On Tuesday night, Newport County earned an unjustified point after AFC Wimbledon blew a two-goal lead when their former Don Shane McLoughlin scored a penalty with the final kick of the match.
These are the talking points that Dave Hunt-Jackson made during the 2-2 tie at Plough Lane.
Newport had offered almost no threat all night. Goals from Alistair Smith and Matty Stevens should have been enough but the South Londoners failed to build on their fast start and paid the price as they made it six home games without a win.
Once again, for much of the match, the Dons looked far from a side with promotion ambitions.
Manager Johnnie Jackson saw red at the end of a game where a number of decisions went against his Wimbledon side, including the ruling out of a third goal with no obvious infringement and no explanation offered by the officials.
In truth his lack of composure mirrored that of his players.
Wimbledon sat deeper and deeper, which was only ever going to bring one outcome.
Instead of putting the game out of sight there was an air of inevitability about Newport’s equaliser.
After calling for a response to Saturday’s performance in the FA Cup loss to non-league Dagenham at home, Jackson received 20 minutes of blood and thunder before putting on a quiet, lackluster display for the remainder of the match.
The Dons have now lost their spot in the League Two play-offs, and their performance—particularly at Plough Lane, where they have lost four straight games—does not indicate that they will likely return to the top seven.
Josh Kelly made a rare appearance for Jackson because Callum Maycock, Jake Reeves, and James Ball were all out, but not as a member of a three-man assault. Omar Bugiel and Matty Stevens, the standard front-row duo, were joined by Kelly in midfield.
It was irritating that the manager refused to change his formation to accommodate the players available, even though it is undeniable that the injuries to Joe Lewis and the midfield trio forced his hand.
Like-for-like replacements were made by the Dons to merely refresh their roster, which only helped Newport get back into the game.
Bugiel gave more of an outlet than Joe Pigott, but the choice to go to left-back at the beginning of stoppage time was much worse.
Hus Biler hasn’t played much, and when he has, it’s generally to carry the ball forward. He didn’t have time to adjust to the game’s tempo because he entered the game for a team that was already defending too deep.
His challenge was the one that was ruled a foul and earned him the penalty.
The only bright spots in a month of largely subpar form and performance have been the away wins at Tranmere Rovers and Barrow.
Every team will experience a slump in performance, and this one might be no exception, with injuries compounding their problems.
However, recent history indicates differently, with the previous two seasons concluding in periods of subpar play and ultimately raising the wonder of what could have been.
You should be winning games like this at home against a very one-dimensional Newport team if you want to advance, even with the present injury glut.
When they return to full strength, they must be brave, flexible, and give the squad players an opportunity to shine; otherwise, another season may be
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