Former Nottingham Forest defender Riley Harbottle’s second-half goal handed AFC Wimbledon the advantage in their Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-final against Notts County at Meadow Lane.
Harbottle’s header handed Johnnie Jackson’s men a hard-fought 1-0 victory ahead of next weekend’s return at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
County boss Stuart Maynard will feel his side are still in with a chance of reaching Wembley after creating a number of opportunities.
However, Alassana Jatta’s dismissal in stoppage time, for a foul on Alistair Smith, could be a devastating blow for the Magpies.
With only a point separating them in the final table, the opening skirmishes of this first leg were always going to be competitive.
Matthew Stevens went close for the visitors, attempting to guide a header back across home goalkeeper Alex Bass after meeting a high delivery to the far post. At the other end, Conor Grant came close to punching a hole in Wimbledon’s rearguard before eventually being crowded out.
Grant’s team-mate, Jodi Jones, did engineer himself into a shooting position soon after, but directed his effort into goalkeeper Owen Goodman’s chest.
To their credit, both County and AFC Wimbledon appeared intent on grabbing the tie by the scuff of the neck. The only trouble was, until Harbottle’s breakthrough, their final pass or touch inevitably went astray which betrayed the fixture’s significance.
Midway through the first half, Sam Austin looked to have sent Jatta darting clean through, but Joe Lewis intervened. Visiting captain Jake Reeves did manage to connect with a corner, but headed well wide.
That miss did, however, prove the catalyst for a prolonged period of pressure on County’s defence. They withstood the aerial bombardment well and then responded with some enterprising work of their own, with Lewis surviving a strong penalty appeal after Grant’s drive struck his arm.
As the momentum continued to sway one way and then the other, Ryan Johnson forced Bass to make a fine scrambling save to prevent his header from reaching the bottom corner.
Almost immediately, Goodman produced an even better block by parrying Grant’s low drive away to safety following a perfectly-timed run into the box.
Despite David McGoldrick’s movement, Grant continued to carry County’s greatest threat. Immediately after the interval, he was denied by Goodman again after finding himself unmarked in the area. Jatta was unable to turn home the rebound during the scramble which followed.
Harbottle punished those misses in the 59th minute, taking full advantage of County’s indecision to nod Reeves’ lofted centre beyond Bass.
The away fans were still celebrating when Jones came within the width of a post of snatching an equaliser with a long-range attempt.
When the hosts did find a way through during the closing stages, Grant rounded Goodman only to see Josh Neufville scamper back to clear.
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