Johnnie Jackson felt our side fell way below their usual high standards this afternoon as we disappointingly lost out 1-0 to Sutton United.
The Dons came into today’s South London derby brimming with confidence after winning 2-1 at Crawley Town four days ago, however we never really got going on an afternoon of frustration.
In the end a second-half goal from Omar Sowunmi settled matters as the U’s took the bragging right on this occasion, meaning Wimbledon will be looking to bounce back quickly at home to Colchester on Friday.
Here Johnnie discusses his thoughts on the loss, rotating our squad and ensuring we come back fighting next time around.
ON THE PERFORMANCE…
A lot of disappointment and frustration. We dropped below the standards that we’ve been setting throughout the season. We came away from our levels and the good stuff we’ve been doing. That’s the biggest disappointment for me.
Every defeat hurts – there haven’t been too many this season thankfully – we’ve been on a really good run, we’d won six in a row here at home. We came into it high on confidence, hoping to get a positive result. Sutton made it difficult for us and we weren’t at our free-flowing best.
ON ROTATING THE TEAM…
We made changes to keep it fresh. The likes of James Tilley and Josh Neufville have been desperate to play and I wanted to utilise my squad in this period of games that we have. Everybody dropped below their usual levels today. We made little adjustments to our shape in game but it didn’t have the impact we had hoped.
ON WATCHING FROM THE GANTRY…
I didn’t enjoy the experience, I wanted to be down there with my team. You can’t affect the game in ways that you usually would on the touchline. I had communication with Terry (Skiverton) but I did feel a bit detached.
ON BOUNCING BACK…
This group won’t wallow in defeat, it’s not what they’re about. We’ll be in tomorrow to work and prepare for Colchester. The beauty of football is that we have a chance to put things right in just three days’ time. This one stings – my players are hurting and I certainly am.
PICS: Nigel Keene (Pro Sports Images)