AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson praised his side for not pushing the panic button after they missed a penalty and conceded an equaliser to 10-man Walsall before wrapping up a 3-1 win at Bescot Stadium.
The visitors led early through Connor Lemonheigh-Evans’ 20-yard strike and played most of the game a man up after Taylor Allen’s red card for a studs-up tackle on Omar Bugiel.
But Armani Little’s spot-kick, after a Ryan Stirk handball, was saved by Walsall keeper Owen Evans and the Saddlers levelled through Freddie Draper’s fine finish on the turn.
Wimbledon kept calm, though, and Ali Al-Hamadi set up Jack Currie to fire them back ahead before sealing a third away in four league trips himself with a crisp 18-yard finish.
“We controlled the game for the majority of it and got what we deserved,” said Jackson.
“After the equaliser, I was thinking ‘how are drawing a game we’ve been in total control of?’ And you think ‘right, we’ll see what the boys are about now because we’ve been pegged back’.
“But we carried on playing well and doing the things that had got us success.
“I wanted to see what the boys were about and it was important we didn’t panic and start changing what we had been doing so well up to that point.”
Wimbledon were victorious despite the absence of injured top scorer James Tilley, who had netted seven of their 12 league goals – a point which pleased Jackson.
“James has been on fire for us but it helps when you’ve got replacements like Connor, when you’ve got these players who are raring to go,” the manager added.
“I didn’t doubt that we couldn’t score goals without Tilley. I felt like we should have scored a host more than we already have up to this point.”
Walsall hit the bar through Isaac Hutchinson moments before Allen’s dismissal, a stroke of bad luck boss Mat Sadler was left to rue.
“Fortune wasn’t on our side today but the frustrating thing for me was the way we started the game,” he said.
“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb and that’s twice within the last two weeks we’ve gone one down within six minutes.
“That for me is the frustrating thing. There’s elements from how we started the game that we need to learn from.
“I suppose the ‘sliding doors’ thing happens where you hit the bar and four seconds later you lose a man, that then ultimately takes it away from us. Those little fine margins.
“The red card felt harsh at the time. I didn’t see it coming and it didn’t seem like any of their players felt like it was a decision he was going to make, and that quite clearly alters our ability to really get ourselves into the game.”
We never lost trust – Sarina Wiegman confident England would fight back for win
England boss Sarina Wiegman maintained full faith in her side to stage the stunning second-half comeback that lifted the Lionesses to a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in their penultimate Women’s Nations League group-stage clash at Wembley.
Needing a victory to remain in contention to finish top in group A1 and advance in the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for next summer’s Olympics in Paris, England quickly dug themselves a hole after Lineth Beerensteyn netted twice before the break.
But the Lionesses battled back after the restart on a frigid night in London, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp stoking the crowd back into a frenzy by the hour mark before substitute Ella Toone sealed a dramatic victory in stoppage time.
Wiegman said: “I was actually pretty calm. I was very disappointed they scored the second goal because I didn’t think we played bad. The second goal we were a little bit unlucky, it was an unnecessary goal. We didn’t play bad but we needed some more. We truly believed we could turn it around. We never lost trust.
“At half-time we said the game was absolutely not over and that if we score a goal they can become a bit shaky.
“They were struggling with the defence with how we played in attack. We also did a tactical thing we needed to do better in defence. We said everyone needed to step up and bring something extra. You could tell the players gave everything because they were really tired.”
It leaves England in second place in the group, level on points with the Netherlands and one in front of Belgium, ahead of concluding their group matches by playing Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday. Belgium drew 1-1 with Scotland in Friday’s other Group A1 contest.
England and the Dutch are level in terms of head-to-head record, with the latter – who face Belgium at home next week – having a goal difference superior by three, while England will finish their group stage away at relegated Scotland on Tuesday.
Despite the victory, England’s keeper Mary Earps was left in tears as she spoke post-match about the two goals the Lionesses conceded, the second of which saw her get her glove to the ball only to see it slip past her and trickle in – something that left the Manchester United stopper beating the turf in frustration.
Knowing England needed to win by two goals to take over at the top of the group, Earps told ITV: “I thought the girls were unbelievable to come back into the game. I thought they were unbelievable, the subs that come on impacted the game.
“I am just sorry that my performance has cost the team tonight.
“That [second goal] will haunt me for a long time today, I am really gutted because it could have been a really special night.
“The team were unbelievable, don’t get me wrong, the goals are unbelievable, the way that they played and moved it around showed great patience at times, real tenacity, real intensity to the play.
“I am a competitor but when it is not good enough, it is not good enough and I can only apologise to my team-mates and to the fans, I take that fully with my whole chest.”
The apology was utterly unnecessary for Wiegman, who said: “I spoke to her very shortly and I don’t want her to talk like that.
“We win as a team and lose as a team. That is part of the game. Of course she didn’t like the team down, everyone does her best. You only let the team down when you don’t put effort into the game and we never don’t put effort in.
“Everyone stepped up. We needed to step up as a team. I think everyone did that.”
Shaun Maloney determined to repay Wigan chairman Mike Danson with FA Cup run
Wigan manager Shaun Maloney admitted he was determined to reach the third round of the FA Cup for chairman Mike Danson following a 1-0 win at York.
Maloney, who was a member of the Latics’ 2013 FA Cup final-winning team, is desperate to repay Danson with a money-spinning run in this season’s competition after he saved the club from financial ruin when he took over in the summer.
The Latics had to start their League One campaign with an eight-point deduction due to the off-pitch issues Danson inherited, meaning a good cup run would prove a perfect fillip given the handicap they were given in the league.
After Stephen Humphrys’ goal sealed victory at the National League outfit, Maloney said: “I am very happy to be in the third-round draw.
“The chairman literally saved the club so I want to repay him for that and I know, with what happened in the summer, how important the finance you can get from this competition can be.
“We wanted to be at our best in this tie which I showed with my team selection,” added the former Scotland forward, who picked an unchanged starting XI following Tuesday’s 3-0 home win against Fleetwood, “and I was reasonably happy with the performance, although the last three or four minutes were a bit nervy.
“It was a brilliant finish by Stephen, though, to win the game and he’s got so much talent in one-on-one situations with his speed.
“I’m always confident that our attacking players will take a chance at some point in a game. The only criticism I would have in this game is that we could have been more clinical but, to be fair to York, they had a couple of good chances as well.”
York boss Neal Ardley was left to reflect on what might have been after a mistake by defender Tyler Cordner led to Humphrys’ goal and captain Lenell John-Lewis missed two great chances to force a replay late on.
“I thought our game-plan went really well,” Ardley said. “We wanted to still be in the tie after 70 minutes and then look to bring the two wingers off the bench.
“But the outcome has been settled by one mistimed header. It just came down to that one moment and, then, Lenny (John-Lewis) had two great chances that haven’t gone in and, if we were going to get through tonight, we had to be mistake free and take our chances when they came.
“But the effort of the players and their execution of the game-plan was really good because a team who are causing problems for a lot of teams in League One struggled to break us down.
“We nearly nicked an equaliser after throwing caution to the wind and people will say why didn’t you start like that? But it doesn’t work like that.”
Marti Cifuentes hails impact of Ilias Chair from bench in QPR win at Preston
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes was thrilled with how Ilias Chair channelled his frustration at not starting by creating both goals in the 2-0 win over Preston at Deepdale.
Struggling Rangers have now won two in a row for the first time all season, under recently-appointed boss Cifuentes, who feels his side are starting to find their feet.
And it was the half-time introduction of Moroccan international Chair that made the difference at Deepdale, as the midfielder set up Paul Smyth and Chris Willock in the second half.
The manager said: “I spoke to Ilias at half-time and told him we desperately needed fresh legs out there.
“He wasn’t happy that he hadn’t started the game of course, but that’s what I want.
“I want players here who are disappointed to be on the bench.
“He’s got lots of really strong attributes and he was terrific. I felt confident at half-time that he could contribute.
“The identity of the team is really coming on.
“It’s great to be winning, and though it is small steps at this stage of the season, I can see real progress since I came to the job.
“I’m not looking at the league table at the moment.
“It’s far too early for that.
“Maybe in April we’ll look and see where we are, but for now, it’s just about trying to pick up as many points as possible.
“The team is performing well right now, and we don’t necessarily have to be dominant all the time.
“I’m pleased that I can see a clear picture now of how we want to play.
“I’ll be using all the players, and that can be the difference as we move further into the season.”
Preston missed the chance to move back into the top six as they slumped to a third straight loss, despite Ched Evans having the best chance of the opening stages, tamely shooting straight at Asmir Begovic from Mads Frokjaer’s cross.
Duane Holmes also looked lively for Preston, but one of his dangerous crosses was just beyond Will Keane as neither side could find a way through on a bitterly cold evening.
The introduction of Chair proved the difference, his dangerous in-swinging cross poked home from close range by Smyth.
Freddie Woodman then denied the Moroccan a goal of his own, but he ensured they would come away with all three points, crossing for the unmarked Willock to seal the deal three minutes from time, leaving Preston boss Ryan Lowe with plenty to ponder.
He said: “It’s a tough one to take.
“Both teams were a little bit flat I thought, especially in that first half, but we needed to raise our game maybe 10 or 15 per cent, and we just didn’t do that over the course of the rest of the game.
“They raised their game in the second half, and this is what happens.
“Overall we’re all very disappointed, but I’m scratching my head a bit right now.”
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