AFC Wimbledon 2-0 Walsall FC: Ali Al-Hamadi on the scoresheet as Dons break 11-game winless streak
AFC Wimbledon secured a 2-0 win over Walsall FC with Ali Al-Hamadi back onto the scoresheet.
https://twitter.com/AFCWimbledon/status/1640812862099673127?s=20
Two second half goals were enough seal a vital win for Johnnie Jackson’s men as they broke a winless streak of 11 games. The victory was also their first win at Cherry Red Records Stadium since end of January.
Two lowest scoring teams in League Two
AFC Wimbledon and Walsall are the two lowest scoring teams this season and this came as no surprise when the halftime score was nil-nil.
The first half was evenly contested with the Dons having two chances early in the game.
Both sides showed glimpses of scoring but lacked quality in the final product.
Ethan Chislett and Alex Woodyard linked up perfectly, but Kasey McAteer’s effort went wide in the seventh minute. Three minutes later, Owen Evans produced a fine save to tip Alex Woodyard’s header over the bar.
https://twitter.com/AFCWimbledon/status/1640799253265104905?s=20
The hosts missed yet another chance, as Woodyard picked out Armani Little on the edge of the box, but his effort blazed over the bar.
The Saddlers had their first sight of goal when Thomas Knowles picked up a loose ball outside the area and a curled effort on his weaker side went over the bar.
The visitors had another chance to take the lead, but Dons goalkeeper, Nathan Broome, was able to keep out a Conor Wilkinson headed effort.
With two minutes added on, none of the teams were able to score in the first half.
Dons win it in the second half
https://twitter.com/AFCWimbledon/status/1640816987910836229?s=20
Walsall got the game underway in the second half. But it was Wimbledon who found the breakthrough. A Will Nightingale effort saw him score his first goal in 18 months to give Dons the lead just short of the hour mark.
Ali Al-Hamadi came on as a substitute to double the lead for the hosts. The forward had earned another cap for Iraq over the weekend, playing 75 minutes in a friendly against Russia. His excellent form was a boost for the Dons as his impact was felt straight away.
“I can put a good team out of lads unavailable to me”
https://twitter.com/AFCWimbledon/status/1640844429660389381?s=20
Johnnie Jackson hailed his players for stepping up and getting a result against Walsall.
The Dons manager said that his team had been incredibly unlucky at times, but the win against Walsall was much needed and deserved.
“We will not end up where we set out at the beginning of the season so we will sit and look at why that was,” Jackson said.
The manager went on to add that the work to take Wimbledon where it should has already begun.
The result meant that Wimbledon bounced back from a 2-1 defeat to Barrow in their last outing. The Dons moved up to 16th with 46 points. The win saw the gap between the two teams reduced to three points. Their West Midlands opponents currently sit 13th.