Dismal Dons Sink To York Defeat


Wimbledon 0 v York City 1

Wimbledon’s sank to their third-successive goalless home defeat as they lost 1-0 against York City on Saturday (8 March).

In contrast with the club’s impressive home form at the start of the season, the Dons have now lost 0-3 against Rochdale, 0-1 against Bury and 0-1 in this match against York.

The Dons’ form in front of goal has been patchy at best for a number of months, while in defence lapses get punished – and that tendency was again in evidence in this match.

Although on-loan Tom Richards impressed with some early raids down the left, the tone for the afternoon was set when Ryan Bowman’s glancing header from an early ball whipped into the box was just off target, with Ross Worner struggling to make ground.

Danny Hylton did have a rare attempt on goal for the Dons after latching onto Barry Fuller’s low cross, but his powerful shot was across the goal and wide.

Michael Coulson again warned the home side when he rounded a number of defenders before firing over, and it was after a growing sense of the inevitable that the Dons fell behind just before the break.

The Dons cleared a free-kick straight to Lanre Oyebanjo, and his looping deep cross was met by Coulson who capitalised on being left unmarked by Will Antwi and Darren Jones to head home unchallenged.

The second half failed to get any better for the Dons, with the away side making all of the running as Wimbledon often spurned opportunities to deliver early balls into the box or get shots away.

Josh Carson fired across Worner’s goal from a narrow angle after latching onto a pull-back, and York felt they were denied a penalty when, after Adam Reid twice saw efforts blocked, Carson’s follow-up appeared to be blocked on the line by Antwi’s hand, only for the referee to wave away their appeals for handball.

It speaks much for the Dons’ recent lacklustre performances that for home fans arguably the highlight of this match was a horrendous miss by Ryan Bowman. Antwi’s backpass to Worner was bobbling badly, resulting in the out-of-position keeper taking an air kick. Coulson was quick to seize on the opportunity, crossing low to Bowman who from just yards out contrived to miss a completely open goal, prompting derision from the home fans.

But their side’s own predicament is less amusing, as the out-of-shape Dons are again left looking over their shoulders towards the bottom of the table and face the visit of championship-chasing Chesterfield to Kingsmeadow on Tuesday (11 March) followed by a tricky away trip to Burton Albion. 

Wimbledon: Worner, Fuller, Richards (Arthur 61), Antwi, Jones, Morris, S. Moore, Collins, Hylton, Sheringham (Midson 60), L. Moore (Sweeney 61). Subs not used: Bennett, Francomb, Pell, Bayes.

Booked: Collins 46, Antwi 52.

York: Pope, Oyebanjo, Davies, Penn, Lowe, McCombe, Carson (Platt 92), Reed (Montrose 84), Bowman, Coulson, Hayhurst (Fletcher 80). Subs not used: McGurk, Jarvis, Ingham, Puri.

Goalscorer: Coulson 41.

Att: 4,182.

By Rob Crane

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March 7, 2014