The Dons endured a frustrating afternoon at the Abbey Stadium, held by a Cambridge United side who had lost their previous seven games and were reduced to 10 men with 27 minutes still to play. It was two errors by James Pullen that put paid to AFC Wimbledon’s hopes of a swift return to the top five, and the Dons keeper won’t be in a hurry to watch the DVD of this game.

The only change to the starting line-up from last week’s win over Forest Green Rovers saw Ben Judge deputising at centre-half, but the way in which Terry Brown’s side started this game was in stark contrast to the previous Saturday’s showing. Whereas they had attacked Forest Green from the off, scoring twice in the first nine minutes, Cambridge were largely untroubled for the first 40, which must have come as something a relief to a team who hadn’t picked up a single league point since 5 December.

With just five minutes gone, Pullen made a fine save from Danny Crow’s 20-yard skimmer and then reacted superbly to tip David Partridge’s header from the resultant corner over the bar. The Dons were allowing United the freedom of the pitch, with the tricky Simon Russell giving Sam Hatton the most testing start of his brief career as a full-back. Wimbledon weren’t helping themselves, frequently taking too long to clear any danger and then failing to deal effectively with the loose ball.

Danny Kedwell and Nathan Elder were getting precious little service, and Kedwell found himself playing as a supplementary right-back, twice helping out Hatton when the midfield went missing. It seemed only a matter of time before the home side would take the lead, and on 18 minutes they did. Pullen spilled a corner, Lee Phillips helped the ball back into the six-yard box, and his striking partner Crow had the simplest task of nodding it into an empty net.

Try as they might, Wimbledon just couldn’t get going. United weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, but Rory McAuley and Jai Reason were getting the better of the out-of-touch Steven Gregory and Will Hendry. And whenever Lewis Taylor or Ricky Wellard received the ball in space they were quickly shut down and possession returned to Cambridge, who in turn didn’t look too likely to add to their lead. Russell was the one thorn in the Dons side, but Hatton was now getting the measure of him and his threat waned.

Paul Lorraine blocked United’s one goal-bound effort in the last 10 minutes of the half, throwing himself in front of McAuley’s 20-yarder, but a shot on goal was more than the Dons could muster at the other end - until, that is, the visitors produced their one cohesive move of the half. Taylor, wide on the right, fed Kedwell, who held the ball up before laying it back into Taylor’s path, and with a raking, right-footed 18-yard drive across keeper Simon Brown, Taylor put Wimbledon level.

Ten minutes into the second half, the Dons were in front and the game suddenly became watchable. Hendry’s cute pass inside right-back Dan Gleeson (he of the United shirt that hangs above Max Rushden’s head on Soccer AM) found Kedwell, who took two touches, got to the byline, cut the ball back into the area and watched in delight as Taylor timed his run to perfection and side-footed the ball past Brown from 12 yards. Cambridge heads dropped, the Dons sensed victory and there could now be only one winner - or so it appeared until fate intervened.

Had Lorraine’s header bounced down off the bar and over the line, the Dons would have had the game sewn up, but the skipper was out of luck as the ball bounced on the line and was headed to safety as the United defence started to creak. When Wellard was tripped 25 yards out, from the free-kick Hatton sent a rocket goalwards - Brown parried, Elder struck the rebound into the ground, and as the ball ballooned up and was heading for the top corner, Brown leapt and tipped it over the bar. Hendry then clipped the bar with a corner, and Wimbledon were close to running riot. Wellard, Taylor and Hatton were tormenting Cambridge, Gregory started finding team-mates with the same regularity that he’d found opponents in the first half, and even Danny Blanchett joined in the attack, firing just over from outside the box.

United were on the rack, and when Antonio Murray dived in two-footed on Kedwell, his red card should have given Wimbledon the perfect platform to see the game out. However, just five minutes later United were level. Aiden Palmer sent a harmless-looking cross into the Dons box, and although Phillips got his head to it first, it should have been a routine save. Unfortunately, Pullen had half-come for the cross and the ball sailed over him and into the unguarded net for a goal that pummelled United barely deserved.

Glenn Poole then replaced Hendry, and his extra cunning and wily passing seemed set to present the Dons with ample opportunity to regain the lead. When Taylor broke free on the edge of the Cambridge box and left fly with his left foot, it appeared to be arrowing into Brown’s top right corner, but at the last nanosecond the ball deviated and went just wide of the post. Jon Main then replaced Nathan Elder and Josh Parker came on for the tiring Gregory, but rather than give the Dons a renewed cutting edge for the last few minutes, the visitors reverted to their first-half lethargy. Phillips and sub Sam Ives both had chances to win the game for United, chances that they both failed to take.

When referee Martin blew the final whistle, United celebrated as if they’d won the Blue Square Premier, while the Dons players looked disconsolate as they thanked the many supporters who had made the journey to Cambridgeshire. It may be a measure of AFC Wimbledon’s achievements that a team like Cambridge United were so pleased with their point, but that would be no consolation to Terry Brown, whose side now lay in eighth position, five points behind the next week’s opponents, Luton. Brown had said the week before that he wanted at least four points from the next three games - a return of one from the Abbey Stadium has now made getting something from the trips to Luton and Oxford imperative.