In an incident-packed replay at Kingsmeadow, AFC Wimbledon overcame a battling Crawley Town and a one-man deficit to earn an FA Cup First Round tie at Millwall.

It has to be said that the two previous meetings between these two sides in the past month were anything but enthralling, action-packed encounters. Indeed, both games were remarkably similar 1-1 draws, Crawley taking the lead and the Dons then pegging them back each time. But this replay, the result of the second stalemate between the two sides in the space of a month, was almost the complete opposite of the first two meetings and will live long in the memories of Wimbledon fans. The game ebbed and flowed, Derek Duncan was sent off on the stroke of half-time, and in the second half the ten men in yellow and blue turned in perhaps the best Dons performance of the season so far.

Crawley had the better of the first half and deserved more than to go into the half-time break level. Jon Main gave the Dons the lead on 15 minutes, latching onto Luke Moore’s inch-perfect pass and firing beyond Simon Rayner with his left foot, the ball nestling into the net via the far post. Although the goal was hardly against the run of play, Crawley certainly had the edge up until then, with Jefferson Louis a handful up front and the midfield pairing of Eddie Hutchinson and Barry Cogan more than a match for the Dons’ timid pairing of Steven Gregory and Ricky Wellard.

Louis had a shot well saved by James Pullen when put through by Ben Smith, and the same player forced Brett Johnson into two bone-jarring challenges. Just as Crawley looked to be set for an equaliser, the Dons conjured the best chance of the first half. Sam Hatton’s curling cross was met by Danny Kedwell, but his header from eight yards lacked power, and Rayner beat it away. Wimbledon were always likely to rue that miss, and with 27 minutes gone Louis broke free and slid the ball past Pullen’s despairing drive for a well-deserved equaliser. Smith then skied an inviting chance into the Tempest End, and soon afterwards Danny Forrest’s 20-yarder sailed even higher and cleared the roof.

With half-time approaching, there came the match-turning incident. As Rusk cleared the ball upfield, 30 yards from his own goal, Derek Duncan caught him with a late and unnecessary lunge, and referee Whitton showed him a second yellow card, followed by a red. Terry Brown responded by moving Johnson to left-back and bringing on Paul Lorraine for the disconsolate Main with only seconds of the half remaining.

It’s often said that managers earn their money during the half-time break. Whatever Terry Brown instilled into his troops, it was worth its weight in gold (or at least half the ticket money from the New Den), for the Dons came out for the second half a man light but in visibly more determined fashion. During those 10 minutes in the dressing room the balance of power somehow shifted, and anyone coming into the ground late would have thought that AFC Wimbledon were the side with the extra man.

Lewis Taylor found his feet and, with more room to play, Steven Gregory started to exploit the space that the now-departed Main had taken up, playing Kedwell and Moore into some promising positions and allowing Taylor and Ricky Wellard room to manoeuvre. Wimbledon’s counter-attacking on the break was a joy to behold, and it was no surprise that the Dons regained the lead - though the manner in which they did so must have pleased Messrs Brown, Cash and Bassey. Taylor fed Kedwell, who teased Chris Giles and slotted the ball across the edge of the penalty area for Taylor to superbly dummy and allow Moore to fire home with a precise side-footed shot. Crawley had sent on Callum Willock just minutes before with the intention of taking the game out of the Dons’ reach, but his job now was to try to haul his side back level.

But the visitors seemed deflated by the goal, and Wimbledon smelled blood. Kedwell was tormenting Glenn Wilson, and Moore’s incredible energy and lightning feet were the scourge of the Crawley back line. Even an injury to Pullen, who twisted his ankle as he made a routine catch, couldn’t put a dampener on the proceedings. The keeper made two fairly simple saves from headers before his supremely timed intervention stifled a Willock effort with time running out.

As the game edged into injury time, with Crawley going all-out for an equaliser, the Dons capitalised on a rare error by Rayner. The previously excellent keeper failed to deal with Moore’s chipped cross, and the ball fell invitingly for Kedwell to volley home from an acute angle to leave the Dons fans celebrating their passage into the First Round Proper.