Dons boss Mark Robinson delighted that Jack Rudoni finally got his reward

AFC Wimbledon head coach Mark Robinson praised Jack Rudoni’s resilience after the 20-year-old scored the equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Although Rudoni started the game as a false nine, with Ayoub Assal and Dapo Mebude out wide, he struggled to adapt to an unusual role. The academy graduate found himself battling against Dom Iorfa and Chey Dunkley, with the two towering defenders closing down Rudoni at any opportunity when he received the ball with his back to goal.

Rudoni, who moved out to a wide position following the introduction of Aaron Pressley and Luke McCormick after the 62nd minute, popped up with the equaliser in the 85th minute when he hammered home McCormick’s pinpoint pass to earn his side a point.

Rudoni took his goal tally to four for the season, the most out of any Wimbledon player so far this campaign.

Robinson told the South London Press: “I told him that he is going to play 400 games in his career where he is going to play a lot better than that, but the key thing was that he kept going and got his reward at the end.

“It’s part of the learning process for a young lad. Sometimes they have to understand that you go home, and you’re just absolutely knackered, and you think: ‘I didn’t do that, and I didn’t get the chance to show my ability.’ But you have put in one hell of a shift, you got the point, and sometimes that’s all that matters.”

Robinson believed the formation with Rudoni acting as the focal point of the attack didn’t quite work.

“It was difficult because we lacked width,” he explained. “In the last game we played here, we played with two number 10s, and Burton sat in against us, and then we had to change to give ourselves width to play around them. Today, we started with width, we did our own thing a little bit, and we ended up lacking width against a 3-5-2.

“It didn’t quite work how we would have liked it to work, but I don’t think that was anything down to Jack. It was just more that we didn’t have the width that we needed. Rudi’s role was to drop in when needed when he could find space and run in behind when we got wide and turn them.

“Because we didn’t get that going, it was nothing that Rudi did. Then again, in the second half, he’s managed to affect the game.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD