SPARKLING SHEA GETS ARDLEY’S APPLAUSE
Addicks undone late on
AFC WIMBLEDON boss Neal Ardley heaped praise on goalkeeper James Shea as the Dons claimed all three points against London rivals Charlton at The Valley.
Late strikes by Dominic Poleon and substitute Tyrone Barnett cancelled out Ademola Lookman’s eighth-minute goal as Ardley’s side came from behind to earn an unlikely victory.
Bu the Dons boss admitted that, despite coming away with the win, he was left disappointed with certain aspects of how they approached the first period.
“I think we would have been positive even if we hadn’t have won the game,” Ardley said. “I thought we had to hang on in there at times in the first half.
“They were very fluid, but we had to stick together after conceding so early. I wasn’t happy with the defending. It was too easy at times but we tightened up in the second half.”
Wimbledon were indebted to goalkeeper Shea, whose string of fine saves kept the Dons within touching distance after withstanding mounting pressure.
And Shea’s heroics left Ardley under no illusions as to the importance his goalkeeper had in securing the victory.
“Last season I didn’t really feel at any point that our goalkeepers had kept us in the game, here that was the case,” Ardley added.
“If you go 2-0 down you really start chasing shadows, they get their tails up and I think at 1-0 he made two or three top saves.
“They were saves that allowed us to get back into the game.”
Building belief and confidence will be key contributing factors if the Dons are to preserve their third tier status.
Ardley revealed that he decided against naming his team until the morning of the game, a decision which paid dividends as the Dons claimed their first away victory of the season.
“Since I said a few home truths to everybody during the week, we raised our levels. I didn’t actually name the team until this morning,” Ardley continued.
“Dominic Poleon stayed in the team and I demanded he did a job and he did that. The goal was bril-
liant but I’m just as happy with the work he did.”
Charlton boss Russell Slade bemoaned his side’s lack of quality in front of goal as first-half misses proved costly for the Addicks.
The defeat ends a run of six games unbeaten and Slade was quick to acknowledge that Charlton must improve if they are to achieve their aims for the season.
“It’s a cruel game sometimes. I’ve looked at the opportunities we had and we’ve only taken one of the 12 that I’ve just viewed,” Slade said.
“Wimbledon have only had the two and they’ve scored from them. Fair play to them they stayed in the game and because of that, whilst it was 1-0, it was always an opportunity for them to get back into the game.
“I feel we’ve let ourselves down and it’s a concern that we’ve conceded four goals in the last two games.”
The Addicks were in control for large parts but were undone twice in the final 15 minutes.
Charlton had taken the lead when Lookman cut in from the left and fired in from 20 yards, but Poleon hit an equaliser in the 78th minute when he beat two players in the box and slotted the ball home. It got worse for Charlton just seven minutes later as Barry Fuller’s cross was emphatically headed in by Barnett.
But with another game against Scunthorpe on Tuesday, Slade is demanding a response and wants his side to be more clinical.
“We managed and controlled large parts of the game but my team have to learn to be ruthless and efficient,” he added.
“We have another game on Tuesday and we need a positive reaction.
“We’re all very hurt and so we should be.”