Wimbledon 1 v Kidderminster 2
Wimbledon slumped to a 2-1 home defeat against in-form Kidderminster on Saturday (13 March) and promptly got warned by manager Terry Brown not to blow their play-off chances.
The Dons were second best throughout this game and now have back-to-back defeats for the first time this season following last week’s defeat at Grimsby. The Dons have taken only four points out of the last 15 available.
Afterwards watching Kidderminster chalk up the double over his men, Brown told the Surrey Comet: "Just because we have been top of the league for three or four months, it doesn't automatically mean we are in the play-offs. We have got to play better than we have done in recent matches."
In this game, the Dons were on the back foot from the off and were grateful for the ever-dependable Seb Brown. The Dons goalkeeper had already seen one effort whistle past his post before acrobatically turning over Sean Canham's looping effort from just underneath the bar.
Brown was soon in action again when Nick Wright wrong footed Rashid Yussuff, with the Dons' goalkeeper turning his shot onto the post and out for a corner.
Danny Kedwell had a free-kick that deflected off the wall and forced a routine save from Danny Lewis and then Kirk Hudson fired in an effort that Lewis palmed away, but the Dons were struggling to get a grip on the game.
Kidderminster hit the post for a second time when Wright skipped past a challenge but couldn’t convert before Brown was again called upon to save low down at his near post.
The visitors finally got the goal they deserved just before half-time, Wright flicking on a long ball that Canham latched onto before blasting home.
In the second half, Hudson came close to an equaliser when he dribbled infield from wide but his shot from the edge of the area flew over Lewis’s bar. Soon afterwards Rashid Yussuff produced a tame header when well positioned that failed to test the visiting keeper.
The Dons' hopes were then further dented when they lost Sammy Moore through injury. The former Dover man – who had been playing at right-back due to injuries – dislocated his knee and will be out for the remainder of the season.
Minutes after his departure, Kidderminster were two ahead. James Mulley, who moved to right-back following Moore’s departure, played a loose ball to Brett Johnson and when the centre-back failed to control it Jamille Matt pounced, slotting home past the advancing Seb Brown.
The Dons did pull one back with eight minutes remaining when Lee Minshull headed home Gareth Gwillim’s looping free-kick.
Kedwell dragged wide an opportunity for an unlikely equaliser but ultimately it was a win that Kidderminster deserved.
The Dons face another tough test when they travel to title-favourites Crawley Town on Friday (18 March) in a game that is being shown live on Premier Sports TV.
Attendance: 3,517
Wimbledon: Brown, S. Moore (Minshull 69), Gwillim, Gregory, Johnson, Stuart, Mulley, Yussuff, Kedwell, L. Moore (Jackson 58), Hudson (Broughton 76). Subs not used: Harris, Turner.
Goalscorer: Minshull 82.
Booked: Mulley 87.
Kidderminster: Lewis, Vaughan, Williams, Briscoe, McPhee, Briggs, Wright (Hankin 90), Shaw, Gittings, Blair, Canham (Matt 64). Subs not used: Stevens, Morris, Lowe.
Goalscorers: Canham 42, Matt 74.
Booked: Canham 63, Matt 74, Gittings 90.
Referee: John Hopkins (Essex).
Rob Crane
March 13, 2011
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