FA CUP FIFTH ROUND -- AFC WIMBLEDON vs MILLWALL SATURDAY 16th FEBRUARY 2019

The FA Cup comes into town once again with the 5th round now upon us, and having beaten Fleetwood Town 3-2 in round three then seeing off Premier League West Ham 4-2 in the fourth round we find the mighty Dons progressing into round five of the FA Cup for the first time since being resurrected in 2002. We have drawn a home fixture again and face Championship "Bad Boys" Millwall who themselves did a bit of giant killing last time beating Everton 3-2 with the help of a dodgy handball...but hey they all count don't they. The match is Saturday at 3pm and has NOT been selected for TV and I suspect there will still be a strong police presence around Kingsmeadow. Lets hope the headlines are all about the football and not any off field nonsense.


Championship Millwall currently sit in 20th place in their league, and will be looking at this as a serious chance to reach the 6th round although their recent reputation and history is often about what happens off the pitch. Lets hope it's a peaceful game.

Scott Wagstaff hero of round 4.

FORM GUIDE (Last 6 matches in their respective leagues, starting with the most recent result)
      AFC Wimbledon  --  WLLLDL
      MILLWALL --  DLDDLW









LAST TIME OUT [Tuesday]
Walsall 0  AFC Wimbledon 1

Millwall 0  Sheffield Wednesday 0

The Dons arrive into this important FA Cup game still sat at the bottom of League One although the performances have been improved since the arrival of Wally Downes and coach Glyn Hodges. A midweek win away at Walsall should instill a bit more confidence too and our FA Cup form is a different story though and having seen off West Ham last time we find ourselves with a "winnable" game IF we can step up to that level of performance once again, though that's a big IF. Who knows what will happen, it's the magic of the cup, and as long as we pull together and try our best anything is possible. Shame that the league form hasn't materialised although this is not only a nice distraction while it lasts but financially very useful for next years League Two budget.

Updates will be published with team news and more as and when it comes through, am particularly looking at Scott Wagstaff who promised to colour his fantastic beard yellow and blue after beating West Ham!! Shame he's only on the bench this would have been funny to watch him run about. 

Line Ups (Confirmed);

AFC WIMBLEDON

Odds -- 3/1 (William Hill) 

Ramsdale (Gk),  Oshilaja (c),  Nightingale,  McDonald,  Sibbick,  McLoughlin,  Hartigan,  Wordsworth  ,  Garratt,  Pigott,  Folivi

Subs – McDonnell (Gk),  Thomas,  Wagstaff,  Pinnock,  Connolly,  Barcham,  Soares

MILLWALL
Odds -- 10/11 (William Hill) 

Archer (Gk),  Romeo,  Cooper,  Pearce,  Wallace  ,  Wallace,  Williams,  Leonard,  Ferguson (c),  Gregory,  O'Brien

Subs – Martin (Gk),  Hutchinson,  Tunnicliffe,  Elliott,  Morison,  Skalak,  Hanson  

H/T Score – 0 - 1  [Wallace 5'] 

First Half Comment;

Millwall in all orange kit (reminding me of Luton Town) and we are underway in the cup. A cross finds Dons striker Joe Pigott who hits the post so a lively start here at Kingsmeadow. Alas only five minutes and we are behind, a break down the right crossed in and finds Murray Wallace who scores the opener for Millwall. We haven't started badly but it's disappointing to be behind so early I hope that the heads don't drop we can get back into this. Wally Downes giving plenty of encouragement and we are still in this yet not really giving the Lions keeper much to do. Millwall to be fair haven't really done a lot either but still lead, they are managing to hoof the ball out of the ground a lot too. Half time and Millwall lead with their only shot on goal of the game. 

F/T Score – 0 - 1

Match Summary;
Andy Barcham comes on at the start of the second half to replace Tyler Garrett, as the Dons seek to get back on terms in this tie. A good start and winning corners but sadly are wasted and come to nothing, time to bring on Dylan Connolly who has been very effective since joining us and Tom Elliott comes on for Millwall to some cheers and jeers (good nature banter) Dons are denied a penalty which is nothing new for us but we still creating chances, maybe we can take one of these before the games ends. Still going forwards with a few minutes to go but it's not been a classic and Millwall seem to be able to take everything we throw at them. Three mins of added on time and we need that one last chance and sadly it's not coming. 

My Man of the Match – Aaron Ramsdale.

Referee -- Our referee for this important fifth round FA Cup tie will be Jon Moss who is on the Premier League list and was born in Sunderland and resides in Yorkshire so no southern bias. Isn't shy of showing plenty of cards so the overs market will be supported and Red Card wouldn't be a big surprise as he showed two in the last round.

Attendance – 4,795

Next match:
Saturday 23rd February vs Charlton Athletic (Home)
League One 3:00pm