Will Nightingale, Jack Rudoni and Ryan Longman were on target as AFC Wimbledon beat 10-man Town 3-0 at Plough Lane to record their first ever victory over the Blues. Nightingale headed in the opener on 21, Rudoni nodded home the second four minutes later, then in the 28th minute Josh Harrop was shown a straight red card for a late challenge. Sub Longman added the third in the 86th minute to complete a thoroughly miserable evening for Town.

Town made three changes from Saturday’s 0-0 draw with the MK Dons with Harrop, James Norwood and Alan Judge starting and Teddy Bishop and Andre Dozzell dropping to the bench and Armando Dobra from the 18.

The Blues may again start with a four-man backline with Harrop in central midfield ahead of Flynn Downes and Judge on the left and Gwion Edwards on the right. Norwood and Aaron Drinan were up front.

Myles Kenlock, Kane Vincent-Young, Cole Skuse, Tristan Nydam and Troy Parrott were not involved having played for the U23s this afternoon at Playford Road against Barnsley.

Former Blues youngster Shane McLoughlin was on the bench for the home side.

With a small group of Town fans watching from the roof of the new flats under construction behind one of the goals, the game was preceded by a two-minute silence for HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the players - again with the exception of Toto Nsiala - taking a knee in support of Black Lives Matter.

In the seventh minute, Ollie Palmer wasn’t far away from getting on the end of a long Nesta Guinness-Walker throw from the left which Tomas Holy gratefully grabbed hold of after Rudoni had seen a shot blocked.

Then at the other end Edwards crossed from the right and Drinan headed against a defender right in front of him.

In the 14th minute Downes broke forward and fed Drinan to his left and the Irishman hit a low shot which Dons keeper Nick Tzanev claimed down to his right.

On 20 Joe Pigott struck a shot from distance which Holy did well to push past the post but form the resultant corner, the home side took the lead. Luke O’Neil sent the ball over from the left and an untracked Nightingale powered a header past Holy. Town boss Paul Cook will have been less than impressed with his side’s defending.

Two minutes later, Tzanev made a mess of a clearance out wide on the left but Edwards’s effort at the empty goal was deflected wide by a sliding defender.

Palmer shot wide on 24 with Rudoni not far away from adding a final touch at the far post but the Dons didn’t have to wait too much longer for their second goal.
"A minute later, O’Neill crossed from the right and Rudoni nodded past Holy from the edge of the six-yard box.

Town’s dreadful start got even worse in the 28th minute when Harrop was shown a straight red card. The midfielder went in late Guinness-Walker, who flew into the air screaming. After taking his time and allowing the defender to be treated, referee Antony Coggins gave Harrop his marching orders, perhaps harshly and more down to the reaction than the tackle itself.

The Blues, who had gone 287 minutes without scoring a goal with 11 men, had given themselves a mountain to climb. They continued with two men up front and a narrow three-man midfield.

In the 34th minute Ayoub Assal burst past Woolfenden on the Wimbledon left before hitting a shot which skipper Luke Chambers blocked.

Four minutes later, Town created a chance to pull a goal back. Edwards picked up another poor Tzanev clearance, this time more centrally. The Welshman took the ball wide before crossing low but just in front of Norwood.

Wimbledon were close to making it 3-0 in the 41st minute when Assal hit a shot on the turn straight at Holy.

That was the last chance of what had been a nightmare half for the Blues in a game manager Cook said would define the season.

Even before the goals, Town had struggled with Wimbledon’s two big men up front, Palmer and Pigott, even before the goals with O’Neil’s crosses also having provided a threat every time they had been allowed to come in.

Both goals will frustrate Cook with the Blues’ defending having been the one positive about the team in his opening matches. As has become familiar, Town presented little threat at the other end even with their full complement.

Even with 11 men Town would appear big outsiders to turn the game around, with 10 it looks an impossibility.

Soon after the restart, Edwards got round the back of his full-back on the right and sent over a low cross which Tzanev claimed at a stretch.

Wimbledon had two goes at making it 3-0 in the 50th minute. Assal was played in in space on the right of the box but Holy blocked his effort. The loose ball eventually looped up to him but Nsiala headed his goal-bound effort off the line. In the 59th minute Judge was booked for a foul on Assal.

Edwards had caused Wimbledon a few problems with his pace down the right throughout the half and just before the hour, his low ball into the box was played back to Downes by Drinan but the midfielder was tackled by Nightingale as he took it into the box.

The Blues made a triple change in the 63rd minute with Dozzell, Freddie Sears and Keanan Bennetts taking over from Judge, Drinan and Edwards. For Wimbledon, Jaakko Oksanen came on for Assal and ex-Blue McLoughlin for Rudoni.

In the 69th minute Town swapped Stephen Ward, who had picked up a knock a few moments earlier, for Bishop, who went to the wide right role in what was now a 3-4-2 system with Bennetts on the left. Wimbledon withdrew Palmer for Ryan Longman.

Three minutes later, Pigott curled a shot just wide after the Blues had run into trouble in the centre circle.

On 74 Nightingale almost scored his second of the game, his powerful header from a corner cannoning against one of his own players when it looked on its way into the net.

Town should have pulled a goal back in the 78th minute when Woolfenden crossed deep for Norwood but the striker headed over, his finish in contrast to the Dons’ two goals in the first half. Two minutes later, Norwood was replaced by Kayden Jackson.

In the 86th minute Wimbledon made it 3-0. McLoughlin played it to Longman on the edge of the area and the sub struck a low shot past Holy to complete the Blues’ miserable first visit to the Dons’ new home.

A Town comeback was always hugely unlikely and despite one or two promising moments going forward, largely from Edwards, the Don’s victory never looked in any doubt. The Blues’ best chance was Norwood’s late header over.

The home side had a couple of chances to make it 3-0 prior to their late goal but overall the Dons had been happy enough with their 2-0 lead and saw no reason to overextend themselves with the damage done in the first half.

The Blues have now failed to score in seven of their last 14 and in any of their last three matches.

Manager Cook said beforehand that the match would define Town’s season and a disappointing 3-0 away defeat to opposition struggling in the lower reaches of the division is an accurate description of the Blues’ season. Indeed, it sums up their two campaigns in League One.

Town, who are at Charlton on Saturday, drop to ninth, now five points off the top six still showing no signs of getting anywhere near the form which will see them into the play-offs with only six games left to play.

AFC Wimbledon: Tzanev, O'Neill, Woodyard (c), Nightingale, Palmer (Longman 70), Rudoni (McLoughlin 63), Assal (Oksanen 63), Guinness-Walker, Dobson, Kalambayi, Pigott. Unused: Cox, Csoka, Alexander, Osew.

Town: Holy, Woolfenden, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Edwards (Bennetts 63), Downes, Judge (Dozzell 63), Ward (Bishop 70), Harrop, Norwood (Jackson 80), Drinan (Sears 63). Unused: Cornell, McGuinness, Jackson. Referee: Antony Coggins (Bicester).

Photo: Reuters

itsonlyme added 21:57 - Apr 13 Saxonblue then it really is a sad state of affairs if this lot can't raise their game because of the feel good factor eminating from the fans
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Umros added 21:57 - Apr 13 TractorRob. There are a few on par. Ipswich 0 Fleetwood 1. (My worst ever - home to Fleetwood, who? Fleetwood 2 Ipswich 0 Ipswich 1 Arsenal under 21's 2 Accrington 1 Ipswich 0 Rochdale 0 Ipswich 0 - 0 shots on goal......against Rochdale..... Plus many Many more ...... Lincoln (non league) 1 Ipswich 0
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dirtydingusmagee added 22:00 - Apr 13 i know PC seems to have a problem with his voice , but tonight in the post match interview it sounded like he was in tears , breaking down ! and he certainly was very unhappy [NOT SURPRISED] i just wish he would stand up to the players , drop them play the youngsters who would surely grab their chance , and force the wasters to watch .Regardless as to the result, Tonight should have been a'' save my place at the club'' performance, it was the worst ever in over 60 yrs of me supporting Town .No holds barred now PC .

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fifeblue added 22:00 - Apr 13 Yep. The Wimbledon match defined our season alright!
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Lathers added 22:01 - Apr 13 Blue86 - I was a big fan of bringing in Cook, but after 10 games in charge he appears totally and utterly clueless about how to get a result out of a team which let's not forget were 6th when he arrived...despite not being very good! He claims he's Mr. football and his wife gets p5ssed off with the amount of football he watches, yet he doesn't seem to have done his homework on the team and on many occasions has made the same team selection mistakes that Shambo made, which we all know don't work because we've watched all games!!! It's like starting again watching all the same mistakes being made, but actually worse with some baffling team selections thrown in! Who's advising him internally? And how much due diligence did Cook actually do on the squad before taking over? I'd say very little! We've in been relegation form since he arrived and I'm afraid we can't keep blaming the players for this slump.

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shakytown added 22:12 - Apr 13 I wonder if th new owners are talking to Pearson yet???? I hope so.
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Kickingblock added 22:12 - Apr 13 If you just accept that the team is rubbish, you won't get so worked up.🚮🗑️
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Help added 22:17 - Apr 13 Did not a previous manager not shake hands with a subbed player and got lambasted for it. So with PC not fist pumping his own players at the end of the game show contempt, which they may deserve as they have shown contempt themselves for the club. But will any of the players react to this?, I doubt it very much. Surely if PC will not throw player sunder the bus, he just throws the whole team under the bus. But will most of those 11 be playing on Saturday, sure they will. So what does ignoring the players prove. Nothing. It is like telling your child off and threatening them with punishment and not following through. The child thinks I do not get that punishment I will do wrong again. You wonder why the child does it again if the punishment is not followed through

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UhlenbeekDownTheWing added 22:21 - Apr 13 Can't say I get any joy from the idea of PC rebuilding this squad. He has shown no ability to identify his best team whilst working with players day-to-day in training, so I have no faith he will identify the right players from afar. His team selection is all over the place, his substitutions are confused, we have a new formation every five minutes - can't say I blame solely the players for our drop in form (both performance and results) since the change of manager. If our last 5 manager hires (Lambert, Hurst, McCarthy, Jewell, Keane) are anything to go by we have continually given managers too much time to ‘get it right'. I expect we will do that here too, but I would sack PC now and put a caretaker in charge whilst a proper search is undertaken (hopefully concluding in hiring someone who isn't Evans's mate).

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Lathers added 22:34 - Apr 13 Uhlenbeekdownthewing - summed it up perfectly mate 👏🏻 Cook can only blame himself if he gets fired. If only we had Gus on the right wing and Bobby Petta on the left. They were dream days by comparison.
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Saxonblue74 added 22:38 - Apr 13 Itsonlyme, they have raised their game! This is as good as they get! Through changes of manager and now a change of ownership, the one common denominator is our playing staff. They simply are not very good! I was one of the fans calling for Lambert to be sacked. I based that upon his lack of recent success in management and what I believe was a very poor state of both mental and physical health toward the end of his term. I most certainly won't be calling for Cooks head at this stage, its absurd after 10 games and no opportunity to bring in his own choice of players.

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Gforce added 23:08 - Apr 13 Most of these so called professional footballers are actually earning more than our prime minister, make of that what you will.
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budgieplucker added 23:10 - Apr 13 @shakytown, Interesting comment........ I guess you are putting 2 and 2 together, like Pearson has only a very short term contract to the end of the season. Like comments from Bristol City that Cook whilst available when they were on the hunt for a new manager and would have met the wishes if appointed from many of the Bristol supporters that comments apparently came out of the club that he didn't fit the culture of the club hence overlooked. Like Ashton has a good relationship with Pearson. Like Bristol have already said there will be very little budget available in the summer for reinforcing. Personally I want to see PC given a fair crack at the whip over the next 12 months, but whilst in danger of being accused of being negative which I am not but I just can't help thinking there might be another twist here regarding our manager for next season.

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blueboy1981 added 23:47 - Apr 13 Drop every single one of the cretins that played tonight - and play the youngsters for the rest of the season. Shame them by doing so - what is there to lose ?? - NOTHING. Hang your heads in shame you money grabbing totally incompetent failures to a man. I hope your conscience won't let you sleep tonight - you have let every single ITFC Fan down tonight. But truth is you couldn't care less. CLEAR THEM OUT - NOW !! - don't wait a minute longer.

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aas1010 added 23:54 - Apr 13 Why are people blaming pc for this ? He came in he's trying to get players playing but can because their all rubbish . He's inherited utter rubbish players from bad management , he like us wants to clear this club deadwood out . Just give him time to do his job let him clear the lot out bring his people in , if that fails then slag him off , . Also we need supporters back in the stadiums !!

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Lathers added 00:27 - Apr 14 aas1010 - it's morons like you who keep underachieving managers like Lambert and Cook in jobs. Maybe pay yer tenner and watch the shiite before spouting.
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shakytown added 01:57 - Apr 14 Budgieplucker. Precisely what i was thinking. clubs need partnerships on and off the field and i believe Ashton will want Pearson and i believe also that we need to get away from the nice comfortable Ipswich and get a manager who will kick some butts and ruthlessly get rid of the deadwood.
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therein61 added 06:45 - Apr 14 Chuck em all out and play the kids.
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BettyBlue added 07:18 - Apr 14 Useless, pathetic, inept, clueless. Just leave, Paul Cook
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BettyBlue added 07:19 - Apr 14 If we win all our games 2-0, and the other teams.........
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algarvefan added 07:28 - Apr 14 I wish people would understand that it doesn't matter who the manager is after 14 years of total neglect, the players we have are just not good enough with a very few exceptions. A total lack of investment has led this group of players to believe they are untouchable, can't be replaced. The problem has been our ability to create chances and score for several years now, the squad needs replacing and as to whether Cookie is the right man for the job, only time will tell.

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aas1010 added 07:37 - Apr 14 Lathers . If you read my link properly it's the players . I wanted lambert , hurst out . Cook has come in at a awkward time . No transfer window so at this moment we have to play with what we got .
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 07:43 - Apr 14 I am at a loss for words!
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BettyBlue added 08:02 - Apr 14 Why let Cook off criticism? Most of the teams in League One have rubbish teams. We have the largest squad and one of the biggest budgets. Can't he get some of them to shut up shop and get a point at Wimbledon???
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xantherick added 08:02 - Apr 14 What you have to remember is that these players know they will not be there next season. They are not good enough and will all be shipped out and new blood bought in. These investors are not stupid, they can see whats happening and if it is not working they will make big changes because they have big money. The only thing that worries me is the cap we have on spending money on players, so its got to be done right.

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