AFC Wimbledon boss Mark Robinson vents frustration after Burton draw

Posted Sunday, January 23, 2022 by PA

AFC Wimbledon head coach Mark Robinson was frustrated to see a much-needed League One win slip away from his young side as they recorded a 1-1 draw at Burton.

Ollie Palmer’s 70th-minute strike was cancelled out by Daniel Jebbison’s equaliser – just seven minutes later – as the spoils were shared.

Robinson’s frustration with only a point from the match stemmed from his side allowing Albion midfielder Joe Powell to run from deep inside his own half to provide the cross from which Jebbison bundled the ball home.

“It’s disappointing the way in which we conceded the goal,” Robinson said. “It’s a little bit of naivety.

“We play teams and we get through and they bring us down but we have let someone run 80 yards with the ball.

“You don’t want to bring players down cynically but you can’t let him run 80 yards.

“It wasn’t a great game to watch but I thought we started the second half well and created a couple of good chances and I thought we looked fairly comfortable so the equalising goal is disappointing.”

Robinson’s young charges are now six league games without a win and Palmer’s goal was their first in five league games making it more frustrating that his side could not hold on to a hard-earned lead.

He added: “The young players have to understand that coming in at nil-nil, having not played our best, you then have to dig in and I thought we caused ourselves a few problems.

“Once you get the goal, it is about seeing it through and we haven’t done that. We have kept clean sheets in the last two but we couldn’t do it today.”

Burton boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was also disappointed with his side’s performance as they struggled to impose themselves effectively on the game despite coming from behind again to gain a result and keep their unbeaten start to the year going.

“We knew that they have a lot of energy and that it was going to be a difficult game and I think their position in the table (19) is false,” he said of Albion’s opponents.

“They made it very difficult for us and we didn’t control the game how we wanted to control it. We played way too many long balls and we didn’t pass it enough.

“Nevertheless, we still got in a lot of times but from second balls more and I think we needed to force ourselves a little bit more.

“Second half, we became a little bit too desperate and that was why they scored. Nil-nil there is nothing wrong.

“Our spirit gets us back and we get a one-one and then you think there is time for a two-one but it didn’t come, again because we didn’t control the game and played too many long balls.

“That is something we need to improve on and we are growing.”