Luton Win To Knock Dons Off Top
Luton Town 3 v Wimbledon 0
Wimbledon were brought down to earth with a bump as Luton Town eased to a 3-0 win at Kenilworth Road on Friday (17 September).
The Dons went into the game on top of the table but, after an initial flurry, never really got into the game as Luton fully deserved their victory.
The home side took the lead midway through the first half when George Pilkington headed home after out-muscling Ismail Yakubu.
And they extended the lead before half time with another header, this time from Zdenek Kroca, with the Dons appealing in vain for an offside decision against Matthew Barnes-Homer, who was stood right in front of Dons keeper Seb Brown.
That second goal sparked the Dons into renewed life and they twice went close before the break, with Steve Gregory’s 20-yard effort hitting the crossbar and home keeper Mark Tyler saving Danny Kedwell’s effort with his face.
But a defensive lapse just four minutes into the second period allowed Barnes-Homer to fire home and snuff out any real chances of a Dons comeback. The closest that Wimbledon came was when Sam Hatton’s long-range piledriver free-kick was turned round by Tyler for a corner.
Afterwards, manager Terry Brown told the Surrey Herald: “I told the lads to go out and play without fear and create some chances, which is what I felt they did.
“We played some decent stuff and actually made their keeper make more saves than ours did, so there were some positives to take.”
The Dons’ defeat allowed Crawley to replace them at the top of the table, and the two sides meet at Kingsmeadow this coming Thursday (23 September) before the Dons travel to Kidderminster Harriers on Sunday (26 September).
Attendance: 7,283
Luton Town: Tyler, F. Murray, G. Pilkington, Newton, Barnes-Homer (Walker 85), Atieno, Drury, Blackett, Kroca, Howells, Gnakpa. Subs not used: A. Murray, K. Pilkington, Asafu-Adjaye, Crow.
Goalscorers: G. Pilkington 23, Kroca 37, Barnes-Homer 49.
Booked: Drury 45.
Wimbledon: Brown, Hatton, Blackman, Gregory, Yakubu, Harris, S. Moore (Main 79), Minshull (Yussuff 55), Kedwell, Jolley (Wellard 58), Jackson. Subs not used: Turner, Nwokeji.
Booked: Blackman 71.
Referee: Rob Whitton (Essex).
Rob Crane
February 4, 2015
