That run of poor form doesn't change, losing 1-0 at home to table toppers Rotherham.
Getting a bit close at the bottom now. Sit one point ahead of Morecambe (who've played a game extra).
Doesn't get any easier - Sunderland and Bolton up for the next two, before clashes with relegation rivals Gillingham and Doncaster to round out February.
Really need to reverse this poor run of form soon. But there is still plenty of time left in the season to climb up out of the mire.
Dons have been sitting 20th (one spot above drop zone) seems for weeks now, without winning a game (last time was Dec). But you will think that luck won't last and they will need a few wins soon.
Edit - 2-0 win for Plymouth. Dons stay 20th for now
In goal for a 0-2 loss to Lincoln City (16th). Bad result for Dons considering Lincoln were down to 10 men from 66 mins, when they were up 1-0. Dons' form really has been shark house.
They still stay 20th, but Gillingham 21st (in the drop zone) draw level now on points.
Dons (21st) in the drop zone, but only 1 pt from safety. However their form continues to be woeful. Lost their last 5 games (with 1 goal), and no wins since Dec last year.
A 2-1 defeat means that the Dons still have not won since beating Accrington Stanley on 7 December. 22 winless games in all competitions, now four points adrift from safety. They sacked manager Mark Robinson earlier in the week and replaced him with Mark Bowen so maybe he’ll be able to spark something over the rest of the campaign. Got six games left to salvage their League One status.
Edit - still 0-0 with one of the Charlton replacements sent off in the 56th min, only 7 mins after coming on. Big chance for Dons to get their first win in 4 months (Dec 7th last year)!
Finishes as a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately Dons (22nd, 34 pts) stay 4 pts from safety. That's as Morecambe (now 20th, 38 pts) win, and get out of the drop zone overtaking Gillingham (21st, 37 pts).
If Dons can't win games like today at home against a mid table team down to 10 men, well they probably deserve to be relegated.
They deserve to go down. If they haven't won in months you become your own worst enemy. And they've done that constantly by dropping points late in the piece. No great escape this time I feel.
They deserve to go down. If they haven't won in months you become your own worst enemy. And they've done that constantly by dropping points late in the piece. No great escape this time I feel.
I presume Tzanev will just stay with them, if they go down to League Two. From memory he got a 2-3 year contract extension last year sometime.
Edit - as is custom of late, Dons have taken a 1-0 lead. Can they hang on for once?
Also critical is the 2 teams immediately above the Dons - Gillingham & Fleetwood playing each other at the moment in a Relegation 6 pointer. Dons likely need to overtake both to avoid the drop
Edit 2 - no surprises Dons don’t hold onto their lead. Concede in 80th min for a 1-1. Massive missed opportunity
Elsewhere Fleetwood and Gillingham is 0-0. Dons remain 4 pts behind Gills and safety
2 games left. They travel to Fleetwood next. Absolute must win
In goal as Dons (22nd, 36 pts) travel to Fleetwood (21st, 39 pts). Relegation 6 pointer - though both teams could still go down together. Absolute must win.
Edit - can they hang on for the win? Of course not. Finishes 1-1. Heart breaking conceding late at 88 mins. In the big scheme a huge goal. It really was a Relegation 6 pointer.
Fleetwood now out of the drop zone (40 pts, GD -17) as with the point go 20th, jumping over Gillingham (21st, 40 pts, GD -32) on GD.
Dons (22nd, 37 pts, -25 GD). So even if the Dons win their final game and Fleetwood lose both their last 2 games, Dons need an 9 goal turn around in their favour to stave off relegation.
But Oh Dear, Oh Dear indeed. Horrible feeling. That goal has sunk them. Had they won, they would now be out of the relegation zone. Hopefully the fans don't crucify him.
But Oh Dear, Oh Dear indeed. Horrible feeling. That goal has sunk them. Had they won, they would now be out of the relegation zone. Hopefully the fans don't crucify him.
I'm sure he's made saves elsewhere that would've had them sunk long before now. Can't put the whole season on him - not that that will stop football fans much of the time.
But Oh Dear, Oh Dear indeed. Horrible feeling. That goal has sunk them. Had they won, they would now be out of the relegation zone. Hopefully the fans don't crucify him.
I'm sure he's made saves elsewhere that would've had them sunk long before now. Can't put the whole season on him - not that that will stop football fans much of the time.
Exactly.
He saved them with heroics last season when he became first choice at the backend there and they stayed up.
Winless in 27 - That'll pretty much do it... So many points dropped over that time from winning positions. If they'd held on to only a handful of them they'd be clear of the drop....
"Did AFC Wimbledon win a game this week? Nope... but they came agonisingly close. A first half goal from Luke McCormick had them right there on the brink of a crucial, potentially season-saving win over Fleetwood Town... only for Joe Garner to equaliser in the 88th minute.
It had been a sloppy game full of errors between two teams very aware of the looming relegation shadow hovering around them. But that one moment of class with McCormick’s finish coupled with a few nice Tzanev saves and some not-quite-good-enough Fleetwood finishing had the Dons in the position where they were protecting that invaluable late lead. Then came a moment of extreme strangeness and of all the ways that AFC Wimbledon have blown leads this season, this might be the one that folks remember most cursedly.
Nik Tzanev had the ball in his area with everyone cleared out for his big hoofing clearance. He thought it was a drop ball so he carried it forward a little to draw in an attacker and use up some precious extra seconds. But the ref had actually given a free kick. Meaning that Tzanev had illegally passed the ball to himself. An indirect free kick was awarded just inside the area and after a nudge across Garner was able to curl it past Nik Tzanev for the leveller. Not even sure how to classify something like that. When your luck is out, it’s really out.
Up Next: Dons vs Accrington Stanley on Saturday at 11.30pm (NZT)"
Be interesting to see if Hay calls him up for Playoff training camp build up. See with Jenny May interview Hay was talking about players having to fit within team culture etc, ie basically a no dickhead policy.
Not saying that Tzanev is one at all, and the whole not vaccinated thing is yes becoming a far less divisive issue - but if there is one player (I guess along maybe with Rojas) who's presence may not be welcomed by all could be Tzanev. And anyway would all depend on whether non vaxxed folk can enter Qatar now at all. But on the face of it, on club form he's as worthy as Woud and/or Searle as the 3rd/4th squad keeper. I imagine with initially a large 30 man squad there will be 4 keepers included.
From Flying Kiwis. Nix could teach Dons a thing or two about scoring first and then going on to win!
.....It ended 4-3. Make that 27 games in a row without a League One victory... the longest single-season win drought across the top four divisions of English football since Derby County went 32 in a row without a win in the 2007-08 Premier League season. That’s quite an astounding stat.
This is the first time that AFC Wimbledon have ever been relegated since the club was formed in 2002. They narrowly avoided the drop in both the last two campaigns – Tzanev’s performances late last season were a huge factor in that – but when you go almost six months without a win you ultimately deserve the drop, let’s be honest about that.
Tzanev played every minutes of all 46 league matches though. For someone who has been stuck on the bench for so much of his career we shouldn’t overlook the significance of that. One of five ever-present players in the division, all of them goalkeepers: Ben Amos, Michael Cooper, Marko Marosi, Dean Stockdale & Nik Tzanev.
Tzanev has copped it a bit from the fans recently, your standard lashing out in a poor season, and he did have a howler that cost them badly last week (taking a free kick to himself thinking it was a drop ball). But the bigger issues in this team were a lack of goals (particularly during the winless streak) and a complete lack of clutch.This team scored first on 19 occasions across the season and went on to win only three of them (winning six games from 46 all up).
Early on in the season they were involved in thriller after thriller but that levelled out during the campaign to where they were on the wrong end of far too many late result-altering goals. No League One team conceded more equalisers. Plus their recruitment sucked.
They sold striker Ollie Palmer in the summer and didn’t adequately replace the goals he’d scored to keep them in League One last time. Several of their loan signings were duds. And as a fan-owned club there were no deep pockets to dip into for a fresh transfer splash when things began to go awry. Football is a cruel beast sometimes.
Past two games they've conceded four goals post 85 minutes. Was emblematic of their doomed campaign in League One last season, dropping points and conceding sloppy, late goals.
Saw this term on social media and thought it was a right laugh. Wimbledonitis - the inability of anyone wearing a Dons shirt to see out a result despite a relative position of dominance. 😭
