Mark Robinson frustrated by officials as AFC Wimbledon beaten by MK Dons

Posted Wednesday, January 12, 2022 by PA

AFC Wimbledon manager Mark Robinson was frustrated to have Nesta Guinness-Walker sent off for what he felt were two innocuous challenges in his side’s 1-0 defeat at MK Dons.

Guinness-Walker was dismissed after 36 minutes at Stadium MK to make the visitors’ task even harder after they had fallen behind to Matt O’Riley’s goal.

That turned out to be the only goal of a game of few chances and it lifted MK Dons up to fifth in the League One table, while Wimbledon remained two points clear of the relegation zone.

Robinson said: “They’re both fouls, but I’ve got a little wide player – Ayoub Assal – who must get fouled 14 times a game and we haven’t had a sending-off against us.

“I’ve got to look at it – he (the referee) said he had no choice, but it’s very rare early in the game to have two yellows and go like that.

“It’s not like they were that bad – you normally know when you get a crowd chanting ‘off, off, off’ and that wasn’t happening.

“I think everyone was quite shocked when the red card came out, really, but it is what it is.

“I think it (the second yellow) was maybe a foul, but I think it’s more that he was saying he was through and he’s not, he’s out wide, we’ve got two centre-halves covering and his reasoning to the lads was he was through.”

MK Dons went ahead after 29 minutes when O’Riley finished well from just inside the area to finish off a move instigated by Wimbledon goalkeeper Nik Tzanev losing the ball to Mo Eisa.

Following Guinness-Walker’s red card, Tzanev made saves from Dan Harvie and Scott Twine before the visitors almost snatched a point in stoppage-time when Cheye Alexander’s strike from long-range whistled wide.

MK Dons boss Liam Manning said: “It was a real professional performance in the second half, conceding no shots on target.

“The danger sometimes when you’re one up and they’re down to 10 is you go and chase it and we didn’t need to do that.

“We had some decent chances, I thought – Theo (Corbeanu) had a good one at the back post, Twiney had another good chance.

“I thought we showed a real level of professionalism in the second half, in terms of controlling the game, managing the game and making sure the biggest thing was that we finished with three points.

“I have to say the fans really helped us get over the line tonight.

“I thought the atmosphere was incredible and you look at it, the second half of the season, that’s going to be key, so if they can turn up every week and do what they did tonight, it’s massive.”