Match report
The Dons left it late but finally eased through to the next round of the Surrey Senior Cup, despite playing the last 65 minutes with only ten men.
Dave Anderson sent out a strong squad, Jermaine Darlington dropping into right back in place of Micky Haswell, Robin Shroot returning from suspension on the wing, Antony Howard back in central defence in place of Lee Kersey and Steve Watson in the middle of the park in preference to Chris Gell.
As expected, the Dons started brightly against their lower league opposition, Roscoe Dsane looking particularly sharp up front, but Banstead kept plenty of bodies behind the ball and were not adverse to giving away the odd free-kick - indeed it was suprising they lastest until the 20th minute before the first yellow card was shown.
Yet only five minutes later Simon Sweeney lost a race to the ball with Marcus Campbell and the Dons defender brought down the opposing attacker. Sweeney was last man standing, and there was little argument about the red card shown.
Robin Shroot had a goal disallowed after Dsane had controlled the ball with his hand, then the home side hit the post before, in the 36th minute, it went from bad to worse. Steve Watson lost control of the ball in the home penalty area and could only sythe down a Banstead forward in his efforts to retrieve the ball. Campbell confidently beat Andy Little from the spot to put the Combined Counties side 1-0 up at half time.
Steve Goddard replaced Dsane at the break and breathed some life into the tie. With the bar still full, a break down the left set him free and he calmly slid the ball past the keeper, who had misjudged his angle to leave most of the goal wide open.
The Dons seemed to step up a gear around the hour mark, Scott Fitzgerald tormenting left back Russell Townsend and Robin Shroot tormenting the same left wing. From this sprang the second goal, Fitzgerald shrugging off his marker and outpacing him to the touch-line before drilling in a low cross across the face of goal where Goddard was waiting at the back post to tap in for his second of the evening.
As confidence surged through the side the Dons appeared ready to go on the rampage, and Fitzgerald was guilty of missing two decent chances at the back post, both reminiscent of his second goal at Eastleigh - coming in late at the back post on the end of a left wing cross across the face of the goal. With less than a quarter of an hour to go Banstead's double-substitution gave them a more solid five at the back.
Into the last ten minutes the home side looked to sit on their narrow lead, and Banstead took advantage of the lethargy. Campbell's cross found Chris Morrison in the box, his shot was blocked, but fell kindly to Paul Hunt to equalise.
With the small crowd looking at extra-time, the home side wrapped it up with two goals in the last minute, Antony Howard sending the Kent Wombles delerious with an Everardesque header from ten yards, then Goddard completing his hat-trick, rising elegantly to powerfully head home Lewis Cook's pin-point cross.
The second round draw pairs AFC Wimbledon away to the winners of next week's match between Guildford City and Metropolitan Police. |
25) 
20) (sub 69)