Terry Brown

“Midson’s 13 goals see him sit joint-second in the league’s goalscoring charts, but our midfielders do not attempt enough shots”

Not for the first time this season, AFC Wimbledon left it late to salvage a result, this time in a 3-3 draw away at Crewe Alexandra. Christian Jolley’s seventh goal of the season saw Terry Brown’s side earn a dramatic point in stoppage time.

The Wombles took the lead on Saturday through Billy Knott’s second goal for the club, but alarmingly found themselves behind within minutes of taking the lead. Having taken the lead away from home, you would expect a Wimbledon side to attempt to preserve the lead, rather than gift the opposition two quick goals.

Admittedly, one of the goals was a fantastic strike from distance that perhaps caught Seb Brown by surprise, but despite scoring first, The Dons went in at the break 3-1 down. An improved second-half performance ended Jolley’s late equaliser, only after Sammy Moore’s wonder-strike ten minutes from time give the Dons a glimmer of hope.

Moore has been the outstanding player this season, and Saturday’s performance saw his make the League Two Team of the Week. The last player to receive an individual recognition was Jack Midson after the late comeback away at Gillingham.

AFC Wimbledon currently sit in 17th position in the league table, 11 points clear of safety. While it is now five games since our last victory, the draw at Crewe builds on a very respectable point gained away at high-flying Cheltenham. In what was a rather uneventful game, there was the huge boost of keeping a clean sheet for the first time since our last 0-0 draw at Shrewsbury at the end of October.

This week we again heard Brown emphasise the need for his midfielders to score goals. Midson’s 13 goals see him sit joint-second in the league’s goalscoring charts, but our midfielders do not attempt enough shots. Sam Hatton, who despite playing right-back, has made more attempts on goal than attacker Luke Moore. The statistics indicate that Rashid Yussuff is the most prolific midfielder in terms of attempts on goal with 35, but has one less goal than our midfield’s top scorer Sammy Moore.

Another rather worrying statistic concerns record-signing Byron Harrison. Despite some very positive performances, particularly in terms of holding the ball up and linking play, Harrison has only managed one shot on target in eight games. Tonight’s London Senior Cup game against Metropolitan Police will be a great opportunity for the likes of Harrison, and some of the returning loanees, to regain match sharpness.

On Saturday, Brown’s men travel to struggling Hereford in search of a much-needed victory. We still have the fewest clean sheets in the league, but at least it is exciting, right?