Brave Borough beaten by Dons

Mitchell Pinnock’s 90th-minute strike broke plucky Haringey Borough’s hearts and eased the pressure on AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley with a 1-0 FA Cup first-round win.

The Dons – on a seven-match losing streak in League One – sit four leagues above their non-league opponents but struggled to break them down on a wet and windy Friday night at Coles Park.

Haringey, the other team of White Hart Lane, had to ride their luck at times – Valery Pajetat in their goal making a number of fine saves.

And it looked like they had forced a replay before Pinnock’s deflected effort crept in at the near post.

On a night when free-flowing football was in short supply, Borough looked like they might continue a fairytale FA Cup run that began all the way back in August in the preliminary round.

Joseph Staunton had a second-half goal for the part-timers ruled out for offside but in truth it was the Dons who carried the greater threat – chiefly through Pinnock.

The winger had already hit the bar in the first half with a free-kick and stung Pajetat’s palms in the second before his late intervention broke Borough hearts and secured the Dons’ passage into the second round.