Dons chief Glyn Hodges critical of second-half display in defeat at The Valley

Glyn Hodges accused his AFC Wimbledon side of “folding” in yesterday’s 5-2 loss at Charlton Athletic.

The Dons have conceded nine goals in their last two matches.

They led 2-1 at the break in SE7 but a quick-fire double by Jake Forster-Caskey and Jonny Williams put the hosts in front just past the hour mark.

Chuks Aneke and Ben Purrington also netted with the Dons now having conceded 26 goals in 16 League One fixtures.

Hodges said: ”I just thought that we weren’t prepared for the second-half.

“I tried to warn them – you are not going  to come to Charlton for a fierce London derby against a side relegated from the Championship, and expect an easy 45 minutes. After they got their two goals in quick succession the writing was on the wall. We didn’t acquit ourselves and we folded too easily.

“It’s another occasion when we were in a winning position. You can’t put old heads on young shoulders and we have to learn fast.

“We’ve got Sunderland next and if they think this is tough then imagine going up there. We’ll dust ourselves down and we’re more than capable of getting something up there.

“We are a young side and we need a bit of leadership out there, particularly at the key times. Key decisions are not being made, and we got punished for the mistakes.

“There is stuff we set out to do, and we didn’t do it. Passing from A to B, we didn’t even do that well, and it caused us so many problems in the second-half. The writing was on the wall.

“Christmas is coming up and there are no easy games.

“It was the first time we had played in front of fans – it was like we had been beamed down from the moon – it was something completely different. We just have to trust what we are doing and have a bit more belief. Sometimes I think they are better players than they actually think they are. A lot of it is mental, and we will keep working on it.”

PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS