AFC Wimbledon 5 Walsall 1 - Report
Walsall ended the season in calamitous fashion as they were condemned to a 5-1 hammering at the hands of AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.
Omar Bugiel opened the scoring as he was left completely unmarked to head Lee Brown's cross past Jackson Smith.
Isaac Hutchinson equalised from the spot after Mo Faal went down inside the box, but Bugiel restored Wimbledon's lead in the 34th minute after Brown found him once again inside the box.
Bugiel completed his hat-trick seven minutes into the second period from Kofi Balmer's long throw and Wimbledon ran riot as Curtis volleyed in a fourth.
Faal's own goal added salt into gaping wounds as Walsall's feint chances of the play-offs were ruthlessly crushed in the capital. Wimbledon also leapfrogged Walsall in the table as they dropped to 11th-place.
Mat Sadler made three changes as he handed Priestley Farquharson his first start since February 17 as David Okagbue dropped out of the squad altogether.
Elsewhere, Tom Knowles was recalled at right wing-back at the expense of Joe Foulkes after cameos from the bench in the previous two games, while Jamille Matt replaced Josh Gordon, who ended a run of 18 consecutive starts.
Walsall made a poor start and were punished when Wimbledon opened the scoring through Bugiel with the first chance of the contest. Brown was afforded far too much space to pick out a cross and Bugiel climbed high to nod past Smith, who got a glove to the ball but was unable to prevent it from nestling into the top corner.
Jamille Matt failed to direct Liam Gordon's cross on target, but Walsall were handed a route back into the game when they were awarded a penalty for a suspected push on Faal.
Wimbledon goalkeeper Nik Tzanev guessed the right way but Hutchinson's spot-kick squirmed over his gloves and into the bottom corner.
Hutchinson blazed over from distance and Jamille Matt drew a fairly straightforward save with a speculative volley. But it was Wimbledon who restored their lead 11 minutes before the break as Bugiel doubled his tally.
It came from the left again after Walsall and in particular Tom Knowles stood off Brown, who fed a low ball into the box, which Priestley Farquharson and Taylor Allen failed to clear, as Bugiel slipped his finish past Smith.
Bugiel completed his hat-trick seven minutes after the break when Walsall were completely undone by Kofi Balmer's long throw and Bugiel stole in to send his deflected finish beyond the reach of Smith.
Walsall were falling apart and things would only continue to get worse as Curtis got in on the act with a thumping volley. Donervon Daniels was caught in no man's land when Bugiel was able to cushion down Currie's cross into the path of Curtis to inflict further danger.
Curtis almost doubled his tally when his low effort was deflected wide of the near post by Daniels. A miserable afternoon was compounded further when Faal headed Currie's corner into his own net when attempting to clear just past the hour-mark.
Sadler introduced Douglas James-Taylor and Josh Gordon to no avail, while Danny Johnson had to wait until the 80th minute before making his entrance.
James-Taylor had a golden opportunity to grab a consolation for Walsall but inexplicably dragged his finish wide from close-range.
Wimbledon almost added a sixth late on after Daniels' poor pass invited the hosts forward, but Emmanuel Adegboyega came across in the nick of time to thwart Josh Davison with a last-ditch challenge.
Teams
Walsall (3-1-4-2): Smith; Daniels, Farquharson (Adegboyega 70), Allen; Comley; Knowles, Hutchinson, Stirk (Jellis 59), L Gordon; Matt (James-Taylor 70), Faal (J Gordon 70).
Not used: Evans, Tierney.
Wimbledon (4-3-3): Tzanev; Balmer (Ogundere 90 +3), Johnson, Currie, Brown; Reeves (c), Ball (Pell 65), Curtis; Bugiel (Davison 82), Kelly (Gordon 90 +3), Sasu (Neufville 82).
Not used: Foulkes, Biler.
Referee: Scott Oldham
Attendance: 8,632 (1,211)
