Shrimps boss Stephen Robinson says, despite moments of quality, defensive frailties cost his side on Saturday afternoon.
In what turned out to be a dramatic seven goal thriller at the Mazuma Stadium, it was the visitors who walked away with all three points thanks to goals from Anthony Hartigan, Ethan Chislett, Will Nightingale and a last-minute winner from Ayoub Assal.
In-form striker Cole Stockton levelled the game after 49 minutes and five minutes later, former Don Shane McLoughlin put the Shrimps ahead with a fierce diving header, before Stockton fired home an early Goal of the Season contender from 45 yards out.
Irrespective of the positives, Robinson feels as though his side were lacking from a defensive perspective.
“AFC Wimbledon have scored the most set-plays in the league, and they’ve scored another four today,” Robinson said.
“If you’re a defender, you have to make first contact, and we didn’t make enough first contacts all day.
“If you don’t defend set-plays, you’ll lose games, it’s as simple as that, there was good periods, periods when we went 3-2 up where I thought ‘okay we’re going to run away and win the game’, but it wasn’t to be.
“Too many people didn’t play to the best of their ability, I made a change at half-time purely tactical, I didn’t want two left-backs on the pitch, but it certainly wasn’t anything Gibbo [Liam Gibson] was doing wrong, it was a case of trying to get more forward-thinking players on the pitch.”
Robinson admits that, after two weeks’ worth of preparations surrounding the Dons’ set plays, the way in which all four goals were conceded is especially hard to take.
He added: “We made everybody very aware of it, but we didn’t defend it well enough, it’s as simple as that so it’s very frustrating.
“I’m here to win games as well as entertain, and yes people were entertained, but ultimately we lost the game.
“Every defeat is hard to take, but the manor of the defeat, four set-plays, it’ll be a sleepless few days.”