Moniz: My side must fight for their lives
AN ‘ashamed’ Ricardo Moniz questioned his side’s commitment to the cause after Notts County suffered a late collapse at AFC Wimbledon.
The Magpies had taken the lead in the 16th minute when Haydn Hollis sent a looping header over James Shea.
The Dons could have fallen further behind early in the second half when Izale McLeod powered a free header over the bar from six yards.
But Ardley’s side, who made it five games unbeaten in League Two, fought back although it took until the final ten minutes for them to seal the win.
Dannie Bulman equalised with five minutes left when he nodded in George Francomb’s cross and then Adebayo Akinfenwa headed in the winner in the last minute.
It leaves the Magpies in the lower reaches of League Two, and a furious Moniz said: “I am ashamed and it is my responsibility.
“It is always the same scenario. I am responsible for the players but I don’t get the sense we are playing for our lives.
“When you see how many fans came, you feel shame.
“Even at 1-1 it’s a point. But we allowed a cross and we didn’t mark the man.
“The worst thing was we didn’t create any chances. The only one we did in the second half was for Mcleod.
“Hollis scored a good header and if we had scored second it would have flattered us.
“We didn’t create, we didn’t get down the sides and beat the full-backs. That worries me more.
“The escape is always through the second goal but defensively we are so inconsistent.
“It is unbelievable but the only person responsible for that is me. It has left a big scar and there will be changes.”
The in-form Dons now have a run of games against teams below them in the league, but boss Neal Ardley is refusing to take anything for granted.
“I am delighted with the victory and in particular the second half performance,” he said.
“We were strong and a header from Izale McLeod aside, they never really go into our half. “Other than that they didn’t really have any threat.You could see what they were trying to do which was a classic away performance.
“They wanted to put ten men behind the ball and stick it out at 1-0.
“We probably lacked the quality to break them down, but we kept going and going. There was some anxiety in the stadium but we kept driving forward.
“On another day you don’t get the win, but it was a performance of character. It’s five unbeaten in the league now but I’m not taking anything for granted.”