Dons Beat Basingstoke To Set Up Ebbsfleet Tie

---

Basingstoke 0 v Wimbledon 1

Wimbledon face an FA Cup 1st Round tie at home to Ebbsfleet United after beating Basingstoke 1-0 on Saturday (October 23).

The Ebbsfleet game will see the Dons face ex-players Paul Lorraine and Derek Duncan, who now play for the Blue Square Bet South promotion chasers. It is likely to be played on Saturday November 6.

The clash was set up by Dons centre-back Ed Harris, who scored his first goal for the club to beat Basingstoke – despite suffering from the effects of ’flu.

Manager Terry Brown told the Surrey Herald afterwards: "Ed was a bit below par physically and he was ill at half-time and during the game. But for him to stay on and get the goal was very good."

Harris got his goal when the former QPR man capitalised on Basingstoke’s failure to clear a Sam Hatton corner, having time to control the ball before firing home through a crowded goal area.

It was cruel Basingstoke, who had seen Dons goalkeeper Seb Brown produce a series of crucial interventions during the first-half to keep the scoreline level.

First Brown rushed out bravely when Greg Draper was through on goal. And then he produced an acrobatic leap to fingertip away another looping effort.

But the Dons had first-half chances of their own, not least when a Basingstoke defender appeared to handle Danny Kedwell’s shot to deny the Dons the lead.

And Kedwell saw a good second-half opening thwarted by onrushing home goalkeeper Simon Moore, before Harris got the only goal.

Even then the Dons were left grateful to Seb Brown who produced a handful more saves to keep them in the game.

Attendance: 1,726.

Basingstoke: Simon Moore, Smart, Finlay, Adams, Gasson, Lake, Pattison (Laidler 78), Ogunbote, Pratt, Draper (Downes 86), Warner (Reynolds 83). Subs not used: Rice, Williamson, Frewin, Allen.

Wimbledon: Brown, Hatton, Blackman (Franks 78), Gregory, Yakubu, Harris, Wellard (Yussuff 62), Sammy Moore, Kedwell, Jolley, Jackson (L. Moore 71). Subs not used: Main, Turner, Nwokeji.

Goalscorer: Harris 71.

Booked: Gregory 54.

Referee: K. Johnson.

Rob Crane

October 24, 2010