With four of the top six winning on this Bank Holiday afternoon the Ryman League Premier Division title finally looked to be out of reach for AFC Wimbledon after a 1-1 draw with local rivals Staines Town.

Dave Anderson had pre-warned Dons fans that there may be some changes from the side that drew with Borehamwood and he didn't renege on that statement. Clark Masters, Richard Butler and Lewis Cook would come in for Andy Little, Steve Ferguson and Steve Wales repectively, with Jermaine Darlington shifting to right midfield to accommodate Cook on the left.

The Swans were able to name both 20-goal strikers Mark Nwokeji and Ali Chabaan, despite interest from Southend United in the latter. Staines had wracked up four defeats on the spin prior to their arrival at Kingsmeadow, including a 7-3 drubbing at Chelmsford City. Nonetheless, Swans' manager Steve Cordery had warned that his side were a match on their day for anybody in the division, and so it proved.

The visitors were on the offensive from the kick-off. Mark Nwokeji's volley from the edge of the box was gathered comfortably by Masters.

Two minutes later the hosts took the lead with their first foray. Luke Garrard arrived at the far post to head in Richard Jolly's cross, after a fine counter-attacking move down the right involving Wes Daly and Lewis Cook.

AFC Wimbledon dominated proceedings for long periods of this match, particularly in the first half. Richard Jolly scooped an early effort over the bar and would be in a fiercely contested duel all afternoon with Staines custodian James Courtnage.

Lewis Cook curled a shot over the bar on 11 minutes, before Jolly forced a fine parry out of Courtnage as his header seemed destined to creep inside the left-hand post.

A sea of blue shirts continued to pour forward. Luke Garrard scuffed an attempted drive from the edge of the area after good interplay between Darlington and Butler on the left. Lewis Cook sent Jolly on his way but the former Heybridge man couldn't find a way past his nemesis.

When Michael Haswell lofted a hopeful cross into the box, Jolly's presence was enough to draw Dave Sargent into an error but the striker's toe-poke was palmed away. Frustrated with his lack of success, Jolly then tried an ambitious 35-yard effort that soared high and wide.

Staines struggled to create anything meaningful. On 32 minutes they worked the ball out to Ali Chabaan on the left but he could only turn and blast into the Tempest End from 25-yards.

The hosts' pressure was relentless. Haswell broke from midfield and fed Jolly who fired wide from just outside the box. Minutes later Haswell himself hit the upright from 25-yards and Richard Butler was denied by a brilliant reaction stop from the rebound.

After the interval it looked like being more of the same. Courtnage made a rare error spilling Garrard's cross but the Dons couldn't take advantage. However, on 62 minutes Richard Butler was stretchered off after a crunching 50-50 encounter with Adam Thompson. Steve Ferguson replaced him and had a great opportunity to put one on a plate for Jolly as the Dons outnumbered Staines on the counter. Unfortunately he found the space between striker and keeper and the ball rolled agonizingly away for a goal kick.

How exasperating it was then, when Staines went down the other end and made it 1-1. The Dons failed to clear their lines from a throw-in and, after the ball made its way through the six-yard box, Paul Lorraine could only prod Chabaan's cross into his own net.

Frustration started to creep around The Fans' Stadium as the Dons failed to turn their possession into clear cut opportunities. Ferguson forced Courtnage into a smart save low to his right but it was scant reward for the number of attackers out-numbering the Swans defence.

On 83 minutes there was a desperate shout for hand-ball in the visitor's penalty area but to no avail. Staines, meanwhile, countered with Chabaan cutting inside Haswell but he fluffed his shot and it bobbled wide of the left-hand post.

With the clock running down Courtnage asserted his supremacy over Jolly once again, thwarting him at his near post, before Ryan Peters got his header all wrong from a corner ballooning it up and over the Tempest End.

Haswell made a rare mistake deep into stoppage time, slicing his clearance into Mark Nwokeji's path. The Staines man raced for goal but Lorraine did enough to put him off and Nwokeji blasted the ball out of the ground. The magnificent Dons centre half then showed up at the other end to meet Garrard's corner from the right but his contact was too thin and the ball whisked away for a goal kick, denying Dons fans their fairy-tale ending.