Andrew Bennett reports:

It was a cold, forbidding morning on the blasted heath of Histon Green. The wind howled through the skeletal trees as a wizened local crone offered me a slice of home-made lemon offal cake with a conspiratorial wink. "They are coming," she croaked knowingly. "HE has foretold it!"

Before I could ask "Who?" a familiar figure arose from under a nearby hedge and strode towards us, his ample frame festooned with a uniform of owl feathers and cockroach shells, his eyes crazed but at the same time strangely knowing; it was the local mystic and spiritual leader, Dances With Weasels.

"Hello, Tony," I greeted him. The sage fixed me with a beady eye and pointed to the sky, roaring without further ado "It is time! Behold!" And to my astonishment, the slate-grey firmament cracked open and four hooded figures on horseback descended to Earth in a mighty clap of thunder. I inwardly cursed myself for forgetting my camera. This would have been a cert for 'You've Been Framed.'

The first figure rode a black horse and addressed me thus: "Mortal! I am Famine! We bring a message for the people of Cambridge! You haven't got a packet of Pork Scratchings or some Hob-Nobs, have you, I'm starving?" "Shut up, Famine!" boomed the second figure, who was astride a red horse. "I am War. We can't hang about here, I've got to be in Southampton for 12.30."

The third figure, riding a pale horse, sighed. "Let's get on with it. I've got to get hold of the people who devised those Halifax adverts. Then there's that Go Compare character to sort out. I'm Death, by the way." It was left to the fourth figure, astride a white steed, to deliver their message.

"I'm the one no-one can remember, so I won't bore you. Basically, you will bear witness today to an Earth-shattering, once-in-a-lifetime event that you will never forget as long as you live. You see, not only will Lee Phillips score a goal today, but he will score…with a HEADER!"

"He's still in a mood because bird flu never caught on," observed Dances With Weasels as the four horsemen flew off on a flash of lightning. "Enjoy the game!"

You need to believe in miracles when you are following a team which has lost six league matches in a row, been knocked out of the FA Trophy by a bunch of (relative) minnows, and looks like losing six valuable points thanks to the slapstick shambles that is Chester City. And having already seen Courtney Pitt score with a header earlier this season, anything was theoretically possible for the visit of AFC Wimbledon to the Abbey for the first time since the original Dons were carted off to the plastic place with the concrete cows.

It was good to have them back, even if they were wearing white instead of the familiar blue, and an impressive away following confirmed that this is a club that deserves to exist in its rightful place.

With Martin Ling's three-year plan shrunk to a temporary three-month 'let's just try to stay up first' plan, his much-changed starting line-up included five of his own signings. There was a new keeper in the comfortingly imposing red-clad figure of Simon Brown in goal, Aiden Palmer was restored to left-back, and behind strikers Danny Crow and Lee Phillips was a new-look midfield comprising Antonio Murray (on his full debut), Jai Reason, Rory McAuley in the holding role, and Simon Russell. Sam Ives, Laurie Walker, Robbie Willmott and Mark Beesley dropped to the bench while Paul Carden, Brain Saah and of course Danny Potter remained unavailable due to injury.

Wimbledon have enjoyed a good steady season so far, their first in the BSP, lurking on the fringe of the playoffs with a useful seven away wins so far, and their side included a loanee from League One relegation certainties Peterborough in ex-Cambridge City left-back Danny Blanchett, a midfielder apparently named in honour of EastEnders in Ricky Wellard, and a goalkeeper, James Pullen, whose tousled, straw-like bleach-blond hair and headband made him look like an extra from an early Eighties Duran Duran video.

United got off to a good, brisk start, McAuley familiar with his new position as he has fulfilled that role regularly for CRC, and with Russell continuing the busy, exciting form which has showered him with man-of-the-match awards in his so far short Abbey career, this looked for the first time like the sort of team which Ling has been trying to field ever since he took over.

First significant free-kick fell to the hosts on 4 when Crow was felled by Ben Judge, but Reason shot straight at Pullen, who didn't need his Reflex to clutch comfortably. United also won the first corner three minutes later, but to no avail, and it was ten minutes before Brown was called into action, coming commandingly to catch a cross from Steven Gregory.

A minute later Palmer found Phillips' head with a cross, but he could not guide it on target, and Wimbledon demonstrated their capacity for a rapid break when Danny Kedwell hared down the middle a pace ahead of Dave Partridge, but the redoubtable Welshman caught him on the edge of the box and whipped the ball off him before he could shoot.

It was United's turn to threaten next when McAuley pounced on a half-clearance to arrow a shot low for the bottom right of goal, only for it to be tipped around the post by a sprawling Pullen. The ensuing corner from Reason found McAuley rising unchallenged to power a header in on goal, but again Pullen was there to foil him with a splendid tip over the top. Save a Prayer keeper, good pressure.

The busy Russell, turning Sam Hatton inside out down the left, created the next chance for Phillips on 16, but Pullen parried his shot and the danger was cleared. But United's possession was finally rewarded two minutes later.

Russell forced a corner, Reason swung it over, and Pullen tried to catch it one-handed at the far post; he fumbled it as he fell, Murray was there to pounce and his deft cross was nodded into the net from point-blank range by Crow. Is There Something I Should Know? 1-0.

As so often transpires in football, once United had capped their period of dominance with a goal, the opposition began to assert itself on the game. On 20 Hatton's cross from a short corner found the head of Wellard but his close-range header was straight at Brown.

The next ten minutes were fairly even without troubling either keeper, Dons an organised, hard-working side who utilised the full width of the pitch and new-look United much the same. Will Hendry blasted a fisted Brown clearance over the NRE on 28, but the debutant keeper was well protected and restricted mostly to claiming the odd cross.

A long ball from Dan Gleeson on 34 found Russell gliding unseen into the box, but his chest down just took the ball out of play before he could get a strike in, and a minute later Lewis Taylor came the closest yet for the visitors with a power blast from just outside the box which flew narrowly past the angle.

The Dons were now enjoying the better of the possession, but United were containing them and looked to be heading for a valuable half-time lead until three minutes from the interval whistle. Hendry and Kedwell interchanged passes to inveigle their way into the United box down the right, and a simple short ball found Taylor in space no more than eight yards out to place his low shot across the exposed Brown and into the bottom left corner. 1-1.

Taylor then did himself no favours by running over to the Habbin and provoking its usually peaceable denizens with repeated ear-cupping and 'come on' gestures which were crass and foolish, and all the more puzzling because neither he nor his colleagues had come in for any sort of barracking at all from the home supporters. Why he could not have just celebrated the goal with his team-mates must remain a mystery. Nonetheless he evaded the yellow card that his mindless actions so richly merited.

Both home team and supporters began to get that 'oh no, here we go again' feeling and it was just as well that the half-time break was so close. There was just time for Crow to have a shot blocked by Paul Lorraine and for Palmer to do the same to a Kedwell shot before the first 45 was up, a half which had promised so much for an initially lively U's but whose denouement had brought back all those nagging dreads and doubts. Time for the boss to do the team-talk thing, while on the terraces we just had a good old moan as usual.

There was a presentation on the pitch during the interval to mark the last game of our estimable club secretary, Wayne Purser, and he was warmly applauded for the wonderful job he has done and the friendly, approachable way in which he has done it. Good luck and welcome to his replacement, Lisa, and it is nice to know that Wayne still has a connection to the club via CRC.

First shot of part two came from the so far anonymous Nathan Elder, on loan from Shrewsbury, but Brown comfortably gathered his rather lame toe-poke. Wellard fired wide five minutes later as United struggled to regain their form of the first half of the first half, and on 55 came the moment that the Amber Army had been dreading.

Kedwell made a speedy run down the left, no-one made a decent challenge as he sped past them, and he pulled it back from the byline for Taylor to arrive untracked and poke home from close range across Brown. Not him again: 2-1.

This time he celebrated the score with his own supporters, albeit in an unnecessarily over-the-top and overlong manner. But United were rocked back on their collective heels and the next few minutes were all about preventing the game from running away from them altogether.

Within a couple of minutes of the goal, Murray had conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box by felling Wellard, and Hatton got it up and over the wall but saw it parried by Brown; Elder latched onto the rebound and Brown was up again, leaping to palm it over the top. Good keeping.

On 63, though, it looked all up for the U's when Murray was adjudged to have committed a red card-worthy tackle on Kedwell, and the hosts were reduced to ten men. Some refs, it seems, cannot wait to flash red when they see a flying stud or two and it turned out that Kedwell was not badly hurt, but man in black Mr Martin kept his yellow card hidden throughout the ninety minutes, despite several tackles that looked worthy of caution.

Murray had had a hard-working but fairly quiet full debut and United remained in a positive 4-3-2 formation. It could easily have been 3-1 two minutes later when Lorraine beat Brown to a corner but his header was kept off the line by a combination of Phillips and the underside of the bar, and Ling soon made his first change in replacing the underperforming Reason with Robbie Willmott, who went to the right of the midfield three.

It looked like being a long, hard slog to secure an equaliser, but remarkably, on 68 the scores were level. Palmer was the creator, his swirling, teasing cross from deep tempting Pullen into an ill-advised rush from goal, and the wily Phillips sneaked between the keeper and his back four to guide a clever header past Pullen and into the unguarded net for his first goal of the season. He's Hungry Like The Wolf: 2-2!

All of a sudden Phillips, who had been no more than mediocre before his goal, began to play like a man possessed, discovering an extra yard of pace and an extra kilogram of muscle, and his attitude seemed to infect the whole team, which forgot that it was one man short and pressed positively for the three points. The visitors replaced Hendry with Glen Poole.

On 73 Phillips made a superb bustling run which culminated in a pull-back to Crow arriving in the D, but his over-deliberate shot cannoned off Pullen's legs as he dived the other way. Hatton then blazed over the top at the other end as the teams went toe-to-toe like a couple of Ricky Hattons.

Dons made a change of striker on 76, Jon Main replacing Elder, then a Willmott free-kick found the head of Phillips but he could not keep it down. A minute later Russell crossed into the box and with the goal at his mercy Phillips somehow decided to head it sideways, presumably to set up Crow, and the danger passed.

Back came the visitors, and on 81 panto villain Taylor slalomed past a couple of tackles to curl a delicate shot inches wide of the far post; a hat-trick from him would just have been too much to take. And he would probably have exploded with self-congratulation.

Ling betrayed his first sign of caution a minute later, replacing Crow with Sam Ives in a game which still looked eminently winnable (and losable, natch), and on 84 Wimbledon withdrew Gregory for Josh Parker. The teams continued to slug it out, then a minute from time, came the best chance to win the match.

Inevitably it was created by that man Phillips, who pursued Blanchett, dispossessed him then squared it for Russell, arriving undetected in the Dons box, but with goal at his mercy and Pullen bracing himself, he dragged his shot agonisingly wide of the far post from ten yards out. What. A. Chance.

It would have made for a perfect climax if United's man of the match could have grabbed a last-minute winner, but miracles do not happen all that often. Four minutes added time passed without a serious opportunity for either side, and honour was satisfied with a point apiece.

At least the six-match losing run had been halted, and there had been much to take encouragement from in United's spirited approach to an apparent losing position against strong opposition, with plenty of excellent individual performances to boot.

We will need that air of positivity a lot over the coming weeks, because without belief there can be no achievement. This squad IS good enough to survive with or without the Chester points, and as long as they believe that too and get back on the winning trail, ideally at Forest Green next week, all will be fine. Just look out for those horsemen on the way…

Statto Corner

United last scored two goals in a league game back on 5th December, in a 2-2 draw at Eastbourne. Since then they have scored three ones and three big fat zeroes in the BSP until today.

Lee Phillips last scored for United on 30th April, in the club's 3-1 defeat at Stevenage in the first leg of the playoff semi-finals. His only previous regular season goal in black'n'amber came nineteen days before that, in a 2-1 home win over Eastbourne.

The last time United had played 10 v 11 was in their 1-1 home draw with Stevenage on 28th December 2008. Dan Gleeson was, however, sent off right at the end of full time. They have lost the four games since then in which they have had a player dismissed.

Antonio Murray is the sixth U's man to be sent off on his full debut. The previous occasions were all within the least ten years, and the guilty parties were: Steve Slade, Igor Latte-Yedo, Danny Bunce, Marvin Robinson and Rory McAuley.

Murray is United's third dismissee this season, after Wayne Hatswell and Brian Saah, against five red cards for the opposition. The final count last term was seven for United and eleven against.

Simon Brown is not alone in conceding two goals on his U's debut. Most unsuccessful debuting keepers since 1970 have been Richard Key and Steven Drench, who both conceded four; Key went on to enjoy a successful career at the Abbey, while Drench's Setanta Shield appearance at Telford was his only outing in a United shirt. Fourteen United keepers have kept clean sheets on their league debuts in the aforementioned time frame, while five conceded three: Paul Casey, John 'Skippy' Filan, Alex McCarthy, Graham Smith and Keith Waugh. Casey and McCarthy never played for the U's again.

Today's attendance of 3,087 was one less than the figure for the last time these clubs met in a league match, United beating Wimbledon 2-1 in the Southern League on 17th January 1970 with goals from Robin Hardy and Paul Gilchrist.

The U's first met AFC Wimbledon's spiritual forebears, Wimbledon FC, in the Southern League on 13th September 1965, winning 3-2 in front of a crowd of 4,003 at the Abbey. The clubs met every season thereafter until United were elected to the Football League in 1970, plus once in the Southern League Cup, and they also met in the Southern League Championship Match between league and cup winners in September 1970 at the Abbey, the hosts triumphing 4-2.

The clubs never met in the Football League; Wimbledon gained entry in 1977, but the Dons' rapid rise up the divisions in the Eighties was mirrored by United's decline in the opposite direction at the same time. They did, however, meet in the League Cup of 1986-87, by which time the U's were in Division Four and the Dons three divisions higher with the elite. United sprung a major shock by drawing 1-1 at the Abbey then 2-2 at Plough Lane to progress on away goals; the first leg crowd of 5,290 remains the largest at a match between the clubs.

After that they only met in Steve Fallon's testimonial of 1987 and in a behind closed doors friendly in 1991 before Wimbledon became the notorious Stepford Wives club which occupies a place in League One today.

Player Ratings

Brown 7. Calm, assured debut from the big keeper, with just the odd rusty spot which will doubtless fall off with match experience.
Gleeson 6. Not bad although passing left something to be desired at times.
Palmer 7. Lively and useful bombing forward, with no sign of last Saturday's calamitous mistake preying on his mind.
Coulson 7. Strong and decisive again, although like Gleeson could improve his distribution.
Partridge 7. A model of quiet efficiency.
Murray 6. Plenty of hard graft down the right until unfortunate dismissal.
Reason 6. Disappointing after a decent run of form recently and no surprise that he was substituted.
McAuley 8. Given a big responsibility as midfield holding man but rose admirably to the occasion and looked as he had been playing there for years.
Russell 8. Simon has made an outstanding start to his Abbey career.
Crow 7. As hard-working as usual and rewarded with a goal.
Phillips 7. Only worth a 5 on his first hour's work, but that splendidly taken goal seemed to act like Popeye's spinach or Dr Jekyll's potion on him and he enjoyed a tremendous last twenty minutes, all muscle and bustle, and he so nearly set up the winner when he put Russell in near the end.
Willmott 6. Made a decent contribution in United's ten-man team.
Ives 6. Good, solid reinforcement.

Match Summary

In an entertaining, topsy-turvy match, United were rewarded for an impressive start with a deserved lead but then let it all slip away before a spirited comeback after Murray's dismissal brought them the equaliser - and almost the winner - they merited. Breathless stuff.

Man of the Match

Simon Russell. Few players have made such an impressive start to their United careers, and the Amber Army were treated to another ninety minutes of pace, skill, good passing and wing play, plus plenty of solid hard work and some tigerish, accurate tackling. Looks like more than a good swap for Courtney.

Ref Watch

Martin 7. Mostly adequate, although his undue haste in showing red to Murray was matched only by his unwillingness to show yellow to anyone, despite there being several candidates. Perhaps he only remembered the one card.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

"Cambridge had the best players. I had a packet of sweets, then Daddy bought me some crisps and when I had finished them I had some of Fiona's. At the end of the match I went home and had my tea." (Helen Rickson)

Soundtrack of the Day

Chapel Club "Surfacing"

Andrew Bennett