As the championship race hots up, every fixture is important, so this away victory against a spirited Holcombe side was very welcome.
Wimbledon were again without their current GB players, plus Ed Horler who was ruled out with an injured foot.
From the start Holcombe were quick and aggressive and had the better of play for the first 20 minutes before Wimbledon began to get a grip.
The breakthrough came on 29 minutes from Simon Mantell, who tapped a short corner forward and hammered in his shot from the edge of the D.
Wimbledon defended well throughout and James Bailey in goal didn’t really have a save to make. Holcombe did have two short corners but they were well taken care of by defenders.
At the other end the Holcombe keeper was busy and made one great save from Phillip Ball, saved from short corners and other shots went close.
This could be described as a scrappy game with a surprising number of unforced errors. Wimbledon deserved to win but Holcombe made them work hard.
The victory means that Wimbledon are consolidating their position in the top four of the premiership.
In other results, Reading continued on their winning streak whilst Surbiton, without their internationals, appear to be struggling and have lost their last three games.
The last one was remarkable. Leading Hampstead and Westminster 4-2 at the end of the game, Hampstead scored 3 goals in the last three minutes of play to win 5-4. Hockey is exciting.
The weekend sees a challenging double header for Wimbledon.
At 1.30 on Saturday it is relegation battlers Sevenoaks away followed by the Sunday home game against Brooklands.
