AFC Wimbledon earnt the bragging rights in tonight’s London derby as we saw off Sutton United 1-0 at Plough Lane.
A rivalry that has been bubbling up since the league meeting between the two sides earlier this season was ultimately decided by Kyle Hudlin’s composed finish within the opening 20 minutes.
From that point onwards a much-changed Dons side largely kept our near neighbours at arm’s length, with Nathan Broome coping well with a wave of set piece deliveries in the closing stages.
It was a result which underlined the strength in depth that we have within our ranks as a plethora of younger players got some much-needed minutes. We now progress to the next round of the Papa John’s Trophy and edged a step closer towards a potential Wembley appearance.
Johnnie Jackson made 10 changes to the side which won 2-0 at Tranmere Rovers, with Huseyin Biler being the only player to keep his place as the likes of Alex Pearce, Hudlin and Quaine Bartley came in. Meanwhile Jack Currie made his return from a minor knock.
After a slow start it was the Dons who took the lead just north of the 15-minute mark as Currie took on the role of creator. The left-back did brilliantly to latch onto a David Fisher pass before driving into the left channel and his ball across was then turned home by the onrushing Hudlin.
When Broome was called into action he dealt with it easily as Sutton rarely threatened during the opening 45 minutes.
Bartley was the first to threaten at the start of the second-half as his powerful effort forced Jack Rose into a save.
Craig Eastmond then had a header cleared off the line by the Dons as the U’s came on strong in the final stages of the contest.
Broome then made a good double save which relieved some of the mounting pressure in stoppage time.
In the end we saw the result through, meaning we progressed to the last-16 of the competition and in the process further extended our unbeaten run.
AFC Wimbledon: Nathan Broome, George Marsh (Ryley Towler), Alex Pearce, Kyle Hudlin, Huseyin Biler, Alfie Bendle, Courtney Senior (Ethan Chislett), Jack Currie, David Fisher (Ayoub Assal), Luke Jenkins, Quaine Bartley (Josh Davison)
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)