AFC Wimbledon withstood all obstacles to clinch a 2-1 win at Crawley Town, finishing up the evening with 10 men.
In the end it was an early double from Josh Davison and Ali Al-Hamadi that decided what was a feisty encounter between two old school rivals.
Wimbledon not only showed their eye for goal but also their fighting spirit to see the match through to the end following Joe Lewis’ red card for a second yellow.
Vital saves and blocks combined with energy and togetherness got us over the line as the Dons momentum train shows no sign of stopping in the lead up to Christmas.
Johnnie Jackson rang the changes once again for this Sky Bet League Two fixture, with only Ryan Johnson and Davison remaining in the side which won 5-2 at Portsmouth on Tuesday in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
This meant that Alex Bass, Huseyin Biler, Jake Reeves, Al-Hamadi, Armani Little, Omar Bugiel, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, Jack Currie and Joe Lewis were restored to the starting eleven.
There was an early warning sign for the Dons as Crawley directed a shot off target from the edge of the area. Nevertheless we soon got in to our groove and took an early lead as a result. A cross from Huseyin Biler came in from the right-hand side, with the in-form Davison stooping low to head home as Crawley keeper Luca Ashby Hammond helped the ball on its way.
Things got even better for our side soon after as Ali Al-Hamadi turned on the style to claim his 15th goal of the season. Our number 10 picked up the ball on the right before jinking inside and out, before coming back inside and firing off a near post effort that drove into the net for 2-0.
Confidence was flowing through the veins of the Dons, typified by Bugiel making a crunching challenge in his own half before skilfully flicking the ball over an oncoming defender’s head in the other.
We could have increased our lead even further before the break, had a second for Al-Hamadi not been disallowed for offside - Johnnie Jackson was sent off by referee Matt Corlett shortly after this decision. Nevertheless Wimbledon trooped in at half-time with a two-goal cushion to protect and potentially build on.
Al-Hamadi was into his stride once more early in the second-half, this time firing off target from a tight angle. Bass was then called into action for the first time as he sprung full-length to keep out a long range effort from Crawley substitute Klaidi Lolos. Our defence was then on hand again to repel two close range efforts from the hosts.
Johnson was next to have a go at the other end, seeing his header from a corner come off the inside of the post and somehow end up in the hands of the grateful Ashby Hammond.
The make-up of the game changed just after the hour mark as Lewis was shown red for a second bookable offence, meaning Wimbledon had to see out the rest of the contest with 10 men.
Alex Pearce was introduced in response, reforming our back four as our shape took on a familiar look albeit with a man less. Josh Neufville was then latterly added into the mix to give us fresh legs in the closing stages.
However the pressure cranked up as Crawley halved our lead through Will Wright’s strike which found the top corner, giving Bass little chance. James Tilley and James Ball took our substitutions up to four as six added minutes were signalled.
Johnson did superbly well to block a close range effort as the Dons had their backs against the wall. In the end the hosts could not get past the Wimbledon blockade as we saw it out to take a deserved three points.
AFC Wimbledon: Alex Bass, Huseyin Biler, Jake Reeves, Ryan Johnson, Josh Davison (Alex Pearce), Ali Al-Hamadi (James Tilley), Armani Little, Omar Bugiel (James Ball), Connor Lemonheigh-Evans (Josh Neufville), Jack Currie, Joe Lewis
Attendance: 4,792 (1,330)
PICS: Paul Hazelwood (Pro Sports Images)