Johnnie Jackson was pleased with the response shown by our side as the Dons came away with a deserved point against Harrogate Town.
An early goal from the visitors put us on the back foot heading in at the break, but it was Ronan Curtis who stole the show on his birthday, equalising with a cracking finish that breathed new life into the game.
However our momentum was somewhat stunted, with Ronan being shown a straight red card for an apparent malicious challenge. Nevertheless Wimbledon regrouped and it was only the team in red who looked like they were going to go on to win.
Here Johnnie provides his thoughts on the performance, the red card incident and the return of Ryan Johnson and Joe Lewis.
ON THE PERFORMANCE…
I feel really proud. After a disappointing opening period, I thought we were outstanding in the second-half. The way we got back in it and took the game to them was brilliant. We were on the back foot with a man less but it was them that was hanging on. We couldn’t quite snatch the win but there’s lots to be really proud of.
I asked for a response at half-time because we were poor. I got into them and we changed the shape. I said to them that we weren’t going to go down without a fight. That’s exactly what happened, we started on the front foot straight away.
We’ve gone up a place in the league, which underlines how crazy this league can be. Other teams will come unstuck. It’s another point towards out total. Five to go, let’s see where things take us.
ON RONAN’S RED CARD…
It was a ridiculous decision. I’ve watched it back. Ronan didn’t go in studs up, he was just pointing his toe in to touch the ball. The referee was the wrong side of the defender. In a game of this magnitude, at this stage of the season, to make a call like that – he’s robbed us. I feel really let down by that. The knock-on is that Ronan will now have to miss three games. We’ll be appealing it.
We got the goal, the stadium was bouncing and we felt we were going to go on and win it. The decision altered the outcome of the game. It made our jobs more difficult. You’ve got to run that little bit harder and that bit further.
ON JOHNSON AND LEWIS RETURNING…
It’s great to have them back. They’ve been out a while. I also think JJ (John-Joe O’Toole) was brilliant alongside Kofi (Balmer) and Johno (Ryan Johnson).
Bally (James Ball) went down with cramp, so we had the opportunity to bring Lewsy (Joe Lewis) on. It’s a real positive for us.
PICS: Ian Stephen (Pro Sports Images)
