AFC Wimbledon survive Cheltenham fightback in seven-goal thriller

Posted Sunday, December 05, 2021 by PA

Ayoub Assal and Ollie Palmer both scored twice as AFC Wimbledon survived a late scare to reach the third round of the FA Cup with an entertaining 4-3 win over Cheltenham.

Wimbledon also had to come back from an early setback, with Alfie May putting the Robins in front inside two minutes after Kyle Joseph’s pass.

But Mark Robinson’s Dons soon took control and Luke McCormick set up Assal to make it 1-1 after a quick break through the middle in the 36th minute.

Palmer then rolled the ball into an empty net five minutes later after a powerful effort from McCormick crashed against the woodwork.

Assal extended their lead in the 55th minute after Palmer’s low ball from the right, and Palmer curled one into the top right corner to make it 4-1 in the 65th minute.

Substitute Andy Williams pulled one back with 17 minutes left after being fed by Liam Sercombe.

And there was still hope for Cheltenham when Ben Heneghan nodded a long clearance from Scott Flinders past his own goalkeeper in the 81st minute.

But the Dons held on thanks to two brilliant late saves from Nik Tzanev, denying Matty Blair and Mattie Pollock.