AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Cambridge City
by George Jones – AFC Wimbledon (3/4/23)
Above: AFC Wimbledon in possession against Cambridge City yesterday. Photo: Emily Topping.
AFC Wimbledon battled to a 2-1 win against Cambridge City on Sunday afternoon at Plough Lane in the tier four FA Women’s National League Division One South-East.
The Dons came into the game after an impressive victory over QPR but the busy fixture schedule continued to take its toll as Kevin Foster’s side appeared leggy on the way to another three points.
Prior to kick-off, the South-West London side announced the loan signing of Rebecca Chitolie-Porter from West Ham United until the end of the season. The new arrival started the game on the bench but would come on to make an impression in the closing stages.
Following a quiet opening quarter, some fine defending denied Emma Plewa a golden opportunity before Ellie Dorey rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort to signal the start of a period of domination from the Dons.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Wimbledon got the lead they deserved as Plewa slotted home from close range after some fine work from Emily Donovan.
The second half saw the Dons continue to build their way into the game against a very well-drilled Cambridge City side. Their lead was increased 10 minutes in, as Dorey let fly from around 35 yards out.
However, the two-goal advantage would only last five minutes before Cambridge got a goal back via a clinical counterattack with Haile Richards scoring.
There was a real crowd-pleasing moment in the closing stages as Kelly-Jade Whelan came on for her first appearance for the Dons in five years to help see out the closing minutes and ensure we held on to all three points.
Speaking after the game, Whelan said: “We got the job done, we got the three points, and that is all that matters. We did make it hard for ourselves at times, but we got the goals we needed.”
Dons boss Kevin Foster reflected that he knows his team can be better: “We know that we can be better. The speed and the tempo that we played at wasn’t up to our usual standards. We need to be braver at breaking lines and making final third entries.”
AFC Wimbledon’s next game is at Carshalton Athletic on Sunday 16th April when they face Cambridge United. This is followed by their Capital Cup Final against Arsenal on Wednesday 26th April before the team’s final league game of the season against Norwich City at Plough Lane on 30th April. Tickets for the Norwich game are now available via our ONLINE TICKET SHOP.
Teams: AFC WIMBLEDON: Baker, Russell, Highman, Plewa, Sampson, Siber, Donovan, Wentworth, Billingham, Dorey, Heria. Substitutes: Whelan, Chitolie-Porter, Oliver.
Scorers: Plewa 39′, Dorey 55′.
CAMBRIDGE CITY: (in alphabetical rather than positional order) Billing, Fitzpatrick, Gerkey, Hudson, Marson, Pryke, Richards, Sparrow, Steele, Stephenson, Struthers. Substitutes: Tresize, White.
Scorer: Richards 58′.
Attendance: 173.
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