Wimbledon 2-1 Grimsby

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Wimbledon scrambled to a narrow victory over Grimsby thanks to Joel McAnuff's 82nd-minute deflected goal.

Lennie Lawrence's resolute Grimsby had looked set to leave London with a share of the points.

But McAnuff settled the match with a deflected long-range drive after coming on as a second-half substitute.

The Dons looked as though they would stroll to victory after midfielder Andy Roberts grabbed his first of the season with a powerful drive 10 minutes before half-time.

But Wimbledon lacked the imagination and creativity to break down a well-drilled Grimsby defence.

Mariners boss Lenny Lawrence turned the match around by bringing on Michael Boulding for the ineffective Jonathan Rowan.

Within three minutes, Boulding's direct running created space for midfielder Stuart Campbell to curl a shot from the edge of the box past Kelvin Davis for the equaliser.

Piled on pressure

But for a smart save from Davis, the Dons could have been further behind 10 minutes later when Danny Butterfield's volley appeared goal-bound.

Wimbledon piled on the pressure during the second period and the Grimsby defence, which had looked so solid, began to creak.

Former Grimsby striker David Nielsen, playing on the right wing, should have scored 10 minutes after the re-start but instead fired high over the crossbar.

Dons strikers Neil Shipperley and David Connelly failed to get on the end of testing crosses sent in Kevin Cooper and McAnuff.

The drab affair was finally decided in a fitting manner with a scrappy winner for Wimbledon which went in off Grimsby sub David Beharall.

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Wimbledon: Davis, Cunningham, Brown, Hawkins, Willmott, Roberts, Nielsen, Hughes, Cooper, Shipperley, Connolly. Subs: Holloway, Heald, Karlsson, McAnuff, Agyemang.

Grimsby: Coyne, Gallimore, Broomes, Pouton, Campbell, Groves, Butterfield, Coldicott, Willems, Allen, Rowan. Subs: Chapman, Ermes, Bolder, Beharall, Boulding.

Referee: R Harris (Oxford).