Neal Ardley admitted AFC Wimbledon hold a slight advantage going into next week's play-off semi-final second leg at Accrington Stanley after a night of drama at Kingsmeadow.
Tom Beere made himself a Dons hero by coming off the bench to net his first professional goal and put the Wombles in the driving seat for the second 90 minutes at the Crown Ground.
It was a passionate performance from Ardley's side but it looked as though their efforts would come to nothing as Bayo Akinfenwa rattled the post with a late effort.
However, there was still time for Beere to produce late fireworks and send Wimbledon fans into dreamland by striking at the death.
Ardley said: “We've got an advantage, a very slight one, but Accrington is a tough place to go and we need to put in a really good performance for 90 minutes to come out where we want to be.
“We didn't need to chase the game and 0-0 wouldn't have been the worst result in the world. These are two evenly matched teams and it wasn't the spectacle of the Portsmouth game.
“The atmosphere was electric. I remember the Liverpool game last season and today felt the same – there was a real buzz about the place.
“Today, it was important to make sure we didn't go into the second leg needing to chase it. We've seen a lot of teams in the play-offs that have got to do that.
“It was important to be tight, to be solid, to work hard and get a few chances, and if we did get a few chances that we took one or two of them.
“The players want to do so well and I think they got a bit nervous in the first half and our game didn't really flow.
“It's an incredible club and I'm a tiny part of it but what they've done in the last 14 or 15 years has been incredible.
“They've brought in lots of good managers before me and they've got it right all the way along. That's come from the board and the fans because they make decisions together.
“There's a togetherness about this club and this group of players, more so than any other group I've had, and they really understand what they are playing for.”
AFC Wimbledon or Accrington Stanley will play either Portsmouth or Plymouth in the final at Wembley Stadium.
