The Dons progressed to the London Senior Cup final with a comfortable victory over an “experimental” Croydon Athletic side. Rams boss Tim O’Shea clearly has his priorities right, as with his club within touching distance of the Ryman Premier for the first time in their history he picked a side composed mainly of youth players. If anyone was in any doubt, the Rams’ fans chants of “Who are we?” was an indication that none of his first-team stars were on duty.

The same couldn’t be said for the Dons, though, who fielded a strong side with only keeper Jack Turner and full-backs Ryan Jackson and Jordaan Browne not regular members of the first-team squad.

Wimbledon took the lead on 10 minutes when Nathan Elder proved that he’s deadlier from 10 yards than from one. His looping header from an Elliott Godfrey cross was cleared off the line, but Peter Rapson’s follow-up header was only partially blocked and Elder hammered the loose ball past keeper Mark Fox with power and precision.

Rapson then missed a golden opportunity to double the lead when he shot wide after great work from Kennedy Adjei, before two Elder misplaced two headers in quick succession. Rapson then forced Fox into a decent save with his feet before the visitors gave the Dons a helping hand to double the lead. Scott Elgar palmed away Will Hendry’s neat flick into the box, and Hendry coolly dispatched the penalty.

The Dons were in cruise control already, with Jackson and Browne looking hugely promising, Browne especially excelling with some enterprising attacking play, and Jack Turner looking confident and assured whenever he was called upon.

Elder then missed from 10 yards, blasting over after a Rapson flick, and with the half drawing to a close he missed an even better chance, going for power rather than precision when Rapson’s superb control and through-ball set him clean through, but as Fox advanced, Elder cleared both the keeper and the bar.

The second half was a succession of missed Dons chances, the like of which Wimbledon fans may never see again. Hendry shot over five times, once from just a yard out; Elder almost repeated his unrepeatable trick from the Grays game two days earlier, skying over from five yards; Rapson missed two glorious chances, and when he did force Fox into a save, sub Matt Harmsworth hit the post from the rebound with the goal at his mercy.

Somewhere in this catalogue of misses, Ryan Jackson scored his first senior goal when from fully 40 yards he spotted Fox off his line and floated in a Rooneyesque chip over the keeper’s head that dipped just under the bar and into the far corner of the net. Jackson’s shrug of a celebration suggested that it may well have been a mis-hit cross, but at least the Dons’ total domination was now reflected a little more clearly in the scoreline, which should, rather than could, have been into double figures.

There was just time for the exotically named Taurean McDonald-Roberts to clatter into Rapson with a horribly late and unnecessary challenge that really should have earned him a red card, but the young referee decided that a firm talking-to was more appropriate.

Metropolitan Police await the Dons in the final, to be played on 28 April at Harrow Borough FC. Other than the result, the performances of Browne, Jackson and Rapson may well have given Terry Brown some food for thought when it comes to the team selection for the remaining two Blue Square Premier games. Good luck to Croydon Athletic in their promotion push.