Anew-look AFC Wimbledon side kicked off their pre-season campaign with an emphatic 4-1 victory over local rivals Tooting and Mitcham. Terry Brown’s starting line-up included seven new signings. Perhaps most notably, Marcus Gayle played his first game in an AFC Wimbledon shirt after his emotional return to the club and he marked his return with a goal. The other goals were bagged by new signing Sam Hatton, youth product Robin Shroot and under 19 winger Oliver Treacher.

Wimbledon lined up in a 4-4-2 formation and imposed themselves upon Tooting and Mitcham from the off, with Karl Beckford and Marcus Gayle providing particular trouble for the Tooting and Mitcham defence. It was in fact Beckford that had Wimbledon’s first real chance as a long-range effort from Shroot was parried at his feet but Karl’s goal-bound effort was tipped over the bar. Gayle also had a clear shooting chance from Haswell’s cross but the 6 foot 3 striker couldn’t keep his shot down.

Wimbledon took the lead their pressure deserved on fifteen minutes when an excellent flowing team move, involving Shroot and Finn, resulted in Will Salmon’s cross being headed home by the unmarked Sam Hatton. While Brown’s attacking options had shown themselves to be strong early on, the defence were yet to be tested. However a spell of pressure from Tooting and Mitcham soon changed that. Orchestrated by ex-Don Gareth Graham the home side began to maintain possession well. The new centre-back pairing of Jake Leberl and captain Jason Goodliffe coped well though and Tooting and Mitcham were restricted to long-range efforts. It was one of these long-range shots that almost gave Tooting and Mitcham an equaliser. Their captain, Allan McLeod, found space on the left wing before cutting in and curling a shot that rattled Andy Little’s crossbar.

Tooting and Mitcham’s lack of creative use of possession cost them when another of Brown’s new signings, ex-Met Police winger Tony Finn, took the ball past two defenders before setting up Robin Shroot to put the Dons 2-0 up. The lead was extended just before half-time when Marcus Gayle capped a dream return when he coolly placed Steve Ferguson’s cut back into the bottom corner of the net.

Half-time saw Terry Brown make eight changes to his starting eleven. New signings Rob Quinn, Paul Seuke and Kevin Warner were introduced, while Richard Jolly and Steve Goddard replaced Marcus Gayle and Steve Ferguson up front and reserve centre half Dominic Worthington stepped in for Jason Goodliffe. Youth team players Steve Gilbert, Anthony Giglio and Oliver Treacher were also given an opportunity to impress new boss Terry Brown.

With so many changes, the second half lost a lot of momentum but Wimbledon still maintained a strong grip on the game and it was Steve Goddard who had the first chance of the half when he shot wide from just inside the penalty area. Wimbledon went 4-0 up after sixty-six minutes when full back Steve Gilbert crossed well for fellow youth team player Oliver Treacher to finish well.

Tooting and Mitcham began to look more dangerous against a mixed team of youth players and first-teamers. Seuke was called into action when he made a good save from a well struck free-kick and the home side got the consolation goal they deserved just before the 80 minute mark when Ben Abbey volleyed home superbly from just outside the box. The game finished with no real incident, although Oliver Treacher tested the goalkeeper once more with a long-range effort that was tipped wide for a corner, capping an impressive performance.

Terry Brown has certainly begun his reign as AFC Wimbledon manager in style and after today’s victory the Dons could be looking towards a successful season this year.

[ --- www.afcwimbledon.co.uk]