Gills leave Plough Lane empty handed following 2-0 defeat.
Omar Bugiel scored twice as AFC Wimbledon beat ten-man Gillingham 2-0 at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Tuesday night.
Stephen Clemence made one change to the starting XI that drew 1-1 with Tranmere Rovers. Connor Mahoney came into the line-up, with Ashley Nadesan dropping to the bench.
Glenn Morris did well to deny Bugiel in the seventh minute. A long ball forward fell into the path of the striker, who took a snapshot from outside the penalty area. Morris got down to push it out of play for a corner, which came to nothing.
Oli Hawkins had Gillingham’s first chance of the game soon after. Jonny Williams played the ball wide to Remeao Hutton, who was on the touchline. He brought it out of his feet before curling a cross into the danger zone. Hawkins rose the highest but could not keep his effort down as it cleared the target.
In the 21st minute, Connor Mahoney was denied by strong AFC Wimbledon defending. Hutton’s corner was curled towards the back post, and Hawkins headed the ball back into the box. It fell to Mahoney, who thumped a half-volley goalward. It was well-blocked by a Dons defender before it could test Alex Bass.
The hosts went down the other end and had an opportunity of their own almost immediately. Lee Brown’s cross from the left was met by the head of Ronan Curtis. Fortunately, his header went just over the crossbar.
Morris had to be quick off his line after Hutton's under-hit backpass. He was in a race with Bugiel to get to the ball first, and fortunately for the Gills, the 40-year-old beat the striker to the ball, clearing the impending danger.
In the 33rd minute, Bugiel gave AFC Wimbledon the lead. Jake Reeves’ cross found the head of the striker, who guided his header into the far corner, as it hit the inside of the post before crossing the line.
Five minutes later, Gills were reduced to ten men when Conor Masterson was shown two yellow cards in as many minutes. The first yellow came after he lunged into a slide tackle a bit too aggressively for the referee’s liking. The second came after he pulled onto the shirt of an AFC Wimbledon player who tried to break away from the defender.
Josh Neufville forced Morris into a save shortly before half-time. Neufville did well taking the ball into the penalty area before shooting towards the near post. Morris made a good save, pushing it behind for a corner, which was well defended.
HALF-TIME: AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Gillingham
Gills made a change at the break as Robbie McKenzie replaced Oli Hawkins.
In the 56th minute, Morris did brilliantly to deny Curtis. Bugiel played the ball for Curtis to run onto inside the penalty area, with the forward shooting first time. The Gillingham goalkeeper was off his line, closing the angle and pulling off a quick reactive save.
Bugiel scored his second in the 65th minute. The hosts won the ball inside the Gillingham half before it was played to Reeves. The AFC Wimbledon captain shot from 30 yards, which was met by a strong hand by Morris. Unfortunately, the ball sat perfectly for the oncoming Buigel to smash into the back of the net.
Gills made a double change in the 69th minute, with George Lapslie and Josh Walker replacing Mahoney and Jonny Williams respectively
Walker was denied by solid defending from the hosts as the Gills went in search of pulling a goal back. The ball dropped to the striker inside the penalty area, who saw his initial effort blocked. The second ball came back to him, with his shot directed towards the bottom corner also well-blocked.
Josh Kelly replaced John-Kymani Gordon in the 82nd minute and came close to finding a third during stoppage time. The hosts dealt with a Gillingham throw into the box before breaking forward, setting Kelly away. He made his way into the penalty area before dinking it beyond Morris towards the far corner. However, Scott Malone was there to put the ball out of play before it threatened to hit the back of the net.
FULL-TIME: AFC Wimbledon 2-0 Gillingham
AFC Wimbledon: Bass, Balmer, O’Toole, Brown, Neufville (Ogundere 90+2’), Reeves, Little, Currie, Curtis (Sasu 90+2’), Gordon (Kelly 82’), Buigel (Davison 90+2’)
Unused Substitutes: Tzanev, Pell, Ball
Gillingham: Morris, Hutton, Masterson, Ehmer, Ogie, Clark (Malone 59’), Coleman, Dieng (Nadesan 81’), J. Williams (Walker 69’), Mahoney (Lapslie 69’), Hawkins (McKenzie 46’)
Unused Substitutes: Turner, S. Williams
Referee: Thomas Kirk
Attendance: 7527 (1206 Gillingham supporters)
