March got off to a terrible start for AFC Wimbledon as they opened the month on the road against Hayes & Yeading United. Terry Brown's men needed to gain three points to fend off the likes of Crawley and Luton, whose numerous games in hand are sure to consign the Dons to the lottery of the promotion playoffs in the Football Conference National.
It didn't helped matters that they would come in wounded.
"Saturday's game against Altrincham claimed one or two victims as far as injuries are concerned," Brown said. "Ismail Yakubu has severely damaged his collar bone, but Mike Rayner is hopeful that Ismail will be back in action within four weeks.
"Sammy Hatton, who also suffered a particularly poor challenge, will be undergoing a fitness test tomorrow. Meanwhile, although Luke Moore is responding to treatment he will be unavailable for Grimsby.
"On the positive side, Steven Gregory has recovered from the back injury that he suffered on Saturday and will be fit and available for selection on Tuesday. Also, both Sammy Moore and Lee Minshull trained well today and we are hopeful they will be able to take part in Saturday's reserve game at Hampton & Richmond. Apart from that, all the boys are fighting fit and looking forward to gaining our first ever points at Church Road."
Some redemption was in order for the Dons.
"Since I left Hayes over nine years ago, I've yet to take a team to Church Road and come away with a point. This has to change some day and I sincerely hope that it will happen on Tuesday. Hayes themselves are also desperate for the points as the battle at the bottom currently involves up to nine teams and although I would dearly love Hayes to get out of trouble, we will be going looking for all three points.
"Finally, it is really a shame that due to the weather the only date the league could sanction the final of Suburban Champions Cup is tomorrow night. I would like to have been at Walton for the game, as I'm sure many fans would too, to watch Marcus [Gayle]'s team try to convert their 2-1 lead from the first leg into a trophy."
The AFC Wimbledon Reserves defeated Uxbridge 4-2 to win the Suburban Champions Cup at Kingsmeadow. With a 15-3-1 record (48 points) and four games in hand over second-place Tooting & Mitcham United, the Dons Reserves are on track to win the Suburban Football League Premier Division crown.
However, the first team were less fortunate, despite coming away with a sought-after point from Church Road. A spirited performance from a Hayes side staring at the face of relegation resulted in a scoreless draw and an advantage to the Red Devils and Hatters heading into Saturday's clash against Grimsby Town.
"Tuesday's result at Hayes was obviously disappointing," said Brown on Thursday. "We really needed to secure maximum points and in the end the game could have gone either way. Seb Brown made a couple of brilliant saves in the first half and another day we would have finished one of the chances that we created.
"Looking at the positives at least I took a point from Hayes at last. And more seriously, sometimes you go to a team that is struggling in the league and people expect you to win but on Saturday they were very unlucky not to get something out of York City and they make Church Road a very difficult place to go.
"Saturday's visit to Grimsby should see the return to the squad of Sammy Moore and Lee Minshull who have both recovered from injuries and have trained well over the last week. Unfortunately, Sam Hatton has not recovered from the ankle injury he suffered during the Altrincham game and therefore Fraser Franks will cover at right back. I thought Fraser played very well on Tuesday at Hayes and I am hopeful that we can get back to winning ways at Grimsby on Saturday."
They didn't. In spite of Rashid Yussuff scoring in the 24th minute, AFC Wimbledon fell to Grimsby 2-1. The defeat means that Crawley Town jumps to the top of the table after their 5-0 drubbing of Histon.
So far, this March is not looking promising, especially with the most difficult stretch of the month looming near for the Wombles.
Next Saturday, AFC Wimbledon takes on Kidderminster Harriers at Kingsmeadow. Kickoff is scheduled for March 12 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
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