Ali Al-Hamadi opening the scoring against his old club but Omar Bugiel levelled to leave the scoreline 1-1 between Town and AFC Wimbledon at half-time at Plough Lane in round two of the Carabao Cup.
Six new signings were handed their Blues debuts, Dara O’Shea, Conor Townsend, Kalvin Phillips, Jens Cajuste, Chiedozie Ogbene and Jack Clarke, while Ben Johnson was the only player remaining from the side which started at Manchester City on Saturday.
Wimbledon made six changes from the team which won 1-0 away at Cheltenham on Saturday. Former Blues striker Joe Pigott was on the bench.
Town almost went ahead in the third minute. Chaplin fed in Ogbene on the right, the Irish international cut across but it wouldn’t fall for Al-Hamadi, one of six full internationals in the Blues XI. However, Chaplin seized on it but his effort deflected wide.
But the travelling Town support didn’t have to wait too much longer for a goal. Townsend sent over the corner from the right and Al-Hamadi lost his man and powered in a header.
The Iraqi international made it very obvious he wasn’t celebrating the goal and, unusually given they had just conceded, was warmly applauded by his old supporters.
Having gone in front, the Blues dominated and on 14 Ogbene cut the ball back to Cajuste on the edge of the box but the Swedish international’s shot was blocked.
On 19, Town claimed a penalty when Phillips was felled by Bugiel as he was taking the ball into the box but referee James Linington waved the protests away, while Wimbledon claimed a free-kick for handball by the on-loan Manchester City man as he fell, similarly without success.
Five minutes later, Bugiel felt he should have been awarded a penalty at the other end having been challenged by Phillips, however, it appeared the ball had been won cleanly.
Other than that incident, it had been all Town with the Blues dominating and passing the ball around confidently, despite having so many new faces in the line-up. On 26 Johnson shot well over from distance.
A minute later, Bugiel had the ball in the net for the Dons but with the linesman’s flag having been raised as the cross from the right had been whipped in, incorrectly replays suggested.
Town continued to see all the ball and look very comfortable and on 35 the lively Clarke cut in from the left and struck a low shot which Wombles keeper Owen Goodman saved low at his near post.
Having been harshly denied his earlier goal, Bugiel eventually levelled in the 41st minute. Dons’ captain Jake Reeves’s free-kick, awarded for a Townsend foul on Huseyin Biler, was sent over from the right and the Lebanese international found space between Town defenders to nod past Walton.
That was the last action of a half in which the Blues had been very comfortable for the most part having gone in front so early, perhaps too much so with the Dons more involved towards the break.
Town hadn’t really threatened again, aside from Clarke’s shot at Goodman’s near post, before Bugiel’s disallowed goal, the linesman too hastily flagging a player who played no part in the creating or scoring the goal, which should have served as a warning.
But the Blues were subsequently unable to deal with Bugiel, who seemed to get away from Burgess with the Australian international appearing to claim he’d been fouled, as Reeves’s pacy free-kick was whipped in.
However, for the most part, it was a positive first-half display from the somewhat scratch Town XI - albeit without creating enough - with Clarke direct on the left, Ogbene showing his pace down the right and Cajuste and Phillips looking assured in the middle.
Town: Walton, Johnson, O’Shea, Burgess, Townsend, Phillips, Cajuste, Ogbene, Chaplin (c), J Clarke, Al-Hamadi. Subs: Slicker, Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Davis, Taylor, Harness, Hutchinson, Delap.
AFC Wimbledon: Goodman; Johnson, Lewis, Ogundere, Tilley, Ball, Reeves (c), Maycock, Biler, Bugiel, Stevens. Subs: Ward, Furling, O’Toole, Kelly, Neufville, Smith, Hippolyte, Williams, Pigott. Referee: James Linington (Newport, Isle of Wight). Att: 7,934 (Town: 1,834).