AN EIGHT-MINUTE hat-trick from new signing Lyle Taylor saw AFC Wimbledon come from behind to beat Basingstoke Town in the Dragons’ first pre-season outing last night.

The former Bournemouth, Falkirk and Sheffield United striker had only been a Wimbledon player for a matter of hours, having signed from Scunthorpe for an undisclosed fee earlier in the day.

He made an immediate impression, scoring three times in the closing stages to earn his new team victory at The Soccer AM Stadium.

The final score was harsh on Basingstoke, who more than matched their League Two opponents for the majority of the game and took the lead through Chris Flood just after the break.

For a while, it looked like they might win the game, but an inexperienced second-half line-up fell a little bit short in the closing stages.

There were plenty of positives for managed Jason Bristow to take away from the game though. His experiment with a 4-3-3 system worked well, particularly when he fielded his strongest line-up in the first half, with Louie Soares excelling as a member of a midfield three.

There were some good performances from a couple of players at the club on trial as well, with Harrison Gilkes, the son of assistant manager Michael, impressing during a spell on the right wing and Academy product George Hallahan showing some neat touches.

Wimbledon enjoyed more possession and territory throughout the first half, but Town more than held their own and looked dangerous on the break.

The game got off to a fast start and Adebayo Azeez could have put the visitors ahead inside two minutes, shooting wide when through on goal.

Former Town goalkeeper Joe McDonnell had to be off his line quickly to stop Lloyd Macklin getting in soon after, while the Wimbledon stopper then had to make the first save of the match to keep out Flood’s free-kick from distance.

Only an excellent challenge from Osborne denied Macklin a sight of goal after a neat one-two with Williams, while Town goalkeeper Aaron Howe had to made a good save to deny Azeez as the visitors broke dangerously.

Azeez got another chance from David Fitzpatrick’s driven centre, but he could not direct the ball on target, while Town’s best chance of the first half fell to Flood on the half-hour. Wimbledon failed to deal with a long throw and the ball dropped to the striker, but he was unable to keep his acrobatic effort from the penalty spot down.

The game lost a bit of intensity heading towards the break, but Wimbledon almost scored with the final move of the half, Adebayo Akinfenwa heading over from Fitzpatrick’s cross.

Town made eight changes at half-time but grabbed the lead immediately after the break. Gilkes won a corner and Soares’ delivery found Flood, who headed home powerfully to open the scoring.

Ryan Case had to hack clear from inside his own six-yard box when Will Salmon inadvertently headed past Howe, with Akinfenwa nodding wide from the resulting corner, but generally speaking Town looked comfortable and they almost doubled their lead, Nathan Smart shooting into the side-netting.

Wimbledon made wholesale changes on the hour and immediately began to put the hosts under pressure, with Tom Elliott seeing his header deflected wide and Taylor firing just past the post.

McDonnell had to come off his line quickly to stop Liam Enver-Marum getting through, while the striker really should have done better when neatly played in by Hallahan, sidefooting tamely wide.

Wimbledon levelled with 12 minutes to go, Taylor bundling the ball in from close range after Howe had been deceived by George Francomb’s cross-shot.

Taylor then scored twice in as many minutes to complete his hat-trick and give his side the win, taking advantage of a mistake from Salmon to slot home the first before converting Sean Rigg’s low centre seconds later.

Click here to watch a post-match interview with Basingstoke Town manager Jason Bristow

PLAYER RATINGS

Aaron Howe – 7

Deceived for Wimbledon’s first goal but commanded his area well and made a couple of decent saves.

Robbie Rice – 7

A solid performance from the no-nonsense right-back.

Tom Bird – 7

Good defensively and got forward whenever he could.

James Harper – 7

Did a good job of shielding the back four.

Jay Gasson – 7

Looked a little rusty at times but a good first outing.

David Ray – 7

A couple of minor mistakes aside, dealt well with the threat of Akinfenwa.

Louie Soares – 9 (Gazette Star Man)

A really good game for the midfielder, who dictated the play for Town with his passing and direct running. Set up the goal with a good corner.

Simon Dunn – 6

A slightly peripheral figure. Unable to really get into the game.

Manny Williams – 6

Made a couple of good contributions but looked out of touch, struggling to get the ball under control at times.

Chris Flood – 8

Worked hard throughout and took his goal well.

Lloyd Macklin – 7

Caused problems with his pace and tracked back well.

SUBSTITUTES

Nathan Smart (for Rice 45min) – 6

Looked to get forward but unable to really make an impact.

Adam Nditi (for Bird 45min) – 5

Won the FA Youth Cup with Chelsea but unsteady defensively, getting caught out of position on several occasions.

Ryan Case (for Ray 45min) – 6

Pretty solid, but struggled with the ball at his feet at times.

Will Salmon (for Gasson 45min) – 5

Looked a little out of touch and at fault for the second goal. Needs a few more minutes under his belt.

Jamie Brown (for Harper 45min) – 6

Protected the back four but not great in possession.

Shaun McAuley (for Dunn 45min) – 6

Unable to really get into the game as Wimbledon got on top.

Harrison Gilkes (for Macklin 45min) – 7

The former Bournemouth man looks a prospect. Impressed on the wing, showing great pace, but struggled when moved into midfield.

Liam Enver-Marum (for Williams 45min) – 7

Made a couple of good runs but fluffed his big chance.

Taylor Watts (for Soares 68min) – 6

A Basingstoke lad who has played for Tottenham, Oxford United and Woking at youth level. Didn’t really get a chance to show what he can do.

George Hallahan (for Flood 68min) – 7

The Academy product showed some really nice touches and didn’t look out of place.

Subs (not used): Wilson, Gray

AFC Wimbledon: McDonnell (sub Mannion 87min), Pilbeam (sub Fuller 45min), Osborne (sub Nightingale 45min), Sweeney (sub Harrison 61min), Kennedy (sub Reeves 61min), Bulman (sub Rigg 61min), Toonga (sub Meades 61min), Beere (sub Barcham 61min), Fitzpatrick (sub Francomb 61min), Akinfenwa (sub Taylor 61min), Azeez (sub Elliott 61min)

Subs (not used): Wilson

Attendance: 599

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