Johnnie Jackson saluted the impact of Ethan Chislett and our side’s other substitutes this evening as we saw off Weymouth 3-1 in an FA Cup first round replay.
The Dons started slowly against our National League South opponents and were arguably lucky not to go in a goal behind as the Terras threatened to cause an upset.
Nevertheless after a few stern words at half-time it was Wimbledon who eventually came out on top thanks to an Ayoub Assal strike and a double from Chislett off the bench.
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“When you make changes you always want the guys going on to make a positive impact on the game and that certainly happened tonight,” said Johnnie. “Chis got his two goals and all of the guys that came on gave us fresh impetus. They helped us to win the tie.
“I gave them all a little bit of a rocket (at half-time). I just wanted us to liven up. We were passive, we lost our duels, we lost our headers and I don’t think there was enough speed in our play. We didn’t get Weymouth on the back foot defending enough.
“In the second-half we came out with a real intent about us. We were made to work very hard for it and I think Weymouth deserve a lot of credit. It’s taken us two games to beat a tough side. They caused us some problems in the first-half.
“The ultimate goal this evening was to get through to the second round and firm up that game against Chesterfield. That’s what we wanted and that’s what we’ve got. We’ve got to be happy. Credit to my lads for getting the job done.”
The first-half also produced a positive and a negative for the Dons, with a home debut for Huseyin Biler being the obvious plus as he replaced the injured Jack Currie.
Our manager was quick to salute both players for the roles that they have played in the season so far, with both having stepped up from our Academy in recent years.
“Jack’s been flogged really. If you think about the amount of football he’s had to play – considering it’s his first season in league football, it’s a real credit to him,” he said. “He’s deserved his place in the team and he’s played more or less every minute because of the injuries – he’s not been dipped in and out. He had a little knock, hopefully it’s not too serious.
“Hus came on and was excellent. I’m really pleased for him to make his home debut. He backed up what he did against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. It was another good performance.”
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)