‘BRAVE’ REF GIVES DONS A LIFELINE
BRAVE was how Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley described ref Mark Heywood’s decision to award the stoppage-time penalty that won this crunch relegation clash. Walsall boss Dean Keates had less kind words.
The Dons came from 2-0 behind at halftime to triumph after Kory Roberts was penalised for climbing on Wimbledon top scorer Lyle Taylor deep in stoppage time.
It was a decision that pushed Wimbledon closer to safety and Walsall nearer danger – and Ardley insisted Heywood deserved credit for having the ‘bottle’ to give it.
Ardley said: “I thought the ref was brave. Anywhere else, you give a free-kick but when they are in the penalty box, they don’t give them.
“It’s a penalty but most refs would bottle it and say: ‘it’s too big a decision in the 95th minute. I will get too much stick for it’. He didn’t. And he deserves a lot of credit.
“It was a wonderful comeback. I told the lads not to take one backward step for the whole of the second half and they did it.”
Saddlers boss Dean Keates, meanwhile, was caught between lambasting Heywood for the decision and slamming his team for their second-half capitulation. So he did both.
Keates fumed: “We’re accountable for the first two goals, there’s no doubt about that. It wasn’t good enough. We were naïve.
“But the decision for the second penalty and the third goal is an absolute embarrassment. “Taylor’s backing in and as soon as he’s felt any contact, he’s gone straight down. The referee’s got sucked into it. It’s an embarrassment.
“It should have been 2-2 and we would still have been devastated with that after the first-half performance. But somebody’s made the headlines about themselves.”
Walsall flew out of the blocks and, after Dons keeper George Long foiled Luke Leahy’s second-minute volley, they led on six minutes as Jack Fitzwater’s thigh glanced home Erhun Oztumer’s free-kick.
Wimbledon looked lethargic and Walsall made it 2-0 on the stroke of the interval with a goal of real quality, Stoke loanee Julien Ngoy flicking a ball over one defender and holding off another to slot a cool finish beneath Long.
But it was all Wimbledon once Nicky Devlin’s rash 47th-minute lunge on Andy Barcham handed the visitors a lifeline.
Taylor’s penalty was saved by Saddlers keeper Liam Roberts, as was his followup, but Joe Pigott fired home to make it third time lucky.
Taylor then crashed an acrobatic volley off the post and Barcham curled inches wide before Wimbledon levelled on 65 minutes, Taylor latching onto Long’s up-and-under and lashing a stunning strike past Roberts.
A draw seemed set but at the death, Taylor crumbled under Kory Roberts’ challenge, Heywood pointed to the spot and Dean Parrett fired home the winner.