Cardiff | The Bluebirds earn dramatic win over Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon 0 - 1 Cardiff City 

Isaak Davies struck a 92nd-minute winner as Cardiff City overcame Wimbledon's resistance to maintain second place in League One

Author | Jeremy Watson

Stadium | The Cherry Red Records Stadium

Wild scenes in the away end 

The match, often watchable but lacking clear goal-scoring opportunities, appeared destined for a draw. In stoppage time, Chris Willock's cross was only partially cleared to David Turnbull at the edge of the box, and his shot deflected off Davies into the net. 

Cardiff goalkeeper Nathan Trott then made a superb save from Antwoine Hackford’s low effort to ensure all three points. What followed was some incredible scenes in the away end as you can see in the picture above. 

A closer look at what happened 

Cardiff began brightly and had a strong penalty claim when Steve Seddon appeared to scissor through the back of Joel Colwill, making just his third league start, but referee David Rock remained unmoved.

Wimbledon’s first attempt came from Jake Reeves, whose dipping shot sailed over the crossbar, while Yousef Salech went close with a header at the other end.

The Dons were forced into an early change when centre-back Joe Lewis, struggling after a heavy landing from the 6ft 5in Salech, was replaced in the 27th minute by Riley-Jay Harbottle.

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Cardiff dominated the first half and should have led at the break, with Ollie Tanner’s left-wing cross just beyond the reach of the advancing Joel Colwill. Tanner soon collided with an advertising board and was replaced by Chris Willock.

After a first half without a shot on target, Wimbledon goalkeeper Nathan Bishop almost gifted Cardiff an opener when he stumbled on the ball but recovered in time to clear. Cian Ashford then struck the right post, although the effort was ruled out for an infringement.

In the 56th minute, Alistair Smith’s ambitious 35-yard shot was comfortably collected by Cardiff goalkeeper Trott. As the match entered the final half-hour, both managers made three changes each.

Callum Robinson saw a goal-bound effort blocked by Harbottle, with Cardiff claiming handball, and later Omar Bugiel missed a late chance for Wimbledon, sending the ball wide. Robinson also failed to convert a cross, leaving Isaak Davies to secure victory with a 92nd-minute strike, diverting Turnbull’s shot into the net.