Our young prospects got the goals to match their dominance in the second-half tonight as Wimbledon marched into the semi-final of the London Senior Cup.
Following a first 45 minutes when Essex Senior League side Cockfosters dug in gallantly to defy the Dons, goals by Elliott Bolton, Paul Osew, Quaine Bartley, and Dylan Adjei-Hersey earned a 4-0 victory.
Osew impressed throughout with his direct running and energy on the left flank, serving up a reminder of the exciting wing play that first earned him League One football in 2019. Indeed, it was a very assured team display from a Wimbledon side so young with seven Under-18s and four Under-23s making up the starting line-up. Jack Madelin, another of our young players to have played League One football, continued his comeback after injury with an assured display at the back. It's Cray Valley Paper Mills up next in the semi-finals and on this form our youngsters have every chance of putting Wimbledon's name on the London Senior Cup for a seventh time.
The Dons created the first real chance in the sixth minute with Corie Andrews going through on goal, but he was denied by a good save from Cockfosters keeper Brad Robinson. It hadn't taken long for Wimbledon's youngsters to stamp their authority on this game and a flowing move shortly afterwards ended with David Kawa crossing from the right flank and Dylan Adjei-Hersey had a goal-bound shot blocked.
With Elliott Bolton pulling the strings effectively in midfield and Paul Osew offering a useful outlet on the left side, the chances continued to come for Wimbledon. Bolton picked out Andrews with a lovely ball over the top and his pass set up Quaine Bartley, who had his shot deflected just wide. Ethan Sutcliffe, who looked very assured at the heart of defence, headed just wide from a corner, before Osew cut inside from the right after a quickly taken corner and forced Robinson into another save. Osew was a constant threat throughout the match, producing the swashbuckling runs down the left that made him a favourite with our fans after breaking into the team.
Despite the first-half domination, the plucky hosts had somehow managed to deny Wimbledon a first-half goal, but there was no stopping our young Dons after the break. The opening goal came in the 50th minute when Adjei-Hersey delivered a lovely corner from the left and Elliott Bolton rose highest in the box to head home. There was no let up from Wimbledon after breaking the deadlock and the advantage was doubled less than two minutes later when Osew cut inside from the left and found the bottom corner with a clinical right footed strike.
Wimbledon were now accumulating the goals to match the performance and a third came in real style in the 54th minute when a nice move down the left ended with Osew and Adjei-Hersey combining to set-up Quaine Bartley, who produced a fine low finish. Osew was a bundle of energy throughout and he was absolutely rampant in the second-half. One superb solo run took him through on goal, but he was denied by Robinson.
Midfielder Bolton was impressive throughout and he twice came close to another goal. Firstly, he struck a fine effort from outside the area that Robinson just managed to tip wide, and the Cockfosters keeper also denied him from close range after good play on the right by Adjei-Hersey. Pacy wide man Adjei-Hersey got the goal his performance deserved when he fired home superbly from the edge of the area. Four goals was the least that Wimbledon deserved on a night when our young prospects showed their rich potential for the future.
AFC Wimbledon: Matthew Cox, Ben Mason, Jack Madelin, Ethan Sutcliffe, Paul Osew, (Remi Onabanjo), Elliott Bolton, Abdi Ali, Quaine Bartley (Marcel Campbell), David Kawa (Obed Yeboah), Dylan Adjei-Hersey, Corie Andrews.