AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Queen’s Park Rangers
by George Jones – AFC Wimbledon Women (30/8/22)
Above: AFC Wimbledon look to get away against Queen’s Park Rangers on Sunday. Photo: Glyn Roberts.
It took a special strike to defeat AFC Wimbledon on Sunday, as Chloe Gunn’s overhead kick was enough to secure a 1-0 victory for QPR at Colston Avenue – a result which leaves the Dons still searching for their first win of the campaign.
Speaking afterwards, first-team coach Andy May said that he felt that Wimbledon fell below the standards set last season when they finished third in the National League Division One South East table at the end of 2021/22.
“We really struggled to get a foothold in the game of football. We didn’t reach our standards with the intensity and tempo that we’ve come to expect. We allowed them to dictate what happened in that game.”
Andy May, AFC Wimbledon First-Team Coach.
Aiming to build on the encouraging opening day draw versus Hashtag United, the Dons started on the front foot at Carshalton with Emily Donovan forcing QPR keeper Katie McLean into a save inside 10 minutes. However, what turned out to be the winner followed as the West Londoners struck in style through Chloe Gunn, who produced an emphatic overhead kick goal after the Dons failed to clear a corner.
After taking the lead, QPR sat back with 10 behind the ball and set about being difficult to break down. Chances still followed for the hosts though with Becki Bath hitting the roof of the net and Ashlee Hincks forcing a superb save. With half an hour on the clock, shouts for a penalty to the Dons were waved away by the referee, who then booked Mia Lockett for simulation. Becki Bath twice came close before the break, but the visitors took a two-goal lead into the half-time interval.
Following the break, Wimbledon struggled to build any momentum until the final 10 minutes when Bath got on the end of substitute Rebecca Carter’s cross, but headed agonisingly wide. In stoppage time, the Dons came even closer when McLean pulled off an absolutely stunning save to keep out a long-range effort from Donovan.
“It was a frustrating game, credit to them. They scored a goal, then sat back and defended. They came away with three points and that is how football is sometimes. It was not pretty, but they took the three points and we look forward to playing them later in the season.”
Emily Donovan, AFC Wimbledon
Teams: AFC WIMBLEDON: Baker, Russell (Sampson), Brooks, Highman, Billingham, Taylor (Mann), Donovan, Bath, Lockett (Carter), Dorey, Hincks.
QUEEN’S PARK RANGERS: McLean, Curr, Searle, Jordinson, Gunn, Lewin, Blodgett, Hennessy, Nygaard-Parsons, Akerman, Hall. Substitutes: Petit, Leys, More, Pope, Wardlaw.
Scorer: Gunn 13′.
Attendance: 142.
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