AFC Wimbledon continued their march towards the play-offs with an emphatic 5-1 win at Wealdstone. Paul Barnes was the hero of the hour, netting a hat-trick for his new club and causing the home defence no end of problems. If the Dons ever needed an able deputy for crocked Richard Butler then Barnes is surely it, and more.

Dave Anderson continued with the 4-4-2 that beat Harrow midweek and made only one change to his starting eleven - that man Barnes coming in for Tony Battersby. Steve Butler was still sidelined, while Dean Brennan was fit enough to warm the bench for seventy minutes before making an inspired re-entrance to the fold.

The Wombles started strong with Plummer and Ursell looking to make a nuisance of themselves on the wings. Barnes scored on ten minutes, latching onto a long ball from Dave Sargent and slotting home. Good work from Smeltz and Plummer opened up the Stones defence a few minutes later but Barnes was this time unable to keep his shot down.

Barnes got his second after Shane Smeltz put enough pressure on his marker to see the defender head into the path of the Dons' number nine. Lightning fast, the recent signing headed into the penalty area and made no mistake with the finish. Twenty five minutes on the clock and the play-off contenders led 2-0.

If the Dons thought their great start was an indication that they would have everything their own way, Wealdstone had other ideas. Poor form in recent weeks has sent the Middlesex side crashing towards the relegation battle. Nonetheless they possess players of vision and quality in Josh Cooper and Matt Miller who probed Wimbledon's left flank and got some small joy forcing a good parry from Andy Little. Miller was unlucky to see a later effort go wide after nipping between Howard and Little to get his shot away.

The Wombles responded with another flurry of attacks. Barnes was the benefactor of a great Scott Curley through ball, but Lee Carroll stood up well and saved with his legs. Curley then had a potshot of his own, from 25 yards, which Carroll caught low to his left.

However Stones finally got their reward on 39 minutes from the keeper's throw out to Cooper. He was allowed to run unchecked to the Dons penalty box before teeing up Milller, who required no invitation in writing. 2-1 and the Stones went into the half-time break with renewed belief.

Following an entertaining yet goal-less junior five-a-side match played during the interval, Wimbledon came out and kicked Wealdstone's belief firmly into the cemetery next door. Anthony Howard rose above everyone to powerfully head home a Wes Daly's corner and Dons around the ground sensed that it was open season on the Wealdstone net.

Another Daly corner caused no end of problems for the home side as Barnes and Smeltz took snap shots that were blocked on the line - many away supporters believed that a Stones defender had handled the ball but the referee did not see it the same way. Barnes then out-paced Dave Ryan from a Garrard pass, only to see his shot flash across the goal with no one
following in.

Dean Brennan replaced the excellent Dwayne Plummer on 67 minutes and made an immediate impact. He provided the free kick that was headed on to the crossbar for Paul Barnes to knock in as a rebound. And five minutes later, Brennan put one on a plate for Smeltz to lash into the net from 15 yards.

It only remained for Dave Anderson to allow Barnes his fully deserved ovation from the 1,000 strong fans as he was subbed with ten minutes left. Michael Woolner and Liam George entered the fray and kept the pressure on a completely deflated Stones team. This is as ruthless as AFC Wimbledon have been since they joined the Ryman Premier. For Dons supporters, despite the rain, it was a joy to watch.

After Hampton and Heybridge slipped up, the Dons climb into fourth spot, just a point behind the Swifts. With six games to go it's a good position to be in. This time Anderson's new signings are making the difference. Barnes was unstoppable up front, Garrard extremely solid at right back and Curley combines quality on the ball with Chris Gell-like mettle in midfield. It's a tough home match with Hampton and Richmond next Saturday and the lads are going to have to be extremely sharp. As for the maths, well that remains simple: win all your remaining games Wimbledon and you're in the play-off draw.