Four takeaways from Wimbledon’s 3-1 loss at Walsall – lack of consistency sinking Dons towards League Two dropzone
AFC Wimbledon’s mini-revival came to a shuddering halt as they were brushed aside by a distinctly average Walsall side on Saturday.
It’s now five losses in seven matches for the South Londoners with just one win, and a very unconvincing one, against fellow strugglers Colchester over that period. Four points from 21 is relegation form and the dropzone is now just four points away as this talented side continue to struggle to find any consistency or their true form.
Not for the first time this season, the Dons fell victim to a big deflection as Issac Hutchinson opened the scoring after just five minutes following a short corner but when Ryley Towler scrambled them level from a corner it turned out to be as good as it got for Wimbledon.
Goals from Danny Johnson and Tom Knowles put the visitors to the sword.
Here are Dave Hunt-Jackson’s takeaways.
A VERY RELUCTANT PLAN B
With neither George Marsh or Paris Maghoma in the squad – and Alex Woodyard only fit enough for a place on the bench – the logical move would have been to switch to a 4-4-2 formation with either Ethan Chislett or Jack Currie paired with Harry Pell in the centre of the park.
Although the Bristol City loanee did open his Wimbledon account that was from a corner, when he would have been in the opposition box even in his normal defensive role.
Jackson did eventually revert to a back four but only after 75 minutes and with his side chasing the game. Although the change was too late to effect the result the Dons players looked immediately more comfortable with Towler back where he belongs at the heart of the defence
One player who has improved of late is Lee Brown. He looks so much more effective now that Wimbledon have finally abandoned all of the pointless passing triangles with Nik Tzanev.
Brown is a natural leader who seems to have relished his time wearing the captain’s armband. This is a young side and it was good to see his constant communication and encouragement for the likes of Jack Currie and Issac Ogundere, both of whom did their best within a disjointed set up. Despite this, the 387 AFC Wimbledon fans who made the trip to the Midlands will have been delighted to catch a first glimpse this season of club captain Alex Woodyard, who came on for a few minutes at the end.
ANOTHER CASE OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Harry Pell was outstanding again with Ayoub Assal and Josh Davison running their socks off – but AFC Wimbledon came up short. There remains a lack of consistency. Against Bradford and Colchester they were poor in the first half, on Saturday they failed to turn up after the break. This group of players, young though many of them are, should be capable of playing at a better level for the whole 90 minutes. Make no mistake, even the better halves of these last three games were below what they should be able to produce.
Walsall did what League Two teams do. The huffed and puffed and fouled the Dons forward line at will, mostly without consequence from a typical League Two referee in Adam Herczeg who got more decisions wrong than right. The overriding sense was that Walsall were there for the taking and this was another three points dropped and that the positive talk from Jackson at the start of the season has yet to be backed up. If performances don’t improve very soon the Dons will not be looking to the sunlit uplands but anxiously down at the drop zone and the possibility of what would be a catastrophic relegation.
INJURIES ARE STARTING TO PILE UP
With Alex Pearce and Will Nightingale already sidelined, along with their best centre-half playing in midfield, the lack of squad depth was there for all to see, although defensively the issue remains more about formation and tactics than personnel.
More worrying is the midfield, where both Paris Maghoma and George Marsh had picked up injuries against Colchester and in training respectively. The result was a midfield that lacked a playmaker. Pell can only do so much. While Towler did a decent job in the air and breaking up play, he does not have the midfield awareness of Marsh, Maghoma or Alex Woodyard. This is no criticism – Towler is not a midfielder.
The Dons are crying out for a settled midfield. Ideally this would be Pell, Woodyard and Maghoma if the Dons continue with their 5-3-2 approach. Whatever the formation the Dons will only be more fluent and link defence and attack effectively once they have a settled trio at the heart of midfield (or duo if Jackson eventually tries a 4-4-2). Of course Nathan Young-Coombes’ long -ern absence has also been a huge blow too, but at least this year we have the luxury of an effective striker in Josh Davison with some options on the bench.
Even with the worrying list of injuries the Dons have enough potential to be significantly higher in the table. Let’s hope it is a case of when rather than if that potential is unlocked.
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