Some players are not fit to wear the shirt – AFC Wimbledon coach Bassey
Posted Sunday, October 28, 2018 by PA
First-team coach Simon Bassey said AFC Wimbledon have too many players who are not fit to wear the shirt after seeing them crash to an “unacceptable” 2-0 defeat to Luton.
The hosts held firm for 60 minutes at Kingsmeadow but the Hatters’ Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Elliot Lee both found the net, while midweek hat-trick hero Danny Hylton missed a penalty.
The defeat was a sixth on the trot in League One for the Dons, and Bassey accused the players of letting manager Neal Ardley down.
He said: “It’s a disappointing result. The second half was unacceptable, nowhere near good enough.
“Neal (Ardley) defends the players regularly and they let him down. He’s a man with integrity, honesty, cares for players and they let him down.
“They didn’t run hard enough, they lost every tackle they went in for and if you don’t do that you’re in trouble.
“With confidence fragile, the first goal is huge. We’re struggling to score one at the minute so we know to score two is virtually impossible for us.
“The crowd were excellent. They got up when the penalty was missed and you could sense a real feel of euphoria through that.
“The players didn’t respond to the crowd in the second half and that’s unacceptable for this football club.
“If we can get to January we’ll have to look to do some business because clearly we’ve got too many that aren’t fit to wear the Wimbledon shirt.”
Mpanzu opened the scoring when volleying home on the hour before Lee’s sumptuous 20-yard drive wrapped up the points – and Luton’s sixth win in seven in all competitions – 10 minutes from time.
In between, Hylton saw his penalty saved by Joe McDonnell after electing to attempt a chip from the spot – a moment of ill-decision that warranted a word from manager Nathan Jones.
He said: “I’ve spoken to Danny, I haven’t had a go at him but it’s not a day for clipped penalties. This is the day you wrap it in the corner and we get out of here with three points because it’s a difficult place to come.
“We showed a thoroughly professional side in ourselves. A clean sheet and we defended our box well against difficult opponents. They’re in a false position.
“In the first half we weren’t really at it, but in the second half it was much better and the margin should’ve been far greater.
“Pelly’s in a real good position and shows a bit of composure because sometimes he’s hit and miss and that could’ve ended up in Kingston.
“Elliot Lee has come back in after a few weeks out and showed that little bit of quality when we really needed it.”
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