AFC Wimbledon manager Johnnie Jackson says his side are focusing only on themselves after claiming a “deserved” win over high-flying Barrow to remain firmly in the mix for the play-off places in League Two.
The Dons sent second-placed Mansfield home pointless two weeks ago and were also too strong for the Bluebirds, who arrived at Plough Lane third in the table, as first-half goals from Ronan Curtis and Omar Bugiel earned a 2-0 victory.
Only a late winner for Harrogate prevented Wimbledon from rising into the top seven while Barrow, who had Jamie Proctor sent off late on, dropped to fourth, one point behind Crewe.
Jackson said: “I think it was a deserved win, I thought we played really well.
“We have to concentrate on ourselves, obviously, but we just want to stay in and amongst it, which is what we’re doing.
“We’ve managed to find a bit of consistency with our form and our results, and I think if we concentrate on the performance levels then points will follow.
“Obviously, we’re still picking them up against good teams – we beat Mansfield here last time out and they’d only lost twice. Barrow, I think, had only lost five games all season.
“These are good results against good teams and we just want to find that consistency because before you know it we’re on the bus to Accrington on Monday and that ain’t one of the easier places to go.”
Wimbledon were ahead after 16 minutes when Paul Farman’s clearance ahead of Josh Kelly ran for Curtis, who controlled before thumping the ball past the stranded goalkeeper from 25 yards.
The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Bugiel headed in Armani Little’s cross, with Dons goalkeeper Alex Bass making a good save to deny David Worrall early in the second half.
Farman prevented Kelly from opening his Wimbledon account after breaking through one-on-one before Proctor saw red for allegedly kicking out at Kofi Balmer.
Barrow boss Pete Wild said of the dismissal: “The fourth official is saying that as he hit the floor he kicked out.
“We’ve obviously just seen that, he clearly hasn’t kicked out, but we just need to be clear from the officials what they are saying that is for before we start analysing what we’ll do.
“I’m frustrated with how we started, you can’t start football matches like that and expect to win them, especially away from home.
“We talked about Wimbledon’s tenacity, how they’ve been playing lately and how they’ve been going about their business, and we didn’t stand up to that challenge.
“It’s easy to play when you’re 2-0 down and from 30 minutes onwards we’ve dominated the game, but for having all that domination, how many times have we made their keeper work?”
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
'Not a good sign' – Keane unimpressed by Man Utd's injured absentees
Roy Keane was left questioning the attitudes of Manchester United's players as the Red Devils were once again without numerous key players for Sunday's loss to Arsenal.
Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez were among the notable names to miss out for the 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford, as Erik ten Hag bemoaned continued injury issues.
Martinez and Harry Maguire's absence ensured Ten Hag had to field Jonny Evans and makeshift centre-back partner Casemiro in defence, with the latter at fault for Leandro Trossard's winning goal.
Wayne Rooney vocalised his concerns over the application of United's players and Keane, speaking on Sky Sports, echoed his thoughts as he questioned the prolonged absence of some.
"Obviously, that's not a good sign," Keane said of players not returning from injury. "You'd hope players who are carrying injuries are desperate to get back playing again.
"There is always a worry, there are always players at every club that can drag their heels with an injury.
"Generally, players I played with when they were given a period they'd be injured for, they were always trying to knock a week off it and get back playing for Manchester United or whatever club they're at."
Without a host of key players, United have conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions for the first time since October 2021.
The Red Devils' 82 goals they have conceded this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82), too, as United continue to disappoint in the 2023-23 campaign.
United have also lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), while their nine defeats at Old Trafford this term are their joint-most at home in a single campaign.
Keane says the concerns over players not racing back to fitness is not unusual, though it does little to aid Ten Hag's plight.
"It's always a worry but I have to say, it goes on at lots of football clubs," the United great said.
"There are lots of players out there when they have an injury, they're not in the hurry to get back in the team. I think that's obvious and happens at lots of football clubs."
Leverkusen ready to become first team to play unbeaten Bundesliga season, says Alonso
Bayer Leverkusen are ready to become the first team in Bundesliga history to go an entire season unbeaten, coach Xabi Alonso said after Sunday's 5-0 demolition of Bochum.
Treble-chasing Leverkusen cruised past Bochum, who had Felix Passlack sent off in the 15th minute, to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 50 consecutive matches.
On Thursday, Alonso's team surpassed Benfica's long-standing European unbeaten record set from 1963 to 1965 with a 2-2 draw against Roma that sent them through to the Europa League final.
Sunday's win over Bochum also meant they became only the third team in Bundesliga history to remain unbeaten in every away match of a season.
"After that red card it was a completely different game for us," Alonso told a press conference.
"I am very satisfied with the result. It was important for us. Now we have a super goal on Saturday to win the title without any defeat. That has never happened before."
Leverkusen, who face Atalanta in the Europa League showpiece match and take on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final later in May, entertain Augsburg at home in Saturday's Bundesliga finale where they will also receive their first-ever league trophy.
"To receive the title in Leverkusen will be very special," said Alonso. "The players have been focused the entire season so for them it will be very special. I am proud of them."
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