The Dons were dealt a damaging defeat on Saturday afternoon as Swindon Town ran out as 5-1 winners.
An early header from Aaron Pierre was quickly made a distant memory as a Luke Jephcott brace and Luke Wakeling finish put the visitors 3-1 up at the break.
Things then got even worse in the second-half as Tom Clayton and Ronan Darcy’s goals were followed by a red card for Pierre, capping off a very poor display for Wimbledon on home turf.
Johnnie Jackson made four changes to the side that lost 2-1 at Stevenage as Ethan Chislett, Pierre, Huseyin Biler, Sam Pearson came in for Armani Little, Jack Currie, Chris Gunter and Saikou Janneh. Meanwhile Harry Pell made his comeback from injury to feature amongst the substitutes.
There was an early burst forward from the newly restored Pearson, with the winger arrowing a shot off target. Swindon came ever closer up the other end as Remeao Hutton cleared the bar from close range.
After starting brightly it was the Dons who took the lead inside 10 minutes. A corner was taken short to Chislett who picked out Pierre at the back post, with our number 16 bagging his first goal in yellow and blue.
Our lead lasted for barely eight minutes, with Jephcott equalising from the penalty spot after an adjudged foul in the area. The Robins then had the lead as Hutton’s deep cross was headed in by Wakeling.
Chislett responded with a free-kick straight into the hands of Sol Brynn as we sought to get back level. Disaster then struck for the Dons 18 minutes later as Nik Tzanev passed the ball straight into the path of Jephcott, who easily doubled his tally for the afternoon.
Pearson had a chance to reduce the deficit before half-time but his header was straight into the arms of Brynn. Pell was introduced at half-time as the management team looked to add an extra attacking edge.
The change affected little however as a header from Tom Clayton extended the visitors’ lead. In response we offered little, with Diallang Jaiyesimi’s rising effort being the closest we came. Ronan Darcy then added a fifth from the penalty spot after Pierre was sent off for handball, summing up our current predicament.
AFC Wimbledon: Nik Tzanev, Lee Brown, Alex Woodyard (George Marsh), Will Nightingale, Diallang Jaiyesimi (Jack Currie), Ethan Chislett (Saikou Janneh), Ali Al-Hamadi, Aaron Pierre, Kasey McAteer, Huseyin Biler, Sam Pearson (Harry Pell)
Attendance: 8,421 (1,191)
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)