AFC Wimbledon 0–1 Burton Albion
Sideways or backwards
The unbeaten run is over. Seven games of grit, late goals and cautious optimism came to a shuddering halt courtesy of a looping header, a stubborn goalkeeper, and a penalty so gentle it could have been used in baby yoga.
The Team
Also involved: Aron Sasu (instantly lively and frustrating in equal measure), a selection of frustrated forwards, and the collective sound of 8,082 sighs.
Notable Absences: Matty Stevens (still recovering), Joe Lewis (his ribs remain an abstract art project).
McCoy-Splat was out of the squad, after arriving late for training. JJ didn’t take kindly to his excuse that a squirrel on Wimbledon Common stole his car keys and it took him 40 minutes to get them back.
The Match
For the first ten minutes Burton played as if they weren’t near the relegation zone. They kept the ball, won set pieces, and forced Bishop into early saves.
Then came the moment of the first half: Hippolyte’s perfect ball over the top, Browne fouled, with the referee doing his best impression of a reality tv host drawing out the tension before pointing to the spot.
Bugiel stepped up. Twelve yards. One chance to keep the run alive. And then…the softest, gentlest penalty kick you’ve ever seen. The keeper guessed right, saved it, and watched the rebound cannon off the post.
Somewhere in the crowd, someone was heard muttering something about destiny and diet.
Second half: we looked better. Seddon and Bugiel combined neatly before Seddon’s shot fizzed wide. Then, predictably, the sucker punch a flicked Alan (P)Hartridge header, and the unbeaten run was officially an ex-run.
We huffed. We puffed. Sasu came on like a wasp in a pint glass, his first cross begging for a touch that never came. Reeves© almost saved it at the death with a volley so sweet you could bottle it, but again the keeper somehow clawed it away.
By the final whistle, we were left applauding effort and wondering how we’d lost to a team who celebrated throw-ins like cup finals.
What the Fans Are Saying
Facebook spent the evening deciding whether Bugiel’s penalty miss was “unforgivable” or “proof he cares too much.”
On Discord, someone suggested we were “tactically brave.” Another replied, “Brave in the sense of running into traffic.”
Meanwhile someone in the North Stand was heard complaining about the noise of the hand dryers in the South Stand toilets being too loud. If that’s not a metaphor for today’s performance we don’t know what is.
Womble of the Week
Isaac Ogundere
In a match where most of the headlines wrote themselves via missed penalties, misfired volleys, and general frustration. Ogundere quietly got on with the unfashionable stuff. The tackle. The block. The “please don’t let it be two-nil” clearance off the line.
He’s not flashy, he’s not loud, and he doesn’t need to be. If Asiimwe brings the chaos, Ogundere brings the calm. The type of player every unbeaten run needs - even on the day it ends.
Closing Thoughts
Losing to Burton isn’t a crisis. It’s just deeply annoying. We’ve been on the right side of fine margins lately, and this time the margins decided to test our patience. The unbeaten streak is gone, but the fight’s still there.
We weren’t at our best by a long way, but if Bugiel had buried that penalty, we’d have held on. You could feel it. The rhythm, the belief, the scrappy inevitability of another narrow win.
That goal unbelievably would’ve put us top of the league. Not that anyone’s caring about the league table this early, obviously.
Except every single one of us did, in our heads, mid-celebration that never came.
Next up: Gateshead at home in the FA Cup. It’s “kids for a quid,” but if Bugiel’s taking penalties, maybe the adults should get a discount too.
WombleWorld
Spiritually unbeaten, technically not.
Ashley Bayes has already arranged a cleansing ritual with scented candles and a motivational whale soundtrack.