AFC Wimbledon 3 Ipswich 0 – Rampant Dons stay in the goal groove to churn over Tractor Boys

BY DANIEL MARSH

Wimbledon boosted their League One survival hopes with an excellent 3-0 win over Ipswich Town at Plough Lane.

A bullet header from Will Nightingale in the 21st minute handed the hosts the lead, before Jack Rudoni doubled that advantage just four minutes later. Ryan Longman netted the third goal with a cool finish in the 86th minute – making it eight goals in just two games for the rampant Dons.

Josh Harrop was dismissed for a poor challenge in the 27th minute to compound a miserable night for the Tractor Boys.

Wimbledon kicked off in SW19 fresh from the 5-1 bludgeoning of Accrington Stanley on Saturday, with the dangerous trio of Joe Pigott, Ollie Palmer and Ayoub Assal again leading the line.

Palmer was in the thick of the action early, and he was unfortunate not to find the net after he flung himself at a long throw into the box.

It took the Dons just 21 minutes to find their groove again after their flurry of goals at the weekend.

Luke O’Neill whipped a superb corner into the heart of the Ipswich area for Nightingale to power home just the second goal of his senior career to break the deadlock.

It was no less than Mark Robinson’s men deserved, and things got even better just four minutes later as Wimbledon doubled their advantage.

Assal produced some trickery on the right flank before teeing up O’Neill to float another pinpoint delivery into the box for Rudoni to head home his fourth goal of the season.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors shortly after as Harrop was shown a straight red card after a wild challenge on Nesta Guinness-Walker.

The Dons continued to run the game further buoyed by their numerical advantage and could have had more goals before the break with Assal and Palmer both going close.

Assal was a constant menace for Wimbledon, and he had a golden opportunity to make it 3-0 early in the second half.

The tricky attacker was put through on goal but was denied by some good goalkeeping by Thomas Holy. The Ipswich defence somehow managed to keep out follow-up efforts from Pigott and Assal.

Nightingale performed heroics in his own box too, making a vital tackle just as the visitors threatened to find a way back into the game.

But the game was killed off for good in the final five minutes. Shane McLoughlin drove forward on the transition and teed up fellow substitute Longman, who swept the ball clinically beyond Holy to cap a perfect night for the Dons in SW19.