Wealdstone 1 – 5 AFC Wimbledon

Wealdstone

1 - 5

AFC Wimbledon

KO: 0:00 | Sat 25th Mar ’06

Harrow Times

Wealdstone 1 – 5  Wimbledon 

THE large contingent of Wimbledon supporters who made the journey to Chestnut Avenue were rewarded with a five star performance from their team that consigned Wealdstone to yet another defeat.

There was little sign of what was to come in the opening exchanges. Dave Ryan just failed to connect with a well flighted corner form Gary Burrell while at the other end Shane Smeltz poked the ball wide following a Dons’ free-kick. The action began in earnest on 7 minutes when Paul Barnes easily outpaced the static Stones defence to latch on to a long clearance from Rob Ursall before slipping the ball under the approaching Lee Carroll to give the visitors the lead. Barnes’ electric pace was to cause the rather ponderous Stones defence problems all afternoon. Just two minutes later the lead should have been doubled when Barnes was presented with the ball by the persistent Plummer 6 yards from goal and just Carroll to beat, but he skied it over the bar.

Whilst continuing to look vulnerable to the long ball Wealdstone, to their credit, battled back into the match, and the debut forward line of Francisco Francis and Matt Miller started to pose some problems for The Dons’ defence, Francis with his strength on the ball and Miler with his clever runs and quick feet. On 17 minutes a dangerous cross from Francis was cleared over his own bar by the retreating Howard and 4 minutes later a great run from Josh Cooper set up Miller whose shot was well saved by Andy Little. The rebound just eluded Cooper and ended with Francis electing to cross rather than shoot when well placed.

But it was the visitors who net again found the net on 23 minutes when Barnes latched on to a ricocheted clearance to thump the ball home for 2-0. It was almost 3-0 5 minutes later when Banes again outpaced the home defence chasing a long ball but Carroll saved well. Miller almost opened Wealdstone’s account when he took advantage of a mix-up in the away defence before shooting just wide. But Miller it was who pulled the home side back into the match in the 35th minute when he clinically finished following a superb run from Josh Cooper who had been released by a terrific throw from Carroll. As the teams went in for half time a genuine contest appeared to be back on.

However, a corner in the very first minute of the second half caught The Stones ball watching as defender Anthony Howard drifted in to glance a header in off the post. From that point the contest was effectively over. Every ball played over the top of the home defence was causing problems as Barnes sprinted away and it was he again who on 72 minutes found himself free in the box from a free kick to head in off the bar for Wimbledon’s fourth goal. His partner in crime Shane Smeltz completed the scoring 3 minutes later when another long ball found the home defence absent and he effortlessly stroked the ball past a helpless Carroll. Desperate goal line clearances prevented further Wimbledon goals and a rush of substitutions allowed the game settle into a tame finish.

There is no doubt that Wealdstone caught AFC Wimbledon on a good day but they will have to tighten up the midfield and defence significantly to have any chance of picking up the last couple of wins to secure their Ryman Premier place for next season.