Matty Stevens on Dons proving League One play-off doubters wrong and no grudges towards his former club Walsall ahead of Wembley clash
Matty Stevens admits there will be nerves ahead of Monday’s League Two play-off final but insists AFC Wimbledon are confident as they prepare to face Walsall at Wembley.
The Dons booked their place in the showpiece event with a 2-0 aggregate win over Notts County in the semi-finals.
Stevens has been quick to underline how crucial the 1-0 first leg win at Meadow Lane had been.
Josh Neufville struck in the eighth minute of the return at Plough Lane to add a further cushion.
“To take a 1-0 win back to our home ground, where we’ve been solid all year, it gave us a lot of confidence,” said the striker, 27.
“To score early, it always helps. We defended very well and we could have gone on to win by two or three.”
“Everyone on that pitch had a bit of nerves. If someone said they didn’t, I think they would be lying.
“There were times in the game where we had to keep our shape and I hoped that once we did that, we could break – which we did – and get a goal. That gave us a little bit more confidence again.”
Stevens nearly added his name to the scoresheet with a header that was saved by County keeper Alex Bass.
“I don’t think I could have done any more with the header,” he said. “I got good contact.
“Apart from our own goalkeeper, he’s probably the best in the league. He pulled off a good save at their place too.
“There were a couple of chances Brownie (Marcus Browne) had, which you would back him to score. For myself, you hope you can see it out because those are moments that come back to bite you. Thankfully they didn’t – we defended the whole 94 minutes and got the job done.”
Wimbledon have a nine-day gap until they play again at Wembley.
“I’d rather be playing next weekend – it’s a long time to wait,” said Stevens. “There are going to be nerves because you want to win, you want to do well. You can’t stop that – you can do your best – but it is the way it is.
“Sometimes that helps you, sometimes it doesn’t. But hopefully we can stick to the game plan.”
Stevens, who scored 17 goals in the league, felt the Dons were underestimated by many heading into the play-offs.
“I saw a lot of people saying that they thought Notts County and Chesterfield were going to be the final – and they were proven wrong,” he said. “We were always quietly confident when we drew Notts. We’ve probably played some of our best football against them, and we seem to play a shape that suits us better than them.
“It’s better in that way. The two teams probably deserve to be in the final because of where we finished in the league. But it’s a one-off game, so we’ll see.”
After a brief stint at Walsall in the past, Stevens admitted there’s no added motivation on a personal level – just the desire to win.
“They’ve got great support, good fans, but I wasn’t there long enough to sort of hold a grudge,” he said.
“Walsall are a good team. You aren’t top of the league for as long as they were this season without being a good side.
“They finished one place above us in the league. We will show them respect, but obviously we’re coming there to win, and we believe we’ve got the team to do so.”
PICTURE: KYLE ANDREWS
