Second-half strikes from Liam Trotter and Joe Piggott were enough to see AFC Wimbledon record a 2-0 victory against Blackpool at Kingsmeadow.



On a frustrating afternoon for The Seasiders, who had a couple of penalty appeals waved away, it was Trotter who broke the deadlock in the 49th minute, prior to debutant Joe Pigott stepping off the bench to seal all three points late on.

Manager Gary Bowyer handed a debut to on-loan striker Dan Agyei for the fixture, while Kyle Vassell ended an eight-match absence to partner him in attack.

It was Agyei who had the first attempt of the afternoon, firing straight at AFC Wimbledon keeper George Long from range.

At the other end, Deji Oshilaja’s fizzing ball into the Blackpool six-yard box just evaded the head of Lyle Taylor.

Taylor whipped a dangerous free-kick into the area himself moments later, though Tom Soares couldn’t keep his header below the bar.

The physical nature of The Dons’ front line was causing the Blackpool defence a few issues, with manager Gary Bowyer calling for his centre-backs to get tighter.

Sean Longstaff, who assisted Kyle Vassell for a wonderful goal at Peterborough United in November, almost replicated the same through ball for the forward, however the opposition spotted the run and cleared their lines.

Jimmy Abdou curled over for the home side and Sessi D’Almeida blazed high and wide for Blackpool, as the game remained goal-less at the break.

Half-Time: AFC Wimbledon 0 Blackpool 0

Callum Cooke was introduced for the second-half as a replacement for Sessi D’Almeida, with Gary Bowyer looking for better in the final third.

Despite the change, it was The Dons who found the breakthrough. Liam Trotter was the man to find the net after Lyle Taylor had initially been denied by Joe Lumley.

Appeals for a penalty came from the Blackpool bench when Kyle Vassell collided with Darius Charles moments later, however referee Darren Drysdale allowed play to continue.

As the game passed the hour mark, The Seasiders made further changes from the bench in an effort to get back on level terms. Viv Solomon-Otabor and Nathan Delfouneso were the players to come on, with Dan Agyei and Kyle Vassell withdrawn.

It was Delfouneso who had the first chance since the changes, though he was unable to keep his volley down after latching on to a flick from Will Aimson.

A switch to a back four saw Colin Daniel pushed further forward and more space open up for the final 20 minutes of the encounter.

Viv Solomon-Otabor went down under a tangle of legs inside The Dons’ box and much to the frustration of the Blackpool coaching staff, the referee waved away the appeals.

Not long after, AFC Wimbledon doubled their lead. Joe Pigott, making his debut off the bench, ran off his man and fired into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

Sean Longstaff fizzed a strike right across the face of goal in an effort to pull one back, while Will Aimson headed over a Spearing free-kick at the back post.

Full-Time: AFC Wimbledon 2 Blackpool 0