Cash: AFC Wimbledon must improve after West Ham XI defeat

by Tom Moore Monday, August 6, 2012
2:53 PM

Stuart Cash was not impressed with the Dons’ second-half performance

AFC Wimbledon assistant manager Stuart Cash pulled no punches after his side were beaten 4-2 by a West Ham XI – describing it as the worst pre-season campaign he’d endured.

A Luke Moore brace had given the Dons a 2-0 half-time lead but Freddie Piquionne’s hat-trick along with Blair Turgott’s strike gave the Hammers the win.

“This is one of the worst pre-seasons we’ve had,” Cash said after the game.

“We created six or seven good opportunities against a decent team and Steve Collis made a couple of good saves. It might have been pleasing to the eye but it was too open and we collapsed in the second half.

“I think pre-season is about building up to your first game. It’s less than two weeks away.

“We have to do a lot better. We have to be defensively better than what we were.”

Fours Dons players were forced off against a West Ham XI and Cash provided an update on the injuries, saying: “Pim Balkstein had a knock on his ankle.

“Louis Harris and Luke Moore had tight hamstrings and Curtis Osano had an impact injury to his left calf. They’ll be in at the weekend.

“Hopefully we can get them back on the training pitch on Monday.

“It depends, the hamstring could develop into a week or 10 days.”