JOHNNIE Jackson was unhappy at what he felt was a poor refereeing decision in the 2-0 defeat to Newport County – but urged his AFC Wimbledon players to focus on a “mini-season” as his side aim to defend their play-off spot with seven games left.
Jackson thought Thomas Parsons should have sent off Kyle Jameson after he fouled John-Kymani Gordon on the edge of the box but was only booked.
Jameson scored the Exiles’ second goal after 55 minutes following Bryn Morris’ tenth-minute opener.
“John-Kymani has touched the ball into the area and the referee gave a free-kick for a foul,” Jackson said on the Dons’ website. “If it’s a free-kick it should be a red card. I can’t understand why it’s not been given and it changes the complexion of the game. It’s hard to swallow.
“We had a lot of play in their final third. A lot of penalty box entries, a lot of crosses and a lot of shots. We’ve had enough to get something out of the game. What I will say is that for all of that we probably haven’t tested the goalkeeper enough. That final bit of quality was lacking. They defended their box well because we put them under a lot of pressure. It wasn’t our day.
“We’re seventh, with seven games to go, it’s a big opportunity. It’s a mini-season. It’s a game that we could’ve come away from with something. Every team that’s in our position will have slip ups. We get another opportunity against Crewe Alexandra.”
Newport moved up to eleventh in the League Two table, just two points behind the Dons.
Visiting manager Graham Coughlan said: “It was a really strong performance, I thought we were very good particularly in the first half.
“There were lots of balls in the box we had to defend, it was a typical League Two away day, and our lads stood up and kept a clean sheet, which is a big ask.
“We’re within two points of 57 points which is the target we set. When we get there we can maybe set a different target, but at this moment in time we need to get to 57.”
