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Match Report: Josh Davison scores late winner as AFC Wimbledon beat Harrogate 3-2

Forward Josh Davison made amends for failing to find the winner from the penalty spot against Crewe Alexandra last week as his late goal gave AFC Wimbledon a thrilling 3-2 victory against Harrogate Town in League Two at Plough Lane on Saturday.

The Dons were frustrated by the visitors for the majority of the first half before centre-back Paul Kalambayi headed home from a corner in the 39th minute.

Harrogate equalised three minutes after the restart as Matty Daly scored from a skirmish inside the box.

Alex Pattison then put the visitors ahead in the 65th minute before goals from substitute Courtney Senior and Davison in the 84th and 88th minutes helped them climb to 15th in the league table.

Captain Alex Woodyard was back in Wimbledon’s 11 while Ryley Towler dropped back to the defence to replace injured Lee Brown.

Harrogate made two changes from their 3-1 defeat to Walsall as Warren Burrell and Jack Muldoon started in place of Miles Welch-Hayes and Warren Burrell.

The home supporters were celebrating just six minutes in as Ayoub Assal put the ball in the back of the net after fine work from Davison. However, their joy was cut short by the assistant referee’s flag raised for offside.

Young attacker Assal was in the thick of the action as his low drive was stopped by Harrogate goalkeeper Peter Jameson in the 16th minute before Ethan Chislett failed to connect properly on the rebound.

The home side continued to hog possession but failed to find a way through a well-organised Harrogate backline until six minutes from the break. Kalambayi rose highest to meet Chislett’s corner and planted his header past Jameson.

But Wimbledon’s lead did not last long as Harrogate returned to the pitch revitalised. Dons custodian Nik Tzanev was called into action two minutes into the second half and pushed away Jaheim Headley’s shot from the edge of the box.

With the ball played back into the penalty area, Tzanev did well to deny Luke Armstrong from close range, but there was nothing the Kiwi goalkeeper could do as Daly restored the parity on the rebound.

Wimbledon were stunned when Harrogate took a 2-1 lead as Pattison bundled in after Muldoon did well to keep a corner alive.

Jackson threw Kyle Hudin and Senior onto the pitch desperate for a goal and was rewarded when the latter levelled with six minutes left of regulation time.

Buoyed by the re-energised home support, the Dons pushed for a winner and Davison delivered as his low drive beat Harrogate shot-stopper Jameson. It was redemption for the 23-year-old who missed a 75th-minute penalty in the 1-1 draw against Crewe on Tuesday. 

There were still a couple of opportunities for Harrogate to rescue a point, but Pattison rattled the crossbar in injury time before Tzanev ensured the win for Wimbledon with a brilliant save off Armstrong’s header.

Wimbledon will next be in action against Portsmouth in the Papa Johns Trophy on Tuesday while Harrogate travel to Bradford City for their FA Cup first-round clash next week.

Author

  • Adwaidh Rajan

    Adwaidh Rajan is a journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering sports. He has written for Indian newspapers The Times of India and The New Indian Express as well as websites like ESPN and FOX Sports Asia.

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