AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley has praised his fatigued squad after it pulled off a 1-0 victory over promotion-chasing Charlton Athletic at the Kingsmeadow.

Striker Lyle Taylor capitalised on an error by Patrick Bauer to race in on goal and slot the ball home past shot-stopper Ben Amos in added time of the first-half.

Despite an injury suffered by defender Will Nightingale only 30 minutes in and concerns over target man Joe Pigott’s fitness, the Dons ran out winners on the night.

Ardley said: “The game became one that I thought we’re going to have to be absolutely foot-perfect to win it. Yesterday [April 9] they were a tired group of lads, we had a staff meeting in the morning and I said how I felt we needed to go and the staff all had their input.

“Then, with a tired group of lads, we tried to work on a gameplan and we had to do it in a way that didn’t tire them out. But we had to try and get the intensity right to show them, if we get it wrong, what will happen to us.

“They [Charlton] play a diamond, they play fluid football, and the boys went out there and carried it out perfectly.

Tactically, we were spot-on. In the end, I thought they hardly had a chance, no shots on target, and we’ve ended up having some really good moments.

“But the work rate and the tactical focus from our players was absolutely outstanding.”

Nightingale is said to have suffered from an ankle injury which forced him to exit the game early and later get replaced by Darius Charles, of which its current status is unknown.

Pigott, who suffered a concussion which threw his chances of playing into doubt, was handed a 70-minute cameo appearance against his former club of which he was a member of between 2012 and 2016.

But now Wimbledon must do it all over against when they travel to the Bescot Stadium in a clash with Walsall.

Ardley added: “We talked about it when the Doncaster game got called off, we said we need seven high performances.

"You know this game of football, no one can guarantee the results or what will happen – a deflection, a bit of bad luck – but what we can guarantee is seven high performances.

“So today [April 10] we made a decision to play two up, we played three in behind the two - one sitter - and we tried to be brilliant without the ball, and we were.”