AFC Wimbledon put the squeeze on play-off pushing Charlton in battle against the drop

AFC Wimbledon put the squeeze on Charlton as they defeated the play-off hopefuls 1-0 and boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation.

Charlton came into the game at Kingsmeadow on a four-match unbeaten run under caretaker boss Lee Bowyer but were denied space by the hosts, who won with a goal from Lyle Taylor.

AFC boss Neal Ardley said: “I don’t think people will realise how good a performance it was. I watched Charlton’s past four games and I wish I hadn’t. I turned up on Monday morning and said, ‘Blimey, since Lee has taken over they’ve been outstanding’. We had to come up with a way of winning. We decided to be brave, press them high, and make it a game they did not really want to play in.”

AFC are now four points above the League One relegation zone while Charlton are in sixth but only goal difference separates them from seventh-placed Plymouth.

Bowyer said: “We knew what it was going to be like — that’s how AFC play — we prepared for that and they competed better than us.”