“You Have To Have The Balls To Step Up” – Dons Boss Bemoans Second Half Performance in Sutton Defeat
AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson was left seething with referee Carl Brook following the Dons 1-0 home defeat to South London neighbours Sutton United.
“Their goal is a foul on Jack Currie. (The Sutton player) pushes him into to our goalkeeper. (It’s) an easy one for the ref to give” said Jackson.
Sutton United boss Matt Gray admitted himself he “wouldn’t be happy the other way round” if the decision went against his team.
Gray stated “I’ve only seen it in real time and it looked like a melee, I can see why the referee might have given a foul in there.
Jackson, who was teammates with Gray in their youth days at Tottenham, said with a rye smile, “Matt understands football you know. Week in, week out up and down the country you see them given. It’s such an easy one for the ref to give. It’s one of those circumstances where he’s got to be absolutely certain it’s not a foul.
“When your goalkeeper gets clattered like that, he’s got to be certain it wasn’t a foul. The fact everyone in the ground could see it but the man who needs to doesn’t is a bit mind boggling”.
Despite the decision, Jackson confessed his team were second best today, especially in the second half. “Second half wasn’t good enough, I’m not going to shy away from that. Things we spoke about at half time we didn’t implement.
“I don’t think the players are stepping up in the big moments at the minute, there’s no turning away from that,” he added.
“It’s one thing doing it on the training pitch Monday to Friday, you have to have the… what’s the word… the heart, the balls I guess to be able to step up and do it.
“We have to go again. We have to look at what we’re not doing well enough and we have to try and correct it on the training pitch with hard work.
“No one is going to feel sorry for us, I can’t make wholesale changes due to the fragility of the squad and with the injury list that we’ve got you are limited to how and what you can do.”
Jackson will take his side on the road next week to Rochdale as they look to bounce back following a tough derby day defeat.
