AFC WIMBLEDON v NORTHAMPTON TOWN -- 20/21 LEAGUE ONE - PLOUGH LANE 27th MARCH 2021

Saturday 27th March 2021 3:00pm
AFC Wimbledon will 'host' their next home game back in Wimbledon against Northampton Town at the Plough Lane Stadium. I doubt we'll see a game this season with fans not due back till May and some 'test' events to be organised first. Seen some pictures taken at the recent Charlton game of the new stadium and while still a few things to be completed on the perimeter of the stands it does look like the main stand is ready for action. The Dons saw their midweek fixture against Rochdale rescheduled till April, while our opponents today Northampton moved out of the League One relegation zone midweek with a vital 1-0 victory over Oxford. Sam Hoskins scored the only goal of the game early in the second half as the Cobblers claimed their third win from four home games to move two points above the bottom four.  The Dons latest draw with Charlton last weekend kept us in the bottom four, a run of 'home' games needs to begin to produce a victory or two if we are to climb out of the relegation places, and we might even leapfrog Northampton if we manage that win today. 

Onto today's game itself this Saturday in League One and our opponents today, Northampton, have managed to move themselves out of the bottom four with a 1-0 win against Oxford, and are now on 36 points, so a victory today would be more than useful for both sides efforts to stay out of the drop zone. Having lost at Crewe last weekend that important win against Oxford on Tuesday night gives them some momentum with only 10 games left to rescue the season under caretaker manager Jon Brady, who stepped up from U18s coach when Keith Curle departed the club in February (and is now manager at Oldham).

Most Recent League Games
AFC Wimbledon 2 - 2 Charlton Athletic

Northampton Town 1 - 0 Oxford United

Head to Head
Our head to head form against Northampton is very poor since our return to the Football League in 2011, played fifteen times, only winning once back in 2017, seven draws and seven defeats so time to buck the trend and get another win today.

Starting XI's [Confirmed]

AFC WIMBLEDON 

Win Odds - 8/5 [William Hill]

Tzanev (Gk),  O'Neill,  Heneghan,  Nightingale,  Alexander,  Dobson,  Oksanen,  Longman,  🟨Woodyard (c),  Rudoni,  Pigott

SUBS - Cox (Gk), 🟨Palmer,  Chislett,  Assal,  Guinness-Walker,  McLoughlin,  Osew

Northampton Town

Win Odds - 15/8 [William Hill]
Mitchell (Gk),  Kioso,  Jones,  Horsfall,  Mills,  Morris,  McWilliams,  Watson,  Marshall,  Rose,  Hoskins

SUBS - Berry (Gk),  Bolger (c),  Jones,  Korboa,  Ashley-Seal,  Edmondson,  Sheehan

Selected Bets On This Match;

• Over 1.5 goals in 1st half @5/2.
• Ryan Longman to score first @6/1.
• Penalty to be awarded and scored @7/2.
• Over 3.5 goals in match @7/2.

⚽Half Time Score - 0 - 0    

First Half Comments;

The Dons kick off this afternoon at Plough Lane and we are underway this afternoon, an important three points up for grabs as the final ten matches will decide our season. The opening quarter of an hour having passed it's fairly even still waiting on the first effort on target though, probably some nerves out there, need to settle down quickly and create some chances. Will Nightingale does have a header but misses, seems a nervous start here, the game fails to ignite in the opening half and we go in level 0-0 at the break, hopefully it will improve in the second half.

⚽Full Time Score - 1 - 0    [Pigott 88']

Match Summary;
A goal 2 minutes from full time by Joe Pigott seems to have won the game for Wimbledon and moved them up to 21st place in League One with ten games left, level on points with Northampton and separated by one goal on goal difference. With Swindon and Burton also in sight, there is a chance of continuing this form under Mark Robinson to escape the drop.

HOWEVER - 5+ mins into stoppage time Northampton are awarded a penalty but it's SAVED by Nik Tzanev and the points are won phew.  

My Men of the Match - Joe Pigott for the goal, and Nik Tzanev for the stoppage time penalty save .

Attendance - Sadly still no one for the time being. Maybe sometime later this year would be nice, after all we've a new stadium to celebrate in 2021.

Today's Referee - Our match referee for this afternoon will be Mr Ben Toner from Blackburn, Lancashire, very experienced official but hasn't take a game for us since last season (2-1 loss to them), will be assisted on the touchlines by Daniel Cook and Justin Amey. While our fourth official today is Kevin Howick.

Dons next league match:
Good Friday 2nd April vs Plymouth Argyle (Away)
League One Kick off 3.00pm