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“We got what we deserved,” says Johnnie Jackson after Wimbledon’s 1-0 defeat to relegation battlers Crawley

Manager Johnnie Jackson was once again left to rue injuries and key player departures as AFC Wimbledon’s terrible run of form in League Two continued on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 by Crawley Town at Plough Lane.

While Crawley crawled out of the relegation zone with their second consecutive victory, Wimbledon, without a win in 10 games now, dropped to 17th in the table and are 16 points off a place in the play-offs after seventh-placed Salford City’s 3-1 win over Doncaster earlier in the day.

“Even during this bad run, the mood in the group was positive. But today was a tough one. It was the first time we did not perform. We got what we deserved,” said Jackson after another damning result that saw them slide further down the table with nine matches left of the season.

“It’s a difficult period with the injuries we’ve got. It makes my life very difficult with the team selection and changes I can make during the games. But it’s the hand we have been dealt and we will now need to plan and recruit better so that we do not have such an injury crisis again next year,” he added.

Saturday’s contest began at a frenetic pace, and the visitors were 1-0 up within six minutes when winger James Tilley beat Wimbledon’s offside trap and played the ball to Ashley Nadesan to tap in his first goal in 15 league appearances.

However, to the disappointment of the 7,000 plus home supporters gathered at Plough Lane, that was the only attack of note in the first half as the hosts returned to the changing rooms without registering a single shot on target.

Scott Lindsey’s Crawley began the second half like they did the first, but Dom Telford failed to hit the target with a header from Nadesan’s cross in the 51st minute. The Dons saw more of the ball, but the quantity and quality of the chances they created left a lot to be desired.

The gaping hole left by the record sale of young attacker Ayoub Assal to Al Wakrah was there for everyone to see on a day when the former Dons attacker scored a brilliant goal in the Qatar Stars League reminding everyone at Wimbledon of what they were missing, if they needed any reminding.

Midfielder Paris Maghoma and forward Nathan Young-Coombes, who scored in this fixture earlier in the season, were also recalled from their loans compounding the Dons’ misery.

“It’s the nature of being a League Two club. When you have got good players, other teams will want to take them,” the former Charlton Athletic midfielder explained.

21-year-old Ali Al-Hamadi was brought in during the January window and has scored six goals for the club. But the Iraq international had a rare off day and squandered two of the Dons’ best chances after the interval. In the 69th minute, he failed to connect with a cross in front of goal and four minutes later, his header from a Sam Pearson cross looped over the crossbar.

It was Crawley who came close to scoring again though. Rafiq Khaleel had an effort that sailed just wide of the goal in second-half injury time, leaving the 300 plus away fans singing as their side climbed out of the drop zone while there was more frustration coming the way of the Dons faithful.

Up next for them is a tough trip up north to Cumbria to face Barrow who are in the thick of the battle for a play-off spot. Jackson said he and his players will be working hard during the week to get a result in their next outing.

“Like we do every game, we will do our due diligence on the opposition, work hard on the training pitch, look at how we can hurt them and how to combat them. We need to pick a team that can go there and get a positive result,” Jackson said, sounding like a man with more hope than conviction.

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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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