AFC Wimbledon out of Carling Cup Before it Began

The first round of the Carling Cup provided a whole host of entertainment this week with 108 goals being scored and six ties decided by penalties.

However, one side who weren’t able to join in the festivities were AFC Wimbledon who lost in the first preliminary round to take place since 2002. Wimbledon went down 3-2 to fellow promoted side Crawley Town on Friday 29^th July and were subsequently knocked out of the 2011-2012 Carling Cup before it even began.

This was only the second time that a League Cup preliminary round has been necessary and was so because of Birmingham City’s relegation to the Championship. As current holders of the League Cup, City are seeded through to the third round meaning that one less side was required for the first round draw.

As the two sides promoted from the Blue Square Conference and therefore the lowest seeded sides, Wimbledon and Crawley were required to play each other in a single match to be decided on the night. Having lost the match AFC Wimbledon will, barring relegation, have to wait one more year in order to make their first ever appearance in the League Cup.

AFC Wimbledon celebrating their promotion – Photo: rockinpaddy

After the disappointing result, Wimbledon manager Terry Brown was keen to take the positives and work towards a successful year.

He added: “We have four days’ preparation to learn the lessons of last night and make sure we start our time in the Football League with a positive performance and result.

“I won’t be drawing too many drastic conclusions from this as I do feel that this was a particularly difficult fixture played at a ridiculously early time of the season.”

Indeed Wimbledon fans can consider themselves unfortunate as the requirement to play a League Cup preliminary round is a rare event. This was only the second time in the cup's history that the round has been necessary. The first resulted in a 2-0 victory for Boston United against Bristol Rovers in a year that saw Liverpool win the then-named Worthington Cup.

Unfortunately Wimbledon were unable to get the positive result Brown had hoped for after a late Adam Virgo penalty allowed Bristol Rovers to run out 3-2 winners on Saturday. Despite a disappointing first two games, Wimbledon will still be confident of cementing their place in league football, which if successful, will guarantee them a first round spot in the League Cup next season.