Get the lowdown on tomorrow’s opponents: AFC Wimbledon.
The Opposition
AFC Wimbledon returned to League One for the first time in three years, having seen a six-year stay in England’s third tier come to an end in 2022.
With Johnnie Jackson at the helm, the former Charlton Athletic boss guided the Dons to a fifth place finish, before securing victory in the last season’s League Two Play-Off Final.
Bolstered by a robust defence consisting of the likes of Joe Lewis, Ryan Johnson and Riley Harbottle, Wimbledon conceded a league-best 35 goals last term, a number which also ranks as the lowest number of goals conceded in any season since their non-league days, and showcased their strong defensive resilience when it mattered to cement their place in League One.
Experienced forward Matty Stevens was a regular fixture in the Wombles’ team with a whopping 56 appearances in all competitions, and left his mark on the side with 21 goals to his name to fire Jackson’s side into the third tier.
Despite in an indifferent end to the campaign with just one win from their final five games (two draws and two defeats), Wimbledon found success in the Play-Offs with Harbottle and former U Josh Neufville striking in each leg to seal a 2-0 aggregate win, before seeing off Walsall at Wembley thanks to Myles Hippolyte’s solitary goal, which sparked wild celebrations at the home of English football.
The Dons have already kick-started their summer plans as they look to establish themselves in League One once again, adding Nathan Bishop, Delano McCoy-Splatt, Joe McDonnell and Steve Seddon to their ranks, along with making Ali Smith’s loan move from Lincoln City permanent, and have enjoyed an unbeaten start to pre-season with three games played already, securing draws with Cypriot side Pafos and Watford either side of a 4-2 win against Enfield Town.
The Manager
Johnnie Jackson
Former midfielder Johnnie Jackson has been in the Plough Lane dugout for three years now, taking charge of a stellar rise back into League One.
Having come through the Tottenham Hotspur academy as a player, Jackson went on to appear for Swindon Town, Colchester United, Coventry City, Watford and Derby County on loan before returning to Colchester permanently in 2006, and went on to make over 100 appearances for the Essex-based side across three years at the club. A brief stint at Notts County then preceded a loan move to Charlton Athletic, which was later made permanent, and he went on to feature almost 250 times for the Addicks across an eight-year spell, and notably achieved promotion from League One in 2012.
After hanging up his boots in 2018, Jackson remained at The Valley as a coach, having served as part of Karl Robinson’s backroom staff alongside Lee Bowyer and Steve Gallen during his final two seasons as a player. He later assisted the former as caretaker boss following Robinson’s departure, before being named in temporary charge himself when Bowyer resigned from his post three years later.
Seven months later, Jackson was once again named in caretaker charge of Charlton, this time following the departure of Nigel Adkins, and he was named permanent manager soon after achieving nine wins from 13 games, with the former midfielder remaining in the role until the end of the season.
This brought an end to a 12-year association with the Addicks, and not long after he was appointed as manager of AFC Wimbledon, replacing short-term boss Mark Bowen. Having taken on the role following the Dons’ relegation from League One, Jackson established the side in the fourth tier across the next few seasons, before guiding them back into the third tier three years after arriving with victory over Walsall in the Play-Off Final.
One to Watch
Matty Stevens
Since arriving at Plough Lane in 2024, Matty Stevens has been a key member of Johnnie Jackson’s squad, and fired the Dons to promotion last term with the third highest amount of goals in the entire division.
A former amateur boxer, Stevens quit boxing at the age of 15 in favour of forging a career in football, spending time in the youth teams of Aldershot Town, Farnborough and Reading, scoring 32 goals for the latter at Under-16 level. This preceded a move to Barnet where he rose through the ranks, and earned a move to Peterborough United after two years at The Hive.
His time at London Road saw him primarily gain experience out on loan, with stints at Cambridge City, Sligo Rovers, Kettering Town and Slough Town, notably scoring 25 goals from 44 games for Kettering.
After three years with the Posh, Stevens made the switch to Forest Green Rovers where he was largely a regular fixture aside from brief loan spells at Stevenage and Walsall, appearing over 100 times across a five-year spell in Nailsworth.
Stevens departed The New Lawn following back-to-back relegations which saw the Green return to the National League after seven seasons away, exiting as the club’s all-time joint-second highest goalscorer with 51 goals in 133 appearances.
As such, Stevens remained in League Two with a move to AFC Wimbledon, and ended his maiden campaign with promotion via the Play-Offs, having scored 21 goals in all competitions, with his 17 league strikes being bettered only by Alassana Jatta (Notts County) and Michael Cheek (Bromley).
Last Time We Met
Sutton moved off the foot of League Two with a win at local rivals AFC Wimbledon – their first away league victory for 10 months as Jason Goodliffe enjoyed his first win as interim boss thanks to Omar Sowunmi’s second half goal at Plough Lane.
Alex Bass had to be at his best early on to deny Ben Goodliffe and Harry Smith before James Tilley had a shot saved by Dean Bouzanis at the other end, before Ali Al-Hamadi went close twice either side of the break, flashing a header over the crossbar before seeing a fierce shot diverted wide by Joe Kizzi.
Omari Patrick was then denied an opener by Bass from a narrow angle, but Sutton finally drew first blood just after the hour-mark when a Ryan Jackson throw-in bounced across goal and was headed home by Sowunmi.
As the hosts searched for an equaliser, Al-Hamadi sent a header straight at Bouzanis from Armani Little’s cross, and proved to be one of few chances late on, with Sutton doing superbly well to see out eight minutes of stoppage time. Paul Kalambayi did attempt an overhead kick in the final seconds which bounced agonisingly wide, and proved enough to give their hopes of avoiding the drop a boost on Boxing Day.
Relive the victory here.
Played for Both
Ryan Jackson
Streatham-born right back Ryan Jackson can currently call his first and last clubs Wimbledon and Sutton, having begun his career in the Dons’ academy back in 2008.
A four-year spell with the Wombles saw him rack up almost 50 appearances after rising into the first team during the latter stages of the 2009/10 campaign, and notably helped the club win promotion from the Conference Premier in 2011, which saw them regain their place in the Football League after the relocation of the original Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes.
Loan spells at Fleetwood Town and Cambridge United preceded the end of his Wimbledon career though, and was followed by stints at Macclesfield Town, Newport County, Gillingham and Colchester United, before returning to the Gills for a further two years and going on to appear more times than for anyone else throughout his career.
This was then followed by a move to Cheltenham Town, where he continued to establish himself as an experienced and reliable pro within the lower leagues. Having racked up almost 500 career appearances, Jackson returned to South London with a move to Sutton in 2023, appearing 75 times competitively for the U’s, scoring twice – in a 2-1 defeat to Harrogate Town and the opener in a 4-3 win over Notts County – before departing Gander Green Lane in the summer.
Photo Credit: AFC Wimbledon
