Saturday's victory was most notable for the successful debuts of two young players: Craig Tanner, a highly-rated striker on loan from Championship side Reading, and Will Nightingale, a 19-year old defender who has played for AFC Wimbledon since the age of nine.

But should we be focusing on importing talented youth from bigger clubs, or on developing our own?

The debate over whether to invest in your own academy players, or to chase the short-term success that loan signings can bring, is one that surely occupies the mind of many a League Two manager.

Tanner made an instant impact up front, playing a large part in the first goal, and instantly forming a potent-looking partnership with Adebayo Akinfenwa.

AFC Wimbledon: There's more to come, says new boy Tanner

However, there are concerns from some fans that his arrival will only serve to sideline our own young strikers, Ade Azeez and George Oakley.

What can't be doubted, on the evidence of his debut, is that he is a better option than Azeez to start alongside Bayo; if he can keep up such form, a play-off push isn't out of the question.

If he scores 15 goals between now and the end of the season, then getting him to Kingsmeadow will be viewed as an phenomenal piece of business.

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Flegling partnership: Adebayo Akinfenwa and Craig Tanner (27)

But the problem with a loanee is that, however well they do, we won't be able to call on them next season - are we not better served by living off the achievements of our own players?

In defence, the situation is very different. There was another young loanee playing at centre-back, Deji Oshilaja - but he was outshone by his home-grown defensive partner, Nightingale.

Nightingale's performance showed plenty of promise, as he didn't look phased by the aerial and physical challenges of the division. 

There were a few nervy moments in the first-half, but he kept his cool to deliver an impressively assured performance.

However, the slightly exaggerated response to Nightingale's performance (with Ardley calling it "as good a debut as I've ever seen"), highlights that bringing through your own players comes with a different set of problems.

I have no intention of undermining Will's well-deserved plaudits, but it's an undeniable truth that we are naturally inclined to be more tolerant of errors and more generous in praise when the young player in question is one of our own.

So for various reasons, the use of loan players, who are potentially destined for higher things, is more conducive to short-term success.

For a club of our budget to ignore this option completely would be very naive - just think of the impact the likes of Jake Goodman, Michael Smith and Billy Knott have made for us.

However, it's also important that this is balanced with the development of our own youth players, without which long-term success becomes practically impossible.

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Assured: Will Nightingale

This long-term benefit can be brought either by the creation of a team filled with young talent, or by living off the profits of a productive academy - we need look no further than Exeter for example, who sold Matt Grimes (just a month older than Nightingale) to Swansea City for £1.75m earlier this month.

Using loanees from higher-profile clubs is a necessary part of lower-league football; as long as the interests of our own youth players are also considered, that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

The arrival of Tanner, for example, will shield Azeez from the pressure of being first choice (for which he is not yet ready) and allow him to continue his development, while providing us with the bonus of having a very talented young striker added to our squad.

The important thing is that we also recognise and reward the successes of our home-grown talents. 

I'm not suggesting Nightingale starts every week from now on, but he's made it clear that he is a reliable option in the centre of defence, and definitely one for the future.

Here's hoping that he - along with fellow academy products Tom Beere, Oakley and Ben Harrison - get plenty more chances before this season ends.

Although, I wouldn't complain if Tanner were to score plenty of goals too...