The Dons ladies got their season off to a good start with an opening weekend win against Sussex based Bexhill United
Having had a strong pre-season and on a flawless pitch ideal for a passing team, the home side got off to a dominating start and looked every part the team that fought hard in LSER last season. With new signing Salgado making her first competitive start in goal, the rest of the starting line-up was full of the strong faces from last season.
Controlling the play and putting the visitors under pressure right from the start, the Dons took an early lead on 9 minutes. A through ball from right back Cindy Colliver put captain Jess Trimnell clear of the Bexhill defence, who calmly slotted the ball past a despairing Puttick in the visitor’s goal. Bouyed with confidence the Dons continued to test the Bexhill defence, as they produced more chances but narrowly failed to convert. This largely set the scene for the following 15 minutes as the Dons controlled the game, only allowing the odd opportunity for Bexhill to create an attack.
However the remaining part of the first half was a different story, as Bexhill took more control and got in behind the Dons defence. Whether this was the home side backing off and allowing Bexhill to play, or simply that Bexhill found some renewed energy, will be carefully noted by the Wimbledon set up. It wasn’t quite end to end football, but it did give the away supporters a little to cheer about. The Dons replied with their own moments of good football, and the half finished with a fine fingertip save from Dons keeper Salgado to keep the Dons slender lead going into the break.
Second half saw the Dons come out firing on all cylinders, and for the next 25 minutes it became a very one sided 1-0. On the hour mark saw new Dons striker Whelan enter the fray, going close with an early chance. Whelan certainly came on with a point to prove and gave the Bexhill centre backs a real physical battle for the rest of the afternoon. With a nasty head injury to Dons striker Wylie, Development regular Smith came on to further test the Bexhill defence as Manager Lyons pushed for the second goal. It finally came on 69 minutes, after the visitors cracked to the relentless Dons pressure, conceding another corner kick, which saw Suchley score straight from the spot with a sweet strike into the Bexhill goal.
81 minutes into the game saw Whelan get the goal she deserved. A fine corner delivery from Clifford was met well by the striker’s head, which well and truly put the game out of reach of Bexhill, and ensured all three points stayed with the home side.
This was a strong dominant display from Wimbledon, who could have scored more but from a fine display from the Bexhill keeper Puttick. A very fine clean sheet shows how hard the Dons will be to score against this season, and with the attacking options on display, this will be a team to be reckoned with. However the LSER is a very strong regional league, so no-one at Wimbledon will be getting carried away with themselves after just one game. The season is long and hard, and with next weekend’s opponents Leyton Orient taking points off Fulham, the Dons will need to be at their best again to continue their fine run of form.
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