AFC Wimbledon 2, Lincoln City 0
Ten-man City lost to Wimbledon after becoming a man down for the majority of the match through Adam Jackson’s sending off.
Head coach Michael Skubala stuck with the side which got the season off to a winning start against Reading, including the same bench. AFC Wimbledon included former Imps midfielder Ali Smith in their starting line-up.
The opening period was cagey, with Rob Street getting a good cross in from the right.
George Wickens had to be alert as the home side earned a succession of corners - with two deliveries from Myles Hippolyte placed right on the crossbar necessitating the keeper tipping the ball over. The third delivery was claimed by Wickens.
Chances came as the game opened up, with Tendayi Darikwa flicking a ball through for Tom Bayliss’ run - on this occasion the cross was cut out for a corner.
Jack Moylan fired over after 21 minutes, having cut inside after collecting the ball from Conor McGrandles.
The dynamics of the game changed after 23 minutes as Jackson was shown a straight red following a challenge on Matt Stevens.
City had to be patient as the home side probed but did a great job of limiting chances until a break down the right saw Sonny Bradley penalised for handball in the area after 42 minutes.
Stevens stepped up to take the set-piece, putting the Dons ahead with a smart finish into the bottom right corner.
It would have been easy for Bradley to have been affected by conceding the penalty, but he was in the thick of things with a block to deny Stevens
There was one change for the Imps at the interval, with Tom Hamer sent on. Street was the man who had to make way.
Hamer slotted in alongside Bradley at centre-back and brought an added threat with his long-throw.
The best chance to draw level came after 56 minutes when Darikwa found himself leading an attack and running at a defender. He tried to play in Moylan, with an incredible run and sliding interception from Wimbledon’s Joe Lewis denying the Irishman a shot on goal.
Both head coaches made changes to personnel as the game entered the final 30 minutes, with Freddie Draper and Ethan Hamilton sent on for the Imps.
City continued to probe and looked threatening from set-pieces, but hopes of a comeback were effectively extinguished when Nathan Asiimwe fired home from a corner-kick.
There was one final throw of the dice from Skubala as young forward Zane Okoro was sent on for fresh legs, but it was not enough to rescue anything from the game.
Skubala was naturally disappointed with the result, but praised his team’s effort.
"I think the game hinged on the red card to be honest. It was always going to be tough day as they're a really well organised side who are difficult to break down, but we'd worked our way into the game and were starting to gain a foothold, and then all of a sudden the sending off completely changed the complexion of it.
"There were a couple of moments in there where we perhaps could have got something, but overall it wasn't to be on the day.
"This group doesn't give in, we kept going and put bodies on the line. We had the mentality to keep going and keep running hard to get something - they've got a good mentality and a good heart."
Picture: Vaughan Photography
www.weareimps.com