Uxbridge 2-1 AFC Wimbledon

Terry Brown’s master plan to inject much needed width into his too-narrow side yesterday backfired.

Wimbledon tumbled out of the FA Trophy after surrendering a lead to their midtable BGB South & West opponents in a classic cup upset.

In what was without doubt their worst display of the season to date, Brown’s team should have been home and hosed before allowing the hosts back into a tie that looked there for the taking.

Brown picked the Trophy test to experiment. And it had devastating consequences.

Using Chris Hussey and Tony Finn as wing-backs in an unfamiliar 3-5-2, Wimbledon were too exposed and lacked the knowledge of the perennial tricky formation famously ditched by former boss Dave Anderson three years ago after only a handful of Ryman League matches. But it all started so well. The Dons began brightly and before long should have had reward for their early endeavours.

Sam Hatton’s through ball put Belal Aiteouakrim in the clear but for the second game running he fluffed his lines when one-on-one with Paul McCarthy.

Striker Danny Kedwell was starting to look the part and he twice came close, only to be denied by the athletic Uxbridge keeper.

The only surprise was that it took the Dons 19 minutes to break through. Kedwell’s well measured cross was met by Aiteouakrim and he found the net to erase the memory of his earlier faux pas.

That riled the home team and they levelled four minutes from the end of the first period. Mickey Haswell – playing again at centre-half following an impressive performance in midweek against Tooting – was at fault after failing to clear Dave Thomas’ inswinger.

Jon Dyer was lurking at the back post to punish the Blue Square South favourites as he headed in.

That wasn’t the last Wimbledon had seen from the attacker. Midway through the second period he again made the most of unconvincing defending and after Lee Turnbull got the ball into the danger-zone, Dyer tapped home from close range.

The messy afternoon went from bad to worse for Brown and his team’s supporters when defender Alan Inns was handed a straight red card in the closing stages. He looks certain to miss a key period in their promotion bid after a day to forget in West Drayton.