AFC Wimbledon drew 1-1 with Championship club Queens Park Rangers, as Josh Neufville netted a well taken equaliser.
It was the visitors’ quality that shone through early on as Lyndon Dykes capitalised on a defensive error to give his side the lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
Nevertheless, the Dons weren’t deterred and upped the tempo as they proved to be more than a match for the side two leagues above us.
In the end, our efforts were duly rewarded shortly after the start of the second-half as Neufville made it three goals in pre-season, getting on the end of a low cross to sweep the ball past the visiting keeper.
There was little in the way of goalmouth action past this point though, with both sides cancelling each other out in midfield.
Overall, it was another positive performance for the men in yellow and blue as we continue to build ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Johnnie Jackson made two changes to the team which drew 0-0 against Woking as Isaac Ogundere and Morgan Williams came in for Huseyin Biler and Harry Pell.
Meanwhile Under-18s Leo Young and Kelvin Kargbo featured amongst the substitutes as we continue to run the rule over our Academy players in pre-season.
It was a poor start to the game for the Dons as a weak back pass allowed Lyndon Dykes to round Alex Bass and finish into an empty net. We looked to respond quickly, with James Tilley’s free-kick flying just wide.
Tilley came even closer as he tested Asmir Begović from inside the area. Then came a good move between Williams and Ogundere, with the latter’s cross being just too far in front of Josh Davison.
Williams also contributed well in a defensive sense as he put in a last-ditch challenge to stop an almost certain goal. Dykes almost had his second before the break for the visitors as he headed over the crossbar unopposed.
We were quickly on level terms after the break, with Neufville firing high into the net past the despairing dive of QPR’s Joe Walsh. Ryan Johnson then saw a header hit the side netting. Substitute Harry Pell also saw a free-kick drift wide as we continued to probe for a winning goal.
It finished 1-1 in the end as we extended our unbeaten run in pre-season to four games. We now look ahead to the visit of League One Portsmouth on Tuesday night.
AFC Wimbledon: Alex Bass, Jake Reeves (Alfie Bendle), Ryan Johnson, James Tilley (Ryan McLean), Josh Davison (Paris Lock), Josh Neufville (Aron Sasu), Omar Bugiel (Harry Pell), Jack Currie, Morgan Williams, Joe Lewis, Isaac Ogundere
Attendance: 5,138 (2,000 away)
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)