AFC Wimbledon 2 Fleetwood 2
Tom Elliott’s super-sub showing was only enough for a point for Dons as their stoppage-time frailties surfaced once more at Kingsmeadow this afternoon.
Elliott rose from the bench at half-time to score one and earn the penalty for the other as the hosts turned around a 1-0 deficit, but not for the first time this season Dons conceded in added on time when Conor McLaughlin headed in Jack Sowerby’s corner
Missing both regular full-backs Barry Fuller and Jon Meades through suspension and without leading scorer Lyle Taylor, mysteriously absent from the match-day squad, the hosts endured a chastening first half.
Meades’ replacement Seth Owens had already endured a torrid opening at the hands of Ashley Hunter when the visitors went ahead on 11 minutes. Dons were forced to concede a corner in their left-back position and Cian Bolger got too high for the cover and bulleted a header beyond James Shea.
Fleetwood should have been 2-0 up on 21 minutes when Bobby Grant’s sensational long-range shot beat Shea all ends up only to hit the inside of the far post and cannon to safety.
And Dons still only got to the dressing room just one in arrears thanks to Shea’s stunning save from Bolger’s deflected shot and Parrett’s last-ditch intervention which deflected Hunter’s volley from the resulting corner out of harm’s way.
Owens was mercifully withdrawn at half-time in favour of Sean Kelly while Elliott replaced the ineffective Tyrone Barnett. The impact of the latter was instant as just two minutes in Poleon forced a corner down the left and when Parrett’s delivery came in the former Cambridge striker’s header took a deflection which took it beyond keeper Alex Cairns.
Only the palm of Cairns denied him a second six minutes later following good work from Poleon, but Fleetwood broke from the resulting corner, Grant releasing Dempsey, who rounded Shea only for Kelly to clear off the line.
With the game now open Elliott headed between two defenders for Poleon with 20 minutes left, but unusually when given sight of goal the former Leeds man missed his kick.
The deadlock was broken in favour of the hosts with 13 minutes to go when Joe Davis was adjudged to have pulled down Elliott just inside the box. Parrett grabbed the ball and sent Cairns the wrong way from the spot.
Whelpdale and Poleon though missed great chances to seal it, the latter firing wide when clean through and they paid the penalty when McLaughlin levelled matters at the death.
