AFC Wimbledon: Goodman, O’Toole (Ogundere 45), Johnson, Harbottle (Hutchinson 80), Tilley, Reeves, Smith, Sawyers (Sasu 73), Neufville, Kelly (Furlong 89), Stevens. Substitutes not used: Ward, Biler, Pigott.
Gillingham: Morris, Gale (Rowe 64), Masterson (Ogie 64), Ehmer, Clark (Nolan 89), Coleman, McKenzie, Little, Dack (Dieng 80) , Clarke, Nevitt (Gbode 80). Substitutes not used: Turner, Williams.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
Gillingham looked to smother Wimbledon early on with a series of corner kicks inside the first five minutes but once they escaped, and returning captain Jake Reeves got his foot on the ball, it was all about the Dons.
Their possession paid dividends in the 50th minute thanks to another Stevens’ set-piece goal from a corner, after a spell where Wimbledon peppered the box with crosses. Wimbledon were fortunate that the goal stood however, as it looked as though Stevens bundled it goalwards with his arm.
Gillingham threatened to equalise on the break a few times, but couldn’t find a way through. They came close through a free-kick attempt by ex-Dons man Armani Little, but Owen Goodman got across to parry it away.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Johnnie Jackson made two changes from the Dons’ game against Swindon four days earlier, bringing captain Reeves into a deep midfield role in place of Sam Hutchinson, and replacing the injured Omar Bugiel with Romaine Sawyers, who was allowed to roam freely behind the two strikers.
The attacking unit worked well, but things were not so smooth at the back. Reeves was shaking off the rust early on and his nerves seemed to rub off on Johnson and Harbottle, who both nearly found themselves dispossessed in their own third on a few occasions.
However, this settled down in the second half, with Reeves and Johnson especially becoming stalwarts as the home side looked to hold on to their lead.
STAR MAN
Josh Neufville. The wing-back was electric down the right-hand side, and gave his counterpart Max Clark a nightmare of a time trying to track him. His final delivery lacked the same incisive quality as his ball carrying, but you always had the sense that he was ready to pounce on any space he was given. Defensively he was a relentless runner, and could be seen conducting the crowd in the latter stages of the game.
BEST MOMENT
It was a tense, scrappy and fiery game in South London, but one moment of levity came as Reeves skillfully took down a ball with the outside of his boot to beat the onrushing Bradley Dack, who muttered a curse towards the sky as the Dons captain strode away up the pitch. Under normal circumstances it would get a cheer, but the orchestrator being such a beloved club figure as Reeves, marking his much anticipated return to the team, allowed the moment to really lift a nervous crowd.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
It is hard to be harsh on the exasperation shown by Gillingham’s squad in the wake of that Stevens handball decision, but the level of whining and dissent grew to quite a grating level by the end of the match. Both teams displayed their share of gamesmanship, but Gillingham’s four yellow cards, including one after the final whistle as a player chased down the referee for one more protest, spoke to the mentality of the visiting players.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
There were controversial handball decisions at either end of the pitch for the Dons. Steven’s set-piece finish looked to have come off his arm and it would be generous to say it looked accidental, but fans will feel it is justice for Stevens’ questionably disallowed 93rd-minute winner last week against Swindon.
Goodman would later rush out of his box to stop a Gillingham two-on-one. As he slid past the edge of his area, he won the ball in a melee of the three players and eventually hooked it clear. Several Gills players rushed referee Sam Purkiss to claim Goodman had used his hands to control the ball outside the box, but it was difficult to tell how strong an argument they had.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“It was a great win and a really good performance. We showed a few different sides of ourselves. In the first half we moved the ball really well and played some lovely stuff to cause them problems. Then in the second half we got a goal from a set-piece.
Then we had to defend towards the end because they were throwing everything at us to try and get back in the game, and we showed that resolute side of us as well. I think it was a good all-round performance.”