Ron Winsbury had not recovered from injury, so Jim Woods partnered Arthur Maggs at full-back, and new signing Les Dowding, previously with Tooting & Mitcham and who had played for Millwall during the war, replaced CW Mason, who had made his final appearance for the club.

The Dons had never gained a single point at Green Pond Road, but it looked certain they were going to break the duck after the opening exchanges in which the visiting forward came out of the traps at a gallop and the home team forwards were forced to drop back and assist the defence. Even this wasn’t enough to stop Ron Head giving Wimbledon the lead after only nine minutes, heading home from a well directed Jack Wallis pass. Jim Smith almost got a second soon after when Harry Stannard and Dowding combined to give him a shooting opportunity with the keeper out of position, but three defenders stood in his way and one deflected the ball for a corner. After the initial flurry Walthamstow’s halves and forwards took command with England amateur international Jim Lewis, soon to become a regular in Chelsea’s 1954/55 League winning side, pulling the strings, plying his colleagues with passes and switching wings to send in centres that forced Haydock into some spectacular saves. It was Lewis who got the equaliser, heading in from Jennings’ high lobbed centre and the Dons’ defence cleared one off the line with Statham ready to pounce then, just before the half-time whistle, Lewis gave the homesters the lead, converting another Jennings centre.

Soon after the break Lewis should have completed his hat-trick, but shot straight at Haydock from ten yards. Suitably admonished, Wimbledon attacked and Jack Wallis found Dowding, Stannard met his early cross and headed wide of Simmonds to level the game. Ron Head and Charlie Smith both threw themselves at another cross from Dowding, Head getting there first but knocking the ball a foot wide, but that proved to be the visitors last real chance, and Walthamstow sealed the points when Lewis repaid the earlier help by crossing for Jennings to score into an empty net after Haydock had rushed out to parry a shot from Facey. Five minutes from the end Fisher was forced to retire early with a leg injury.