Judah Chapman and his AFC Wimbledon Under 18 teammates suffered a league defeat for the first time since November 12th, 2016.
Barnet triumphed 2-0 at The Hive with an injury-time goal from Javaan Campbell sealing victory for the hosts after Wimbledon had piled forward in search of a late equalizer.
Despite defeat, manager Mark Robinson pointed to several positives, including the performance of Chapman, who produced a Man of the Match performance.
“When you have been on a run like we have in the league, I guess it has to come to an end eventually,” said Robinson. “But we do not work with that mentality and I certainly did not expect it to end in this way. We have prided ourselves in the last few months on playing progressive, exciting football, and remaining solid at the back.
“The first goal we gave away was the kind of thing we had not done since the first seven games of the season. Despite that, we created enough chances to win three football matches. We had been doing a lot of work on finishing because we had been creating so many chances and not taking them. Despite two good finishes last week, it really has not improved enough so we need to look at the work we are doing on the training pitch. The lads have a two-week gap from the league now so I will be looking for a positive reaction. There was still plenty to be positive about, including game-time at the end for players from the U-14s and Under-15s.”
Wimbledon dominated much of the first-half, but slipped behind in the 30th minute. Poor decision-making at the back resulted in Tobi Adaje being presented with the ball 14 yards out and he slotted past Dons keeper Joe Bursik. Chances continued to come Wimbledon’s way, but none of them were taken and it remained 1-0 when the half-time whistle sounded.
In the second-half, Wimbledon continued to dominate possession, but the final ball and finishing touch continued to elude them. With Wimbledon throwing everyone forward during injury-time, Barnet sealed victory in the 94th minute with a quick breakaway, Javaan Campbell finishing off a cross brilliantly.
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