Omar Bugiel's 11th goal of the season proved to be the difference as Wimbledon returned to winning ways today.
Bugiel's value to the Dons was highlighted once again with a soaring 70th minute header that secured a 1-0 win against lowly Salford City. With Crawley winning emphatically at automatic promotion contenders Mansfield, it kept our season alive as we're just outside the play-off zone in eighth place. Though the men from Sussex are in control of their destiny with a three point lead and two games in hand, it's vitally important that Johnnie Jackson's men keep going in case of any slip-ups from them or other teams.
Salford ended the match with nine men with Elliot Watt and Theo Vassell both shown second yellow cards for dissent deep into injury-time after Jake Reeves had cleared a free-kick taken short on the edge of our area. That mattered little as Wimbledon had done enough to secure all three points when the numbers were level.
The Dons stepped up the gas after a first-half that was far from thrilling - the second-half was much more like it after the introduction of John-Kymani Gordon and the home faithful cranked up the decibel levels in response to higher tempo football than what came before.
Johnnie Jackson made three changes to his starting line-up with recalls for Armani Little, Jake Reeves and Josh Kelly in place of James Ball, John-Joe O’Toole and John-Kymani Gordon. Both sides headed into this match in search of an upturn in fortunes with the visitors having lost their last two and Wimbledon without a win in four matches. However, the first-half that followed was certainly not a spectacle that will be remembered for years to come.
The Dons struggled for an attacking spark in a first 45 minutes that was low in terms of goalmouth action and excitement. Certainly, there was little sign of the thrilling football seen at the Cherry Red Records Stadium at times this season. Salford were unable to capitalise on Wimbledon’s below-par first-half display, despite having chances to do so. As early as the ninth minute Salford had a chance to break the deadlock. Matthew Lund put Alex Bass under pressure and his clearance went straight to Callum Hendry, but his subsequent shot was too close to the Wimbledon keeper.
In response, Reeves found space to get in a shot after a fine team move, but his effort was deflected just wide. That was Wimbledon’s only shot in the first half an hour and there was a setback for the Dons in the 37th minute when Jack Currie had to go off as he was still struggling following a clash of heads.
As we approached half-time, the Dons came close to conceding. First, Callum Hendry struck a powerful drive that Bass did well to save and then Armani Little’s backpass was too short and Bass was fortunate that his clearance against a Salford striker rebounded to safety. Arguably Wimbledon’s best moment of the half came when James Tilley sent through a lovely ball to pick out Kelly, who showed a fine turn of foot to fashion a shooting chance before his subsequent effort was deflected wide.
After a first-half that ended 0-0, Wimbledon needed to show more conviction to get back to winning ways and Little signalled his intention with a shot shortly after the restart that resulted in Salford keeper Alex Cairns being called into action for the first time. However, the visitors had a great chance to break the deadlock just after the hour when Hendry set-up Conor McAleny, but his shot was well saved by Bass.
Just a couple of minutes before that saw the introduction of Gordon and that proved to be a timely decision by Johnnie Jackson as the on-loan Crystal Palace attacker helped turn the tide in Wimbledon’s favour. His energy and trickery offered an extra dimension to Wimbledon’s attacking play as he drove the men in yellow and blue forward. The decisive goal followed in the 70th minute through that man Bugiel. Yet again, a long throw-in from Kofi Balmer turned out to be a potent weapon as our Lebanese striker rose highest to head home superbly.
Gordon continued to be a thorn in Salford’s side and he almost caught out their keeper Cairns with his blinding pace, but the visitors just managed to scramble the ball clear. Though Wimbledon came up short in pursuit of another goal, one was enough. There was still time right at the end for Watt and Vassell to both see red, adding to the entertainment value of the second-half for Dons supporters as they toasted all three points.
AFC Wimbledon: Alex Bass, Jake Reeves, Kofi Balmer, Ryan Johnson, James Tilley (John-Kymani Gordon), Josh Kelly, Josh Neufville, Armani Little, Omar Bugiel, Jack Currie (Lee Brown), Joe Lewis.
