Luke Jenkins made a successful return from a double injury disappointment on a night when many of our young Dons impressed on the big stage of Fratton Park.
The defender was partnered at centre-back with skipper for the evening Isaac Ogundere, two members of our Youth Alliance Cup winning side at Rotherham United almost two years ago. Luke was one of many positive stories to emerge from last night's draw against a strong Portsmouth side, played in difficult conditions, as he came through 81 minutes on his return.
“I feel good,” said Luke afterwards. “I was disappointed to come off, but that’s how it goes. I was on loan at Tonbridge Angels and suffered a hamstring injury in February which ruled me out for four months. I came back in pre-season and then literally a week before the season started, I did my hamstring again."
Our academy product felt it was a team performance to be proud of at Fratton Park and he praised the quality of Ayoub Assal's equaliser.
“I thought everyone put a shift in," added Luke. "We all played a part and showed the gaffer what we had to offer. Isaac wore the captain’s armband and he didn’t disappoint. Playing out of position, he did his thing, and I thought we were solid back there. He was controlled and I don’t think we were majorly overrun.
“As soon as they scored, we woke up and from that point on I thought we dominated the game. Scoring pretty much straight away in the second-half put us on the front foot. I thought with the chances that we had we could have had a few more, but that’s football and at 1-1 it’s a good result to be fair.
“It was an amazing finish from Ayoub. I thought Kyle Hudlin and Aron Sasu had a couple of opportunities after that and could have had the same result, but Ayoub’s goal did put us straight back where we should have been, and we pushed on from there.
“We were on the back foot a little bit when they scored earlier in the first half, but they’re a good team and put out an experienced side. The goal was a tough one to take, considering how we’d started, but I thought we bounced back well from that.”
Pics: Graham Hunt (Pro Sports Images)
You can see the full interview with Luke Jenkins below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.