AFC WIMBLEDON vs SUNDERLAND - LEAGUE ONE HOME FIXTURE 2021/22 SEASON [12th FEBRUARY]

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.

AFC WIMBLEDON vs ROTHERHAM - LEAGUE ONE HOME FIXTURE 2021/22 SEASON [8th FEBRUARY]

Tuesday 8th February 2022  KO 7:45pm
AFC Wimbledon will host their latest League One game at Plough Lane for the 2021-22 season against the current league one leaders Rotherham United. With the Dons in the bottom five still this might not go well against a side with the highest number of L1 goals scored this season. It's been difficult year so far, plenty of draws and in need of a win very soon so after the disappointing 3-2 defeat on Saturday against Charlton Athletic. We now remain in 20th position in the League One table having only achieved 30 points after 29 games played. We only stayed out of the drop zone thanks to the very late equaliser by Bolton Wanderers against Morecambe last weekend. 

Mark Robinson rang the changes for Charlton game including Sam Cosgrove coming in for his first start after joining on loan from Birmingham City.  The travelling Dons were certainly making themselves heard during the opening quarter of the second period and there was a sense that the momentum was building again for Wimbledon as George Marsh arrowed a shot just wide. Having gone behind again the response was to see Sam Cosgrove withdrawn after an encouraging display, replaced by Aaron Cosgrave entering the play as he looked to repeat his heroics from last Tuesday night. Chances were few and far between in the closing stages for the Dons as the match ticked into injury time, Nightingale coming closest with a close-range effort that was beaten wide by MacGillivray.

Head Coach Reaction; Mark Robinson was left feeling disappointed by the manner of our South London derby defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic. However, our Head Coach believes that the recent performances are an indication that the Dons are close to getting back to winning ways. With the ultimate League One test coming up against Rotherham on Tuesday, Robbo said: "We’re competitive and it’s the small margins that we need to turn around. I want to see the boys step up to the challenge now. Fundamentally before this game it was three defeats, seven draws and two wins in our last 12 games. The main issue has been those seven draws, so we’ve been looking at turning those draws into wins. We’ve talked about staying the hunter and not being the hunted.”

Team News - will update as and when further news is available, the January signings are beginning to settle in including Lee Brown who looks like could be a solid addition. Last Monday we also brought in two more signings with Nathan Broome arriving as a back up goalkeeper from Stoke on a two and half year deal, along with striker Sam Cosgrove from Birmingham who ticks the boxes as the target man we were after, has also had experience at Aberdeen and is here on loan till the end of the season. Goalkeeper Zaki Oualah has joined Billericay Town for the remainder of this season on loan. Following the arrival of Nathan Broome on transfer deadline day Mark Robinson said it was important for the 26-year-old keeper to get game-time elsewhere. 

Recent League One Results
Charlton Athletic 3 - 2 AFC Wimbledon
Rotherham United 1 - 0 Accrington Stanley

Looking at today's game itself this Tuesday evening in League One and our opponents today; Rotherham are currently managed by one of their former players Paul Warne who has been in the position since November 2016 making him almost a veteran manager in the modern era. They currently have the top spot in League One, having accrued 62 points in 29 games so far. A win and we could move up a few places which would be welcome. Rotherham beat Accrington on Saturday 1-0 to remain at the summit of the table. They had their captain Richard Wood sent off in that win for a handball but the resulting penalty was saved.

Men to watch for the opposition;
Michael Smith leads the scorers charts with 17 this season and also the assists too for the league leaders, will need to keep a close eye on him, the experienced Freddie Ladapo is also feared. 

Head to Head

Our head to head form against Rotherham since our return to the league as AFC Wimbledon amounts to a rather one sided series of results, nine games played only the one win for the Dons back in Oct 2017, while there have been seven defeats and the other game a 2-2 draw. The reverse meeting this season was a thumping 3-0 win for the leaders and I hope we can improve today.

Starting XI's [Confirmed]

AFC WIMBLEDON 

Win Odds - 9/2 [William Hill]

Tzanev (Gk),  Kalambayi,  Heneghan(c),  Csóka,  Alexander,  Hartigan,  🟨Marsh,  Guinness-Walker,  Rudoni,  Cosgrove,  Assal

SUBS - Broome (Gk),  🟨Nightingale,  Chislett,  Awokoya-Mebude,  Ablade,  McCormick,  Osew

ROTHERHAM UNITED
Win Odds - 6/10 [William Hill]
Vickers (Gk),  Harding,  Ihiekwe,  🟨Mattock,  Barlaser,  Ogbene,  Lindsay,  Wiles,  Ferguson,  Smith,  Grigg

SUBS - Johansson (Gk),  Ladapo,  Kelly,  Bola,  ⚽Kayode,  MacDonald,  Odoffin

Selected Bets On This Match;

• Over 2.5 goals in 1st half @11/2
• Over 3.5 goals in the match @9/4
• Ayoub Assal to score at any time @4/1
• Penalty to be awarded and scored @9/2
• Bookings over 50 points @21/10.

⚽Half Time Score - 0 - 0

First Half Comments;

Kick Off 7:45pm today at the Cherry Red Records, Plough Lane Wimbledon stadium. The visitors get us underway and on the front foot early doors, but we survive the early barrage after 15 mins it's still all square. Made it through the first half without too much drama with just a booking for Joe Mattock to show. Holding firm so far, but Rotherham winning on corners 0-6.

⚽Full Time Score - 0 - 1  [Kayode 60']

Match Summary;

Will Nightingale comes on for the second half and his first action is to get booked! Then the Dons go behind on the hour as substitute Joshua Kayode scores the opener. Which proved to be the winner, they were not that special despite being league leaders, but sadly we did ship a solitary goal and unable to penetrate their defence sufficiently. Fortunately Morecambe also lost so we still just above the drop zone.

My Man of the Match - Ben Heneghan.

Attendance - 6,387.

Today's Referee - Our match referee for this afternoon will be Mr Charles Breakspear from Surrey, a busy official who averages about four bookings a game, also not afraid to show a red too. Still a lot of penalties in his matches as well so will be looking to play in those markets. His assistants tonight are Paul Yates and Ryan Whitaker on the side lines while on fourth official duties we have Joseph Stokes.

Next league one fixture;
  vs Sunderland (Home)
  Saturday 12th February @3pm.

AFC WIMBLEDON vs CHELTENHAM TOWN - LEAGUE ONE HOME FIXTURE 2021/22 SEASON [1st FEBRUARY]

Tuesday 1st February 2022  KO 7:45pm
AFC Wimbledon will host their latest League One game at Plough Lane for the 2021-22 season against Cheltenham Town. With both sides in the bottom half of the table it's an important game for 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. We haven't made a great start to 2022 so far and after the 1-1 draw on Saturday against Shrewsbury we are currently in 20th position in the League One table on 29 points after 27 games played. 

Mark Robinson stressed that there’s no panic in the ranks after another victory opportunity eluded his side today.  “We know where we carry a threat, where we need to put the ball and what areas we need to get into,” said Robbo. “The first goal was really pleasing, and it shows that you don’t have to be big to score one like we did today, it’s all about timing and movement. It was a really well worked goal.

Saturday's game also saw newly signed left back Lee Brown make his first start for the club after he joined from Portsmouth on Friday, and our Head Coach was impressed with what he saw from the number 55.  “He was really solid,” added Robbo. “He didn’t get hurt down that side at all and he provided everything that we knew he would. Really composed on the ball, really confident, and he’s been great with the lads after the game. He’s going to be a big influence as we move up the table.”

Team News - will update as and when news is available, Lee Brown came in last week and looks like could be a solid addition. As the transfer window closed on Monday we at least brought in two more signings with Nathan Broome arriving as a back up goalkeeper from Stoke on a two and half year deal, along with striker Sam Cosgrove from Birmingham who ticks the boxes as the target man we were after, has also had experience at Aberdeen and is here on loan till the end of the season. Neither signing is available for this evening's match though.

Recent League One Results
AFC Wimbledon 1 - 1 Shrewsbury Town
Cheltenham Town 0 - 0 Wigan Athletic

Looking at today's game itself this Tuesday evening in League One and our opponents today; Cheltenham Town are currently managed by former Northern Ireland International Michael Duff who has been in the position since September 2018. They currently reside in 17th place in League One, having accrued 32 points in 28 games so far. A win and we would move up a few places which would be welcome. Cheltenham also drew at the weekend, holding the then leaders Wigan to a goal less draw so very likely hard to break down. They had wing back Ben Williams sent off late in the game so might have to change things for their trip to Plough Lane.

Men to watch for the opposition; Striker Alfie May is certainly one to keep an eye on, already has 10 goals this season and recently signed a new deal to stay with the club he joined in 2020 from Doncaster Rovers. 

Head to Head

Our head to head form against Cheltenham Town since our return to the league as AFC Wimbledon amounts to an even spread of results, nine games played three wins apiece and three draws too. This is our first meeting in League One and an important one given our current league positions. The latest match was in this season's FA Cup where the Dons secured a 4-3 win in the second round.

Starting XI's [Confirmed]

AFC WIMBLEDON 

Win Odds - 7/5 [William Hill]

Tzanev (Gk),  Alexander,  Heneghan(c),  Nightingale,  🟨Brown,  Hartigan,  🟨Marsh,  ⚽Assal,  McCormick,  Rudoni,  Ablade

SUBS - Oualah (Gk),  Csoka,  Chislett,  Awokoya-Mebude,  Osew,  Kalinauskas,  ⚽🟨Cosgrave

CHELTENHAM TOWN
Win Odds - 19/10 [William Hill]
Evans (Gk),  🟨Raglan,  Pollock,  Boyle(c),  Blair,  🟨Sercombe,  Bonds,  Wright,  🟨Hutchinson,  Etete,  ⚽x2 May

SUBS - Flinders (Gk),  Freestone,  Williams,  A Ramsey,  Colkett

Selected Bets On This Match;

• Over 1.5 goals in 1st half @5/2.
• Ayoub Assal to score at any time @4/1
• Penalty to be awarded and scored @9/2.
• Bookings over 45 points @12/5.

⚽Half Time Score - 1 - 2    [Assal 8']  [May 31' 34'(pen)]

First Half Comments;

Kick Off 7:45pm today at the Cherry Red Records, Plough Lane Wimbledon stadium. The visitors kick off this evening for this important game. The Dons are on the front foot early and take the lead on 8 mins when Ayoub Assal pokes home from a corner and a great start let's hope we can build on it. Liam Sercombe picks up the first booking for our visitors for a foul on our striker Terry Ablade. And the good start did not last long, within minutes we go from one up to two-one down. Alfie May the expected danger scores twice, one from the penalty spot having been brought down by Nik Tzanev in goal.

⚽Full Time Score - 2 - 2    [Cosgrave 80']

Match Summary;

The Dons fought hard in the second half to get it back to 2-2 but couldn't find the winner, still feels like a game we could have won and fear that draws are not going to be enough to keep us up, for now we are still just above the drop zone. Aaron Cosgrave scored the equaliser late in the game. 

Mark Robinson saluted the impact of Aaron Cosgrave after the striker’s first competitive goal for Wimbledon rescued a vital point. Speaking enthusiastically about his ability afterwards;

"I think he’s going to be a real talent for us. I’m really excited for him. It’s going to take him time to adapt because he hasn’t played at this level, but he came on tonight and was a real threat. Moving forwards, he will be a real asset for this football club.”

My Man of the Match - Ayoub Assal.

Attendance - 6,138.

Today's Referee - Our match referee for this afternoon will be Mr Sam Purkiss a London based official who also work in the legal industry, so should know his stuff. Has been officiating in the lower leagues for a few seasons now, averages around three bookings a game plus more than the usual number of reds too. Will have assistance on the side lines from both Stephen Brown and Daniel Bonneywell while on fourth official duties is Nicholas Dunn.

Next league one fixture;
  vs Charlton Athletic (Away)
  Saturday 5th February @3pm.

AFC WIMBLEDON vs SHREWSBURY TOWN - LEAGUE ONE HOME FIXTURE 2021/22 SEASON [29th JANUARY]

Saturday 29th January 2022  KO 3pm
AFC Wimbledon will host their latest League One game at Plough Lane for the 2021-22 season against Shrewsbury Town. With both sides in the bottom half of the table it's an important game for 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. We haven't made a great start to 2022 so far and are currently in 20th position in the League One table on 28 points after 26 games played. 

Speaking after the midweek 0-2 defeat by Ipswich Town, Mark Robinson was in reflective mood;  “I thought Ethan (Chislett) did really well, I felt Aaron (Cosgrave) worked really hard and I only took him off because he had put a shift in. “We wanted to try and carry a threat, but we didn’t want to lose width. It worked in spells and then didn’t but then in the second half the lads wanted to keep their shape and in the second half it did work. We only flipped back to the 4-2-3-1 once the first goal happened. I felt Macca and Marshy did well in there and there wasn’t any area of the pitch in which they dominated us". 

Team News - will update as and when news is available, still hoping we can find a replacement for the recently departed Ollie Palmer, even if it's a loan deal. Friday afternoon the Dons signed experienced left-back Lee Brown from Portsmouth. The 31-year-old has joined us on a permanent basis after leaving Pompey and our Head Coach Mark Robinson believes it’s a real transfer coup, completed just days before the end of the January deadline. “I’m really pleased,” said Robbo. “I think Lee is going to be an important signing for us. After we lost Ollie, the recruitment panel asked if we needed a bit of experience for the squad."

Recent League One Results (Tuesday)
AFC Wimbledon 0 - 2 Ipswich Town
Gillingham 0 - 0 Shrewsbury Town

Looking at today's game itself this Saturday afternoon in League One and our opponents today; Shrewsbury are currently managed by Steve Cotterill, a former Wimbledon FC player has plenty of management experience at the likes of Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Birmingham and has been in situ since November 2020. They are currently in 17th place in the League one table on 31 points, so are only three points above the Dons having played two more games, this is a big winning opportunity for the Dons as we need to begin climbing the table again after the disappointment a midweek defeat at home against Ipswich. 

Men to watch for the opposition; Top scorer so far this season is Daniel Udoh who has ten goals this far, he also leads their assist list with six. Makes a formidable partnership with Ryan Bowman who himself has nine goals. 

Head to Head

Our head to head form against Shrewsbury Town since our return to the league as AFC Wimbledon amounts to a fairly dismal record for us. Our of a total of fourteen games played there is only a single win for the Dons, and that 3-1 win was back in 2012 ! There have been seven wins for Shrewsbury and the remaining six matches have been draws so now is a good time to secure that second win.

Starting XI's [Confirmed]

AFC WIMBLEDON 

Win Odds - 7/5 [William Hill]

Tzanev (Gk),  Brown,  🟨Heneghan(c),  Nightingale,  Osew,  Chislett,  Marsh, ⚽🟨Assal,  McCormick,  🟨Rudoni,  Ablade

SUBS - Oualah (Gk),  Csóka,  Alexander,  Hartigan,  Awokoya-Mebude,  Cosgrave,  Kalinauskas

SHREWSBURY TOWN
Win Odds - 9/5 [William Hill]
Marosi (Gk),  Pennington,  Ebanks-Landell(c),  Nurse,  🟨Bennett,  🟨Vela,  Davis,  Fornah,  Ogbeta,  Bowman,  ⚽Udoh

SUBS - Burgoyne (Gk),  Pierre,  Cosgrove,  Pyke,  Bloxham,  Daniels,  Janneh

Selected Bets On This Match;

• Over 1.5 goals in 1st half @5/2.
• Ben Heneghan to score at any time @9/1
• Penalty to be awarded and scored @9/2.
• Bookings over 45 points @12/5.

⚽Half Time Score - 1 - 0  [Assal 13']

First Half Comments;

Kick Off 3pm today at the Cherry Red Records, Plough Lane Wimbledon stadium. It's Wimbledon that get us underway here this afternoon but early doors Daniel Udoh has the first effort though it's high and wide for the visitors but they've really started with a bang early doors and we doing well to weather that storm on a windy day in South West London. Then the breakthrough and it's the Dons who take the lead on 13 mins when Ayoub Assal connects with a head from an Ethan Chislett cross to score. Just the start we needed, it's a full house here and the away fans are also making a decent noise. Jack Rudoni picks up the first booking of the game, as we seem to have seen off the opening onslaught from the Shrews, into the second part of the first half, still 1-0 up, we could go above our opponents today with another goal (just saying). Shrewsbury come back at us towards the end of the first half, and we still holding them off, a few more chances come and go but no further breakthrough just a booking for the goal scorer Assal for what the referee believes is a 'dive' as the whistle goes for half time.

⚽Full Time Score - 1 - 1  [Udoh 58']

Match Summary;

A one all draw, feels like a chance missed there but at least we didn't lose, seemed to be quite strong at the back for the most part and impressed by the addition of Lee Brown who continued to bark instructions and dominate the back line, something we really needed, leadership ! Hopefully we can still find a solution up front soon, Assal always looks dangerous but another booking today. Onwards to another game on Tuesday night here against Cheltenham. 

My Man of the Match - Lee Brown.

Attendance - 7,824.

Today's Referee - Our match referee for this afternoon will be Mr Carl Boyeson from East Yorkshire. Mr Boyeson is one of the EFL's longest serving officials, with him now in his 20th campaign.  He first took the referee course at the age of 22, passing the exam in May 1993, starting his officiating journey by refereeing on the Hull Sunday League. He's now racked up around 600 EFL games in total, in addition to serving for six years as an assistant referee in the Premier League and EFL.

Shall have assistance from Matthew Lee and Andy Bennett on the touchlines while Dean Treleaven will be in control of the fourth official duties.

Next league one fixture;
  vs Cheltenham Town (Home)
  Tuesday 1st February @7:45pm.