so it shows that mentally the players are in a good place. There are going to be tests, twists and turns along the way, so we have to be ready for anything that's thrown at us."
The Dons were eventually knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties and Glyn was philosophical about going out in such circumstances.
"We take penalties all the time. Sometimes it depends who is in the right frame of mind or who is playing well, and it's a confidence thing. I just spoke to them in there and I said 'don't be scared to miss'. Penalties are stacked against you because the goalkeeper can be a hero. It's just one of those things, you have to make sure you put your foot through it and if the keeper saves it, he saves it. I was pleased that we had the chance to put our noses in front with an opportunity to win the game."
Watch the full post-match interview with Glyn below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.