Hodges hails “great character” as Wimbledon earn draw with Burton

AFC Wimbledon manager Glyn Hodges praised his side’s character after they came from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw with Burton.

Debutant Joe Powell thundered home the opener in the seventh minute but the hosts levelled through Mitch Pinnock nine minutes later.

The Brewers went into the break in front after Jamie Murphy headed in from close range before Callum Reilly equalised from a deflected ball to give Wimbledon a draw and leave them 19th in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone.

Despite coming away with a point, Hodges was left bemused by Burton goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara staying on the pitch after he looked to have handled outside the area.

He said: “You scratch your head sometimes. We thought it should have been a red card for their keeper.

“You can’t give what you can’t see so we’ve got no complaints. The referee hasn’t seen it and he’s come over to the fourth official who had the same view as me.

“In our position you need things like that to go your way, but you can only give what you can see.

“Our first goal was great; it was total football – I’ve watched it back 10 times already!

“We showed great character to come from behind twice to draw. With a bit of luck, we could have won it in the second half.

“I don’t know why we lacked intensity in the first half, I think we showed them a bit too much respect because they’re a good footballing side.”

With the spoils shared, Burton extended their unbeaten streak in League One to five games with three victories and two draws.

The Brewers sit in 10th place, just three points away from the play-off spots.

Boss Nigel Clough was disappointed his team could not capitalise on the position they put themselves in but also agreed luck was on their side with the decision around O’Hara.

He said: “I think he definitely handled it – we got away with one. Over the season we’ve missed out on a few penalties and decisions, so you take it.

“We’re a tad disappointed not to win the game after leading twice. It was a game we could have won, a game we could have lost so you take the point and move on.

“Our first goal was a great finish and so was theirs. So, there were two good goals and two scrappy ones.

“You know what Wimbledon are about and they made it hard for us in the second half.

“We desperately wanted to win the game, but it just wasn’t to be in the end for us. We move on to the next game and trying to get three points there.”