Ainsworth has Dons feeling more at home

Wimbledon 2 Portsmouth 1

Despite seeing their fans outnumbered nine-to-one inside their own ground, Wimbledon more than matched Portsmouth where it mattered and gave the First Division leaders only their second away defeat of the season.

It was no more than Stuart Murdoch's side deserved, as once they had levelled Paul Merson's first-half strike they took the game to the visitors and eventually deserved Gareth Ainsworth's winner three minutes from time.

Portsmouth's lead over Leicester at the top, after their first defeat in seven games, has slipped to three points, but more pertinently they are still 15 points ahead of Nottingham Forest in third place. Promotion awaits, but whether it is as champions or runners-up depends on their attitude when they take the lead in their remaining 11 games.

That was the key to this defeat for Harry Redknapp's team. There had been little to choose at either end after Wimbledon's high-tempo start to this match but, once Merson had slammed his shot home into an empty net after 26 minutes, Portsmouth slackened off. From then on, despite flashes of brilliance from Merson and Yakubu Ayegbeni, Wimbledon slowly hauled in Pompey and were good value for their equaliser after 66 minutes.

It was Patrick Agyemang, fresh off the bench, who helped turn things Wimbledon's way in the second half. The midfielder had been on the pitch less than 10 minutes when he levelled the score. Shaka Hislop had been forced to concede a corner by Ainsworth's 20-yard shot and from the ensuing set-piece Neil Shipperley knocked the ball into Agyemang's path and he finished clinically.

From then on the force was with the Dons and afterwards Murdoch expressed his delight at this second successive victory, following their win over Reading on Saturday. He said: "We showed great character and repeated our hard work for the second consecutive game."

The Wimbledon manager singled out the injury-prone Ainsworth for praise and added that the play-offs were still in reach. He could say that thanks to Nigel Reo-Coker going at the Pompey defence before the ball broke to Ainsworth, who gratefully beat Hislop from 10 yards.

For Redknapp, of course, the Premiership remains the aim and he said: "Five wins should be enough for us to go up, but there are some tough games to go and we've got to keep concentrating."

Wimbledon (4-4-2): Davis; Hawkins, Williams, Andersen, Volz; Morgan (McAnuff, 62), Tapp, Reo-Coker, Ainsworth; Shipperley, Gray (Agyemang, 58). Substitutes not used: Gier, Darlington, Gore (gk).

Portsmouth (3-4-1-2): Hislop; Primus, De Zeeuw, Festa; Taylor, Sherwood, Quashie, Crowe (O'Neil, 33); Merson; Todorov (Péricard, 80), Ayegbeni. Substitutes not used: Kawaguchi (gk), Diabaté, Tavlaridis.

Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).