AFC Wimbledon 3-2 Luton Town
Neal Ardley was full of praise for AFC Wimbledon after they grabbed an injury-time winner to secure victory over promotion chasing Luton Town.
First-half goals from Alfie Potter and Dannie Bulman put the Dons in charge, before Jayden Stockley got the Hatters back into the game on the stroke of half time.
Elliot Lee’s second-half strike levelled things up, but David Connolly’s dramatic 93rd minute winner put Ardley in a buoyant mood.
He said: “It was a classic game of two halves. In the first half we were brilliant and we could have been 4-0 up.
“We hit the woodwork twice, but it did not fall to one of our players. Then they hit the woodwork a minute before half-time and end up scoring.
“I thought we dominated the first half, but John Still has got them at it. He changed their shape a little bit and they caused us problems in the second half.
“We could not manage that and we conceded a car crash of a second goal. We had to really dig in, but it was tough because the momentum had swung their way.
“We are delighted with the team. We showed good character in the second half. People may moan about it and say that we did not do this or that in the second half, but it was hard.
“They are good at what they do and we struggled to handle it. With 20 minutes to go we made a few substitutions and that brought us back into it.”
Ardley brought on Connolly and changed to a 4-3-3 formation, and the 37-year-old striker did not disappoint as he fired home the winner with almost the last kick of the match.
And Ardley was delighted for the experienced striker, particularly after the difficult year Connolly has had.
“He reads those types of moments and I’m delighted for him,” said Ardley.
“He has had a tough year in his football career and hopefully he will really enjoy this.”
Feature image courtesy of AFC Wimbledon TV, with thanks
