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Saturday 28 April 2012 Npower League 2
Barnet
4
-
0
AFC Wimbledon
Ricky Holmes (33) Sam Deering (81) Ben May (86) Mark Hughes (90)
Wimbledon suffered more away day blues this afternoon as they were swept aside by a resurgent Barnet side.
The Dons, who have not won on their travels since 21 January at Gillingham, conceded three goals in the final 10 minutes as Martin Allen’s men moved closer to League 2 survival. There was little for the 1,234 travelling Dons fans to enthuse about as Wimbledon never showed the desire to match a hugely motivated Barnet.
Terry Brown made five changes from the side that started against Torquay with a first Football League start for Brendan Kiernan as the most notable. Kiernan slotted into the attacking midfield role with Luke Moore dropping to the bench, where he was joined by Seb Brown, who stepped aside for Jack Turner to make his second league appearance this season in goal. Ricky Wellard was handed the holding midfield role vacated by Sammy Moore, while Byron Harrison replaced top scorer Jack Midson and last Saturday’s goalscoring hero Rashid Yussuff earned his reward with a starting role ahead of Billy Knott.
Barnet made the better start despite kicking up the slope and Turner was called into action for the first time in the 11th minute when he reacted well to turn away a powerful Ricky Holmes drive at his near post. The Dons responded though with a promising attack of their own when Kiernan and Jolley combined well and the latter’s shot was deflected just wide. Young goalkeeper Turner then showed great vision to almost put Jolley through with a long ball forward, but the pacy striker took one touch too many and was stopped in his tracks. However, Barnet unsurprisingly had the greater drive to break the deadlock with so much at stake for them and only a great piece of last-ditch defending from Jamie Stuart stopped Scott McGleish from opening the scoring.
The visitors did threaten in fleeting bursts and the lively Jolley broke free down the right wing and delivered a cross that Harrison came close to getting on the end of. But in an end to end first-half, Wimbledon needed their defence to be at their best again and Mat Mitchel-King made a superb block to deny a goal-bound Sam Deering effort. However, the pressure told in the 33rd minute when Barnet’s top goalscorer Izale McLeod found space in the box and picked out Holmes, who found the net with a low finish that Turner could only help into the net. Wimbledon produced a spirited response to that setback with Kiernan again taking the fight to the hosts. The young attacker first put Sam Hatton through in an attack that eventually came to nothing and then he shot just over the crossbar after good link-up play between Yussuff and Harrison.
Terry Brown made a double substitution in the 57th minute with Knott replacing the injured Wellard and Midson coming on for Jolley. That almost paid off immediately when Knott clipped one of his trademark through balls that picked out Harrison, but his header sailed over the crossbar. At this stage, Wimbledon were controlling possession against a Barnet side that were starting to feel the pressure of the situation as the anxiety grew from the fans at Underhill. However, the visitors struggled to find a cutting edge in attack, though Harrison linked up well with substitute Midson to set-up a shooting chance for Hatton, but his 20-yard strike was just too high. Terry Brown then made a third substitution midway through the second-half with Luke Moore replacing Kiernan, who could be well pleased with his own performance that showed a lot of promise at times.
Barnet retreated into their defensive shells as the second-half wore on as they settled for the one goal that would be enough to ease their relegation fears. Only the creativity of Knott really threatened to find the key to the door and he delivered another clever ball that Midson just failed to control when he would have been clean through. However, it was effectively all over 10 minutes from time when Holmes broke free down the left and sent over a cross that Turner could only parry and Deering smashed home emphatically. It got worse for the Dons four minutes from time when Holmes again exposed Wimbledon down the left and crossed for Ben May to make it three. There was still more to come from the hosts though as Turner failed to hold a Mark Byrne drive in injury-time and Barnet captain Mark Hughes tapped home from close range.
37) Jordan Mustoe