The Dons surrendered their unbeaten run in disappointingly tame fashion, going down to a single-goal defeat against a side they had comprehensively beaten 5-0 just six days earlier.

Terry Brown, fresh from being named Blue Square Premier Manager of the Month for December, only lightly shuffled his pack. Elliott Godfrey and Derek Duncan had failed to recover from injuries sustained in the courageous draw at Stevenage on Monday. Luis Cumbers and Ben Judge took their places, if not their positions, and Seb Brown, newly crowned Blue Square Premier Player of the Month for December, was again between the posts.

It was clear from the outset that this was never going to be a repeat of the Dons’ Boxing Day hammering of Hayes & Yeading. Gary Haylock had made a number of defensively minded changes, but to call the action in the first half pedestrian would almost be an insult to pedestrians. The biggest cheers in the first half-hour were for a referee’s assistant stumbling and dropping his flag and for Ben Judge expertly shepherding the ball out for a goal-kick.

A Jon Main header that struck Matt Ruby on the shoulder and went out for a corner, following a fine Sam Hatton cross, was the closest AFC Wimbledon came to scoring in a turgid first half; the home side’s best efforts were a 25-yard Marc Canham free-kick that cleared Brown’s bar by two yards and a scuffed effort from ex-Don Scott Fitzgerald. Those attempts apart, the game was lifeless and event-free, played in slow motion and devoid of anything remotely approaching pace -- even the usually energetic Lewis Taylor seemed heavy-legged. Wimbledon’s rare decent moves stemmed from full-backs Hatton and Brett Johnson, but more often than not their efforts went unrewarded when the midfield gave up possession all too easily.

Terry Brown is not noted for his half-time ranting and raving, but clearly the Dons boss had made it clear that he was unhappy with his side’s first-half performance, as for the first 10 minutes of the second half Wimbledon looked much more like the team that had played so well in December. Ricky Wellard was now far more involved in the game, and Kennedy Adjei wasn’t having to work hard to find a team-mate to pass to. But for reasons best known to themselves, the Dons seemed to want to walk the ball into the net. Passing moves that should have resulted in shots by Wellard, Main, Cumbers and Hatton all wilted when the chance to shoot was spurned in favour of another pass or two. Even the Dons’ best chance of the game came about as a result of a move that didn’t quite work.

When Lewis Taylor powered past two defenders but then overran the ball, he kept it in play with a neat back-heel near the junction of six-yard box and byline. Johnson, following up, nipped in before Tom Cadmore could clear, but his chip in towards the penalty spot was headed over the bar by Main. Shortly afterwards the Dons were ruing Main’s miss. Canham’s cross from the right evaded Hatton at the far post, and Ram Marwa headed back across goal and into the far corner of Brown’s net from eight yards.

With the introduction of former Hayes & Yeading midfielder Will Hendry in place of Montague, Cumbers pushed up alongside Main, but the formation was the only thing that changed. Passes were still going astray, crosses were being overhit, possession was being lost, and what little creativity Wimbledon had offered just after the break had now fizzled out completely. Cadmore and Ruby were comfortably dealing with the Dons’ attacking pair, and Hendry was having a cameo performance to forget. If anything, Hayes were looking the more likely to score, but both Marwa and sub Esmond James spurned decent opportunities to extend their lead.

Terry Brown threw on Luke Garrard and Peter Rapson in an effort to freshen up the Dons’ play, but despite some enterprising approach play the final ball was never of sufficient quality, and the willing Rapson barely got a look-in as Hayes closed ranks and saw the game out. This was a thoroughly frustrating afternoon for AFC Wimbledon, who on this showing would have a fight to hold on to their hard-earned playoff place after picking up only four points from the three games over the Christmas period.