AFC Wimbledon 4-0 Carlisle United: FLW report as Dons make triumphant return to Plough Lane | OneFootball

FLW report live from the Cherry Red Records Stadium

There really is no place like home for AFC Wimbledon, who made a triumphant return to South West London as Matty Stevens' hat-trick helped them hammer a dismal Carlisle United 4-0 to make it six wins in six at the Cherry Red Records Stadium this term in their first match back at the ground since the flood 20 days ago.

Pitch repairs were needed and two fixtures were postponed last month but the Dons celebrated their homecoming in style as Matty Stevens' double and a Cameron Harper own-goal left them three goals to the good at the break.

The hosts piled the misery on Carlisle and Mike Williamson, the former MK Dons manager who was beaten at Plough Lane last month before joining the Cumbrians, in the second half as the James Tilley masterclass continued and Stevens completed his hat-trick.

Wimbledon have ground to make up in the promotion race but the victory moves them into 10th - only outside the play-offs on goal difference and five points back from league leaders Port Vale with three games in hand.

Carlisle, meanwhile, have dropped into the drop zone on an afternoon that offered little to suggest that relegation should not be a serious concern.

AFC Wimbledon 4-0 Carlisle United

More than £100,000 was raised by the wider community to help with the Plough Lane recovery effort, which saw over 100,000 litres of water pumped out of the ground, and the pitch repairs were tested early on as the game began under a torrential downpour.

That did little to slow the progress of a home side buoyed by a late winner in the EFL Trophy in midweek as they looked to bounce back from defeat away at Salford City in their last League Two game a week ago.

It took less than eight minutes for Wimbledon's early pressure to tell as Stevens peeled off to meet Tilley's out-swinging corner and direct a pinpoint header into the bottom corner. The striker wheeled off in celebration, clearly relieved at bagging his first goal since August and his third for the club.

Sensing blood, the Dons went close five minutes later with Tilley involved again as he flashed an effort across the box, which went wide of the far post and out of reach of his teammates.

An injury to referee Neil Hair, who was replaced by one of his assistants, just before the 20-minute mark offered the visitors a chance to regroup but for all their possession as the half wore on, it was clear that they are still in a teething period under Williamson and Jackson's side were more than happy to put them to the sword.

Stevens added his second of the afternoon eight minutes before the break. The 26-year-old was fastest to the rebound after Harry Lewis had parried Alistair Smith's low strike from just outside the box – the midfielder taking the opportunity to let fly after winning the ball high up – and converted with a simple first-time finish.

The third came in first-half stoppage-time as Tilley whipped a brutal inswinging corner into the near post and it pinballed around the six-yard box before going in off Harper.

Williamson threw Luke Armstrong and Jack Robinson on at the restart in a bid to turn the tide but Carlisle's resolve lasted less than five minutes as Stevens completed his hat-trick. Again Tilley was the creator, the left wing-back picking the striker out at the back post with a curling cross at the second phase of a corner.

Callum Guy's first League Two minutes of the season were one of very few positives for the Cumbrians, with the midfielder replacing Dominic Sadi just after the hour after missing the early months of the season due to injury.

Carlisle's best chance of the afternoon came courtesy of a Wimbledon mistake 20 minutes from time as Crystal Palace loanee Owen Goodman fluffed an attempt to claim a high ball and Ben Barclay headed goalward, only for James Ball's block to save the Crystal Palace loanee's blushes.

Jon Mellish thrashed a strike across the box and Guy sent a long-range half-volley just over the top not long after but neither opportunity really threatened the Dons' clean sheet, which was all the more impressive after they lost Joe Lewis to injury last weekend.

Ryan Johnson's first appearance since August capped off a perfect afternoon for the Dons, who are still playing catch up but continue to show their promotion credentials.

AFC Wimbledon player ratings

Owen Goodman - 6

Riley Harbottle - 7

James Ball - 8

Isaac Ogundere - 7 (Ryan Johnson (90) - N/A)

Josh Neufville - 6 (Huseyin Biler (76) - 6)

Alistair Smith - 8

Miles Hippolyte - 7 (James Furlong (90) - N/A)

James Tilley - 9

Callum Maycock - 7

Matty Stevens - 9 (Josh Kelly (72) - 6)

Omar Bugiel - 7 (Joe Piggott (72) - 6)

Unused subs: Lewis Ward, John-Joe O'Toole

Carlisle United player ratings

Harry Lewis - 5

Ben Barclay - 5

Sam Lavelle - 6

Jon Mellis - 6

Archie Davies - 5 (Jack Robinson (46) - 6)

Harrison Neal - 5

Harrison Biggins - 5

Cameron Harper - 5

Josh Vela - 5 (Taylor Charters (64) - 6)

Charlie Wyke - 5 (Luke Armstrong (46) - 6)

Dominic Sadi - 5 (Callum Guy (64) - 6)

Unused subs: Gabe Breeze, Jack Ellis, Anton Dudik

Attendance

The attendance at the Cherry Red Records Stadium for Wimbledon v Carlisle was 8,331.

That includes 792 away fans.

Johnnie Jackson post-match reaction

"We made good opposition look pretty ordinary today," Jackson told the press after the game.

"If you want to be a successful team, you've got to have a strong defence. You look at all the top teams around the world, top of the Premier League, they don't let goals in and sometimes one is enough to win it. Today we managed to score a few more.

"The reason my voice is [hoarse] is because I wanted that clean sheet as well. It's important that we're relentless with what we're doing and that we go to the 94th minute."

"It was important that we won today," he added. "What you don't want to do is fall right behind and you're looking at those games in hand, if we get x amount then we're there, if we can stay in and around it and still have those games in hand then obviously that puts us in a really strong position but you can't count those points."

Mike Williamson post-match reaction

Williamson branded Carlisle's performance "unacceptable" after the game and admitted that the club had a lot of work to do.

"A really poor performance," he said. "There's not much for me to say.

"There's so many things we've got to improve. We've got to accept where we are as a football from top to bottom. We knew this coming in and the boys, they're in a very difficult place to be.

"It might look to certain people like the lads are finding it difficult but it's hard when you're on that football pitch and to take that responsibility but we've got to find a way and that was unacceptable from top to bottom.

"The fans that came all the way down here, travelling hundreds of miles, sacrificing, that was unacceptable so for us, we've got to accept where we are, and that we've got a lot of work to do".