Loss is blessing in disguise….better to have points than cup win v Gills

AFC WIMBLEDON 0
GILLINGHAM 2
Mandron 90, Green 90+2

BY EDMUND BRACK AT PLOUGH LANE

Tuesday’s EFL Cup exit could be a blessing in disguise for AFC Wimbledon.

After all of the plaudits that the Dons received at the start of last season, the third-round tie of the cup away at Arsenal in late September turned out to be the pinnacle of a campaign that ended in their first relegation as a phoenix outfit.

The South Londoners won three games in League One following that night at the Emirates – and while this is an extensively different side from Mark Robinson’s set of youngsters entering their first foray in senior football, at least Wimbledon’s focus until the winter can be on League Two.

Johnnie Jackson’s Dons have picked up four points from their opening two games in the fourth tier.

But the frustrating aspect of Tuesday night would have been the failure to take one of the 17 chances created.

There was a slight hint of vulnerability in the Wimbledon back line after Jackson split up the defence and goalkeeper by handing 19-year-old right-wing back Isacc Ogundere and 20-year-old stopper Nathan Broome their club debuts.

Paul Kalambayi was also making his first start of the season as Alex Pearce was handed a rest.

In another world, Lewis Walker could have been lining up for the Dons, having spent part of the summer on trial at Plough Lane, but the 23-year-old forward decided to join Gillingham.

And Walker had the opportunity in the fifth minute to show the Dons’ hierarchy they were wrong to hesitate in securing his signature when he was played through by Will Wight’s defence-splitting pass.

But he fluffed his chance and placed it wide of goal.

The Dons grew in confidence after the opening 10 minutes and stamped their authority and Jackson’s style of play on the game.

Centre midfielder Paris Maghoma, who acts as a quarter-back and drops deep between the defence to pick up the ball, dictated the play and picked out several searching passes to set the Dons on the attack quickly.

Their first sight of goal came from Will Nightingale’s long-range drive that stung the palms of Jake Turner.

Brentford loanee Nathan Young-Coombes and Ayoub Assal began driving towards goal and turning the screw.

It will be a frightening sight for many League Two defenders this season, with the sheer unpredictability and raw pace of the pair causing chaos for the Gillingham backline.

Wimbledon’s most clear-cut chance of the first 45 came when Assal charged down Alexander MacDonald on the halfway line and immediately set off on a counter-attack.

Unselfishly, the England U20 trainee teed up Kyle Hudlin just outside the six-yard area, but the Huddersfield loanee snatched at his effort and produced a tame shot straight at Turner.

It would be the same story for Wimbledon in the second half.

Jackson sent on reinforcements to win the game – calling on Josh Davison and Ethan Chislett from the bench.

And despite the Dons creating opportunities throughout, they failed to make them count.

Their punishment for a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal came in the 89th minute when substitute Mikale Mandron picked up the ball outside the box and curled a shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

With Wimbledon stunned and the defence dazed, the tie was wrapped up 120 seconds later when Jordan Green glided through Chistlett and Maghoma to slip a shot past Nathan Broome.

There were still positives to take from the cup exit – minutes in the tank for Hudlin and Young-Coombes, and Broome showed he is more comfortable with the ball at his feet than Nik Tzanev.

The question Jackson would have pondered is how he gets his forward players, to become clinical.

With Wimbledon’s pursuit of an experienced forward well documented earlier in the transfer window – both Danny Hylton and John Marquis were candidates before moving elsewhere – it’s possible Jackson may still need an older professional to come off the bench and be a reliable figure in front of goal to take the pressure off the young forward line.

It would have been disappointing to exit the cup after producing such a commanding performance.

However, if fans had to pick from the three points they secured on the opening day of the season against Gillingham or a place in the second round, there would have been only one clear choice.

BEST MOMENT: The chance Assal created for Hudlin in the first half. He showed determination to win the ball back and set up the best opportunity for Wimbledon to score.

STAR MAN: Paris Maghoma’s passing range is outstanding, and his ability to break the Dons away on the attack with a long, searching ball will be an asset.

Main Picture: Nathan Young-Coombes in action for the Dons v Gillingham on Tuesday night at Plough Lane

All pictures by Lucy Dixon