Manager Neal Ardley admitted his AFC Wimbledon side were “beaten up” by Southend United on Saturday as they lost 2-0 at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

Nile Ranger opened the scoring for the Essex team late in the first half before Simon Cox made it 2-0 in the second half with the Dons failing to register a shot on target during the 90 minutes.

Here's our ratings of how the Wimbledon players performed on the day.

James Shea – Important save from Anthony Wordsworth after ten minutes and tipped a difficult ball around the post early in the second half. 7

Will Nightingale – Out of position for Southend's second. Not his best game. 6

Paul Robinson – Headed the ball straight to Simon Cox at one point in the second half. Defence looked shaky under pressure. 6

Darius Charles – Struggled to deal with Nile Ranger at times. 6

George Francomb

George Francomb – Lively down the right and didn't shirk defensively responsibilities. 7

Tom Soares – Didn't get going. Subbed. 6

Jake Reeves – Didn't get on the ball enough in the first half. 6

Jon Meades – Tried to get forward when he could. Caught out for Southend's second. 7

Lyle Taylor – Went close to levelling for the Dons at the end of the first half. A constant source of energy in a lacklustre game. Subbed. 8

Tom Elliott

Tom Elliott – A class act when on the ball early on, but faded in the second half. Subbed. 6

Andy Barcham – Source of most of the Wimbledon attacks in the first half. 7

SUBS:

Dean Parrett (on for Soares, 67) – Battled but had little impact. 6

Tyrone Barnett (on for Elliott, 81) – n/a

Dom Poleon (on for Taylor, 81) - n/a