A Robin Ashamu brace condemned the Town youth team to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of AFC Wimbledon in the U18s PDL Final at Kenilworth Road.
In this season’s fourth encounter against Wimbledon, which included a 4-1 defeat in the Youth Alliance Cup at The Brache, Town actually started the brighter of the two sides with notable positive performances throughout the team, goalkeeper Lucas Thomas making some outstanding saves in the first half while full-backs Fin Evans and Kyron Roberts-Edema each made chances.
Evans, operating on the left flank, twice drove crosses in for Archie Shepherd but the creative midfielder couldn't fully connect with either to truly test the Wimbledon stopper.
The Hatters dominated the opening 15 minutes, controlling possession and managing to successfully break through the visitors pressing to create opportunities.
Town's best chance of the first period came through prolific striker Dawid Gawel, a cross into the box finding the forward whose header just failed to garner the power required to open the scoring, with Dons keeper Eterne Djedje saving well.
The away side would take a lead into the break just minutes later, with Ashamu opening his account after neat work from midfielder Dwayne Campbell, running the ball down the right before sending his cross into the forward who converted.
Manager Joe Deeney sought to change things in attack by bringing on Samiel Hincapie-Alfonso for Ty Lesser at the break, but it was Wimbledon who almost doubled their lead on two occasions soon after the restart, Amaari Sealey and Harry Hedges both going close before they did get their second just before the hour.
A passing move that started in their right-back area, before working its way across the back line and up the left flank until another switch saw Sealey find Hedges on the right. His touch and low cross found Ashamu in the box, whose clever flick found the bottom corner to complete a goal worthy of winning any cup final.
Deeney then introduced midfielders Nassim El Gourja and Alvin Isufi for Rufus Barnes and Jerome Passley-James in a bid to inject some creativity going forward.
Isufi fired a volley just wide with a little over five minutes of normal time to play, Hincapie-Alfonso headed a Harry Fox cross over and Gawel nodded wide with the final touch of the game, but the impressive Wimbledon defence weren’t to be moved as the Dons completed a treble of trophies.
“The consolation is that it’s not through a lack of effort, the boys kept going until the 97th minute,” said Deeney. “If I’m being completely fair and honest, which I always try to be, Wimbledon deserved to win tonight and you have to take that on the chin.
“I said to the players, one thing you have to learn from that is that in the big moments today, you could almost sense a little bit of pressure. You see it on a Saturday morning, they are a lot cleaner, they look after the ball better.
“But even our five, ten-yard passes in the end, and they are young players and you are trying to desperately chase to get yourself back in.
“We’ve had the header, and you think if that goes in with six or seven minutes to go, it might just be a better last few minutes for us, but unfortunately they shut the game really well and they deserved to win the game.”
Town: Thomas, Roberts-Edema, Evans, C Chigozie (C), Barnes (Isufi 67), Crace, Passley-James (El Gourja 67), Fox, Lesser (Hincapie-Alfonso 46), Shepherd, Gawel. Subs not used: Booth, Richards.
Dons: Djedje, Campbell (Scafe 90), Jovanovic, Goma-Weinberg (C), Soukou, Fraser-Smith, Kirby, Sealey, Hedges, Ashamu (Woods 82), Kedwell (Ekpenyong 94).
Goals: Ashamu (40, 58)
Report: Liam Wilmot
