A disjointed AFC Wimbledon fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Crawley Town after a performance which offered very little in terms of attacking chances.
A point in midweek had offered a potential foundation for a rejuvenation at this late stage of the season, however the Dons were quite simply not at the races.
With a week-long gap between today and the trip to Barrow, our side will need to show a big reaction if we are to finish the campaign with anything to shout about.
Johnnie Jackson made one change to the side which drew 1-1 at Newport County, with Will Nightingale coming in for the injured Alex Pearce. Meanwhile Huseyin Biler made his return from the sidelines as he was named amongst the substitutes.
The Dons experienced the worst possible start as the visitors took the lead early on. James Tilley charged down the left before crossing for Ashley Nadesan to tap in. Ethan Chislett was first to go close up the other end as his free-kick cleared the crossbar.
Kasey McAteer was next to create an opening, but his snap shot was comfortably off target as we sought an equaliser prior to the break.
We looked to inject some extra pace into the second-half as Saikou Janneh was introduced in place of McAteer. A lack of any real openings signalled further changes as Biler made his comeback from injury and Alfie Bendle slotted into midfield.
Ali Al-Hamadi had his first opportunity of the afternoon just north of the hour mark as he headed a floated cross wide in what proved to be the closest we came to finding an equaliser.
In the end it was a defeat that left a sour taste in the mouth, with our season beginning to peter out after so much promise at the back end of last year.
AFC Wimbledon: Nik Tzanev, Chris Gunter (Huseyin Biler), Alex Woodyard (Alfie Bendle), Will Nightingale, Ethan Chislett, Ali Al-Hamadi, Aaron Pierre, Armani Little, Kasey McAteer (Saikou Janneh), Jack Currie, Sam Pearson
Attendance: 7,300 (365 away)
PIC: Stephen Flynn (Pro Sports Images)