AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Crawley Town

Ten-man Wimbledon rolled back the years to record an heroic FA Cup win that earns them a £50,000 trip to Millwall.

The Dons go to the 2004 finalists next Monday after an epic second-half display.

A man shy after Derek Duncan’s stupid second yellow and on the back of a woeful first 45 minutes, Terry Brown’s remaining ten warriors put on the performance of a lifetime to keep themselves in the competition.

Refusing to play for penalties despite being outplayed for the previous 135 minutes of the tie, Wimbledon won it with goals from the formidable Luke Moore and Danny Kedwell.

Delighted Brown said: “Tonight is up there with the best nights I can remember with this football club.

“When I asked for them to show me their character at half-time they responded. They stood up – every time I ask for something extra they give it to me. I am very proud.

“For 30 minutes Crawley battered us. Then we lost Derek and we had to stick in there and scrap for everything.

“I was too busy giving my team-talk to have a go at him at half-time but I’m just delighted with the players. You know, this club was built on tradition in this competition and it was built on performances like that.

“I can’t think of a more rousing occasion. We might never manage to emulate what the old Wimbledon did in the FA Cup but the atmosphere in the second half tonight must have been what it was like back at Plough Lane.”

After 15 minutes it was a case of vintage Jon Main as the hosts surged ahead. The energised striker did what he was doing every week last season – firing low across goalkeeper Simon Rayner and the ball eventually found the net.

Much of the credit went to Duncan whose brave block set up the chance for the attacker. It was soon to go horribly wrong for the left-back as the Red Devils took command.

First, a Brett Johnson lapse should have been punished by Ben Smith, but it was James Pullen to the rescue. Smith had nowhere to hide moments later when he shot woefully wide after the keeper’s soft parry.

Then Duncan and Lewis Taylor got into a mess on the halfway line. The ball fell to Jefferson Louis who raced through on goal and finished with ease right-footed for 1-1.

Wimbledon went down to ten with half-time looming as Duncan rightly got his second yellow for clattering Glenn Wilson.

Brown reshuffled with Main sacrificed to allow Paul Lorraine into the action. It was a great piece of management.

Louis had an effort bundled off the line in the second half’s opening stages and Pullen escaped big time after tugging on Town substitute Callum Willock in the box.

The Dons then came on strong. Kedwell was superb on the right, whipped the quick cross in, that was dummied by Taylor and Moore put Wimbledon back ahead low and hard into the corner.

The forwards exchanged roles in the last few minutes as awful Rayner gift-wrapped the trip to the New Den. Moore’s cross was dropped on Kedwell’s toes and he was never going to miss from two yards despite the tight angle.

Crawley manager Steve Evans said: “Credit to Wimbledon but if the referee does his job right then they play most of the game with eight men, not ten. It’s as simple as that.

“But it’s not about the ref, we didn’t take our chances. We had seven or eight and the same happened on Saturday. That’s why we are out of the FA Cup.

“There has been one team in this tie and the best team is no longer in the competition.”