To bring the curtain down on the most catastrophic end to a season since Olsen was the manager, the Dons contrive to lose to a team from Ryman One in a match in which they were never once behind.

At around ten to nine last night Elliot Godfrey was rounding off his time with the Dons converting the penalty that put the seal on our fifth London Senior Cup victory. A little over an hour later his last kick in the yellow and blue was a missed spot kick to help send Wimbledon to their first ever defeat in a London Senior Cup Final.

The Dons had been 3-1 up with 25 minutes left but ended up relinquishing their lead and going into extra time. With minutes left Wellard seemed to have snatched victory with a scrambled finish, only for the Met to go straight down the other end and equalise.

In the penalty shoot out Brown saved the first one, raising hopes that he could repeat his Mansfield magic. But then Godfrey’s hesitant effort was blocked and though Judge’s final kick as a Womble was to power the ball into the net, Young Jack Stafford stepped up next and blasted over the bar.

It was the subs wot lost it. In the middle of the first half with the Dons a goal up and cruising, Kennedy Adjei, filling in at left back, came off injured, to be replaced by teenage reserve team centre back Aaron Snelling. Within minutes the Met had equalised from a right wing cross.

(Our struggles to fill the left back spot were made all the poignant by the presence of Chris Hussey at the ground.)

At half time the Met's manager made two changes that immediately galvanised his sluggish side. Whereas after the Dons made it 3-1 Brown removed both Gregory and the lively and creative Douglin, replacing them with Harmsworth and Stafford. Almost immediately the Dons were back on their heels, trying to hang onto their lead.

“Come on Dons, let’s do it for Blair Peach.”

For once, fans moaning that, “We just didn’t want it enough,” probably have a point. The Dons support showed considerable integrity in refusing to jump on a bandwagon, even after it’s made it all the way to a final. There were maybe twice as many here as at the semi final but that barely gets you to a thousand. It’s a far cry from those epic Friday nights at Woking for cup competition probably less significant than this. How mighty we are now that we can dismiss a competition with 127 years of history behind it?

The team itself only seemed interested in coasting to victory. In the first half the Plod were there for the taking. When Judge’s long ball found Kedwell in the area with his back to goal he had plenty of time and space to twist and turn before eventually smashing the ball past their keeper. The equaliser came against the run of play but even that was brushed aside when within a minute Moore had restored our advantage, connecting at the far post with a Douglin cross. Before half time Gregory had a rather fine goal disallowed, the linesman flagging for offside even though it certainly couldn’t have been against Gregory.

The Met were much stronger after the break but still we took a casual approach both on and off the field. The penalty award was soft, Moore going down in the area and the decision to let Godfrey take it on his last appearance smacked of sentimentality. But to then assume the game was done and dusted and replace Gregory with Stafford and the lively Duglin with Harmsworth was just damn right cavalier.

Harmsworth did ok but Stafford was out of his depth in the centre of midfield. So pale and frail, he looked like an extra from Gregory’s Girl. But that was the issue all over the park. Wee timid wallflowers being brushed aside by big manly men. All season long we have been vulnerable against big physical sides but when that side is midtable three divisions below you, it is getting a bit much. And the Plod were hardly Land of Giants.

Anyway well played the Met. Their No 9 Drewett was clearly the best player on the park.

I’d like to end the season on a positive, so can I just say that the Harrow tea bar was top quality (even if it didn’t have a float early on) serving up cheeseburgers with actual grated cheese on them and a selection of cakes that, while not perhaps freshly baked, were damn good value for 50p. That and the free programme were the highlights of the evening.

Dons: Brown; Jackson, Judge, Johnson, Adjei (Snelling); Godfrey, Gregory (Stafford), Douglin (Harmworth), Wellard; Kedwell, Moore.

Goal scorers: Kedwell, Moore, Godfrey pen, Wellard.

Penalty shoot out: Moore scored, Godfrey saved, Judge scored, Stafford missed, Kedwell scored.