Saturday 12th February 2022 KO 3pm
AFC Wimbledon will host their latest League One game at Plough Lane for the 2021-22 season against Sunderland. With the sides at either end of the League one table it's an important game for our survival after the recent run of form and lack of firepower up front, we will certainly need to find a 'Plan B' for the latter part of the season. After an away defeat at Charlton last weekend and a narrow 0-1 loss against league leaders Rotherham on Tuesday night we remain in 20th position in the League One table on 30 points after 30 games played.
The Dons failed to mount a serious challenge in search of an unlikely equaliser, with Mark Robinson's side now 12 games without a win in all competitions, the visitors deserved their victory on the balance of play and left with maximum points after rarely getting out of second gear, a fact that is sure to be thrust further into the spotlight as we look ahead to our next game on Saturday. Head coach Mark Robinson last night told our squad that they must show more conviction on the ball if they want to steer clear of the League One drop zone. Speaking after the 1-0 home defeat against top-of-the-table Rotherham on Tuesday night, Robbo said: “We need to put this to bed quickly because it will be a completely different challenge on Saturday. A match against Rotherham isn’t going to define where we finish. You want to stand up to teams physically, like we did at Wycombe and Accrington, but I wanted us to show personality on the ball. I didn’t see that, so that’s what we need"
Team News - Lee Brown returns to the squad for Saturday’s visit from Sunderland, but fellow defender Dan Csoka won't be available.
Recent League One Results (Tuesday)
AFC Wimbledon 0 - 1 Rotherham United
Cheltenham Town 2 - 1 Sunderland
Looking at today's game itself this Saturday afternoon in League One and our opponents today; Sunderland have appointed former Norwich City and Preston North End boss Alex Neil as their new head coach on a 12-month rolling deal. The 40-year-old joins after the League One Black Cats parted company with Lee Johnson following their 6-0 thrashing by Bolton Wanderers on 29 January. Neil's arrival comes after negotiations ended with former boss Roy Keane. They are presently in 4th place in the League one table on 54 points, lost midweek again against Cheltenham Town 1-2.
Men to watch for the opposition; Former England striker Jermaine Defoe re-joined the club having left Glasgow Rangers earlier in the January transfer window. While fellow forward Ross Stewart leads their goal scoring table with 18 so far this season often assisted by their attacking midfield player Alex Pritchard who is another to watch closely.
Head to Head
Our head to head form against Sunderland since our return to the league as AFC Wimbledon makes rather depressing reading, just the six matches played going back to 2018, and NO victories for the Dons, just the solitary draw 1-1 at the Stadium of Light and five defeats including a 1-0 loss in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Starting XI's [Confirmed]
AFC WIMBLEDON
Win Odds - 23/10 [William Hill]
Tzanev (Gk), Brown, 🟨Heneghan(c), Nightingale, 🟨Osew, 🟨Chislett, Marsh, 🟨Assal, ⚽🟨🟥McCormick, Rudoni, Cosgrove
SUBS - Broome (Gk), Alexander, Hartigan, Awokoya-Mebude, Kalambayi, Cosgrave, Kalinauskas
SUNDERLAND
Win Odds - 11/10 [William Hill]
Patterson (Gk), Hume, 🟨Wright, Doyle, Cirkin, 🟨Winchester, 🟨Neil, 🟨Matete, ⚽Pritchard, Stewart, 🟨Clarke
SUBS - Carney (Gk), 🟨Evans, Dajaku, Embleton, 🟨Defoe, Xhemajli, Roberts
Selected Bets On This Match;
- Over 1.5 goals in 1st half @9/4.
- Ben Heneghan to score at any time @11/1
- Penalty to be awarded and scored @4/1.
- Bookings over 55 points @12/5.
⚽Half Time Score - 1 - 1 [McCormick (pen) 19'] [Pritchard 35']
First Half Comments;
Kick Off 3pm today at the Cherry Red Records, Plough Lane Wimbledon stadium. Our visitors get us underway today, a sunny but chilly day at Plough Lane. The opening eighteen minutes there isn't much to report, attacks without amounting to anything productive and plenty of fouls with no bookings yet. And then we get a break with a penalty awarded to the Dons for a handball by Callum Doyle which is converted by Luke McCormick 1-0. The Dons look on the up for that good start, and despite Ben Heneghan going into the refs book they are starting to create more chances. Then as we hit 35 minutes the visitors create a chance from a free kick as Alex Pritchard with a right footed shot to the top right corner. 1-1. Couple more bookings before the break but we go in all square after a good entertaining first half.
⚽Full Time Score - 1 - 1
Match Summary;
A full house at the Lane, got most of the bets up which was nice, was spot on about the referee being card happy with twelve bookings and a sending off late for McCormick, he's not very good as it was hardly a dirty game, even Jermaine Defoe picked up a card after coming on as a second half sub. Somewhere in amongst all that a game was still played and the 1-1 result about right I suppose. Just staying above the drop zone, but only just.
My Man of the Match - Luke McCormick.
Attendance - 8,381.
Today's Referee - Our match referee for this afternoon will be Mr Simon Mather, don't know much about him really, but certainly loves a booking with an average over four a game plus a sending off one in every three games. Took charge of our 2-0 away win at Accrington Stanley back in December having only just elevated from the National League. He will have able assistance from Andrew Aylott and Michael Webb. While on fourth official duties this afternoon it's David Rock.
Next league one fixture;
vs Bolton Wanderers (Away)
Saturday 19th February @3pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment