Neal Ardley delighted to lead AFC Wimbledon into top half of League One table

Looking up: Neal Ardley
Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images
Sam Long9 October 2016

Neal Ardley is delighted to have led AFC Wimbledon into the top half of the League One courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Oxford United this afternoon.

The Dons had failed to beat their opponents in 12 previous attempts but came out on top at the Kassam Stadium thanks to first-half goals from Tom Elliot, Darius Charles and Andy Barcham.

Oxford rallied after the break and pulled a goal back when Charles turned the ball into his own net but the south Londoners hung on to move to within two points of the play-off places - and above MK Dons for the first time in their history.

Ardley's side are unbeaten in five league games and the 44-year-old is delighted to have claimed the points he believes his side's performances have merited of late.

"It's three wins in a week for us now and we're up into the top half of League One," he told Sky Sports.

"So it's really pleasing, especially with our record against Oxford, which had been rammed down our throats all week.

"To me, it was a performance that had everything. In the second half, we knew they would come hard at us.

"But then after they got a goal after three minutes, I thought we put in a really professional performance," he added.

Wimbledon are competing in their third tier of English football for the first time in their short history and initially struggled for form during the early stages of the campaign.

The Dons only registered their first victory at the seventh attempt but Ardley is adamant his players have now recovered from a late start to pre-season due to their League Two play-off final victory over Plymouth Argyle in May.

"We did have a hangover following on from the play-offs, I think four defeats tells you that. But we are back to playing the way we did at times last season.

"We've got a lot of confidence at the moment and are playing well," Ardley insisted.

Next up for the Dons is a home clash against Swindon Town before a trip to high-flying Bury

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