The Dons were made to settle for a point on Saturday afternoon as Morecambe fought back for a 1-1 draw.
It was another dominant home display from Wimbledon, with a well worked Omar Bugiel opener seemingly putting us on course to get back to winning ways.
Nevertheless it was the visitors who would have the final moment of the match, with Chris Stokes bundling home for a point that came largely against the run of play.
There will undoubtedly be frustration amongst those in yellow and blue however we’re still well in the race for the play-offs as things took another twist.
Johnnie Jackson made one change to the side which started against Accrington Stanley in midweek, as Ronan Curtis replaced John-Kymani Gordon, who dropped to the bench.
Wimbledon started with a spring in their step and had an opening inside five minutes, as Jack Currie sliced an effort well off target after breaking free from a corner.
Both full-backs were getting well into the game early on, with Isaac Ogundere showing good anticipation and drive to not only win the ball back but also get us up the pitch.
Then came a brilliant passage of play as Josh Kelly was found in behind, his first tough was sublime, allowing for a cross to be delivered for James Tilley to head into the hands of Archie Mair. Curtis then repeated the trick but Tilley could only head off target.
Armani Little – wearing the captain’s armband again in the absence of Jake Reeves – continued to dictate the tempo in the centre of the park, picking up space between the lines and playing some excellent cross-field balls. He almost had a goal to show for his efforts too as he sent a volley spinning wide of the far post.
It was a promising first-half but the task would be to back it up with all important goals in the second 45 minutes.
And it was a task we took too almost immediately as we took the lead. Curtis put in a dangerous low ball, with Kelly flicking into the path of Bugiel who couldn’t miss from inside the penalty area.
The pressure of the Plough Lane crowd was building on the Morecambe backline, almost willing the ball into the net with the atmosphere created by our fans.
Currie sped down the left-hand side and presented Bugiel with the opportunity to double his tally, however the Lebanese international could only fire straight at Mair.
We were quickly punished for not taking our chance as the Shrimps levelled through Stokes, tucking home unmarked from close range.
It was anyone’s game heading into the final 10 minutes, with both sides pushing for a result that could potentially take them into the play-off spots.
A plethora of changes saw Josh Davison, John-Kymani Gordon, Harry Pell, John-Joe O’Toole and Ryan McLean enter the field for the closing stages but we couldn’t quite find that final chance to turn one point into three.
AFC Wimbledon: Alex Bass, Lee Brown (Ryan McLean), Kofi Balmer, James Tilley, Josh Kelly (Josh Davison), Armani Little, James Ball (John-Joe O’Toole), Omar Bugiel (Harry Pell), Ronan Curtis (John-Kymani Gordon), Jack Currie, Isaac Ogundere
Attendance: 7,715 (212 away)
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)