Yussuff Has Appetite For Goals As Dons Beat Torquay

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Torquay 0 v Wimbledon 2

Rashid Yussuff was Wimbledon's unlikely hero on Saturday (21 April) as the Dons beat promotion-chasing Torquay United 2-0 at Kingsmeadow.

The midfielder was originally left out of manager Terry Brown’s squad and was having a fry-up at a local cafe when Wimbledon's substitute goalkeeper Jack Turner injured himself in the warm-up.

Yussuff was quickly called back to the ground and given a place on the bench - and then stepped into the action and scored the Dons' opening goal to put them on their way to this deserved win.

It came after a first-half notable only for its lack of incident, with neither side managing to threaten much in front of goal.

Torquay's best chance came in the 35th minute when Jamie Stuart misjudged his positioning and let a tame pass roll past him, thinking he was closer to Seb Brown than he was. Torquay’s Ian Morris gleefully pounced, but Brown rescued his keeper by blocking the shot to deny Torquay from what was their only worthwhile effort on goal in the whole game.

The Dons came out for the second half with a more positive attitude and Christian Jolley forced Robert Olejnik into action to palm away his low drive.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, and despite Wimbledon’s growing pressure, the score was still level. That was when Yussuff came into the fray and it took just eight minutes for him to put the Dons 1-0 ahead. The former Gillingham man picked up Sam Hatton's pull-back in the 'D' and calmly steadied himself before passing the ball into the back of the net beyond Olejnik’s despairing dive.

And the win was wrapped up five minutes later when Byron Harrison’s forceful run fed Luke Moore in the centre. He spurned the opportunity of fashioning a shooting chance for himself and instead played in George Moncur, who cut in onto his left foot and curled the ball into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0.

Despite the lack of goalscoring attempts, it was a deserved win for the Dons as they go into next weekend’s trip to relegation-threatened Barnet, followed by the final home game of the season against Shrewsbury on 5 May.

Attendance: 4,171

Wimbledon: Brown, Hatton, Bush, S. Moore, Mitchel-King, Stuart, Knott (Yussuff 71), Moncur, Midson (Harrison 73), L. Moore (Kiernan 87), Jolley. Subs not used: B. Johnson, Wellard.

Goalscorers: Yussuff 79, Moncur 85.

Booked: Bush 84, Moncur 85.

Torquay: Olejnik, Nicholson, Ellis, Saah, Mansell, Howe, O’Kane, Morris (Atieno 75), Oastler, Stevens (Jarvis 66), Lathrope. Subs not used: Rowe-Turner, Rice, MacDonald.

Booked: O’Kane 69, Mansell 90, Howe 90.

By Rob Crane

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April 23, 2012