An unbelievable night for Boro in front of a record breaking crown of 2700 ended in absolute heartbreak as their illustrious opponents AFC Wimbledon scored a 90th minute goal to see them progress to the 2nd round . After a torrid opening 15 minutes at the wind and rain swept CVS Van Hire Stadium Boro began to find their feet and started to pose a few problems of their own. O’donoghue almost scoring from a tight angle and Barker felt he deserved a penalty when he was challenged from behind by the defender who was on the wrong side and made a rash attempt to get the ball felling Barker in the process. Referee Salisbury was not impressed and it would be interesting to know now what he feels now having seen it again on TV ! Whatever the outcome it’s too late now to help Boro who were indebted throughout the first half to the competent handling and saves of Pajetat . Pinnock was the most dangerous player on the Wimbledon side and almost scored with a free kick which scraped the bar and another left foot effort just missed the far post . Nouble was looking good for the Boro down the left and Ademiluyi was a persistent thorn in the back line of Wimbledon . 0-0 half time and all to play for . The second half again led to pressure by the away side and once again Pajetat came to the rescue with some fine saves that kept Boro in the game. As the half progressed and the game became stretched Boro began to show some attacking prowess and when Staunton scored Boro thought they were on the way to round 2 until the Assistant’s flag rightly ruled the goal out for offside. Stone and the impressive Barker were replaced by Rowe and McDonald as Boro pushed to win the game .As the clock approached 90 and a replay loomed large Wimbledon broke down the right wing and a cross found its way to Pinnock who’s cross come shot took a wicked deflection off Olufemi and the ball deceived the despairing Pajetat and ended up in the net. No time for any response by Boro and as the final whistle went Wimbledon had scraped through and Boro were left with glorious memories of a famous cup run and some broken hearts and players who will forever wonder “what if ”
14th November 2018
