AFC Wimbledon head coach unimpressed despite three point haul against Northampton

Mark Robinson was left unimpressed by AFC Wimbledon’s second-half performance in today’s 1-0 win over Northampton.

Joe Pigott’s 88th-minute goal – ending a run of nine games without getting on the scoresheet – clinched the points at Plough Lane.

But it needed Nik Tzanev to save Sam Hoskins’ penalty, literally the last kick of the League One match, to see the Dons over the line.

Asked about the fact he wasn’t more elated after Wimbledon’s first win since February 23, head coach Robinson said: “If you don’t look at performances and you get elated at victories and don’t look at things that went wrong then the next defeat or draw is only just around the corner.

“It’s not because I want us to have 50 or 60 passes. It’s because I want us to perform better. In the second half we have created very, very little and we’ve not implemented our identity on the game.

“I just see things very differently. I’m very performance and process based. I’m not disappointed with three points – of course I’m not. I feel my job is not to get over emotional whether we win, draw or lose. My job is to make sure they are honestly reflecting, so we can kick on as a football club.

“We haven’t won two games on the spin all season. That’s only going to come if we reflect where we can get better. There are lots of things we’ve got to do better – based on today’s performance. If you went back to last weekend it was a good performance [against Charlton] but we only got a draw. We dropped our standards today.”

Tzanev dived to his left to push away Hoskins’ penalty.

“He is a very good goalkeeper,” said Robinson. “I’ve already talked about his development and how it probably was hindered by the fact he had not played enough football over the years. Now he has got the opportunity, I’m sure he’ll continue to flourish.

“You kind of expect the worst [when it was awarded]. It’s not just a save – it’s a fantastic save. It’s not even a bad penalty. He deserves all the accolades. Even their bench were saying: ‘What was it [given] for?’.”

Pigott netted his 16th goal of the season.

Robinson said: “His performances have been excellent. He was really good last week. Forwards are always judged on their goals. It was nice it was scruffy in some ways, because we haven’t really scored goals like that. I’ve been really, really pleased with his performances – so it’s not a problem.”

PHOTOS: KEITH GILLARD