GRAYS fans saw a six goal thriller as their team went down 4-2 to high-flying AFC Wimbledon.

In bright bank holiday sunshine, Grays came out fighting from the start with flowing football in front of a bumper crowd.

Striker Daniel Charge has impressed and he hunted down a ball on the left hand side to put in a dangerous cross that the Dons were grateful to put away for a corner. Grays should have scored from the corner as defender George Beavan’s free header was saved off the line by Don’s defender Chris Hussey.

Wimbledon looked classy and it was no surprise that they opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Brett Johnson bravely got his head down low into the back of the net.

The Dons were now opening up the Blues at will, with defender Gavin Hoyte having a total nightmare.

In the 16th minute, striker Jon Main, having burst free from Hoyte was upended in the box by keeper Preston Edwards. He got up to put the penalty away and the Dons seemingly out of sight.

But the makeshift Grays team clawed their way back as Kenny Davis fired in a great cross in the 25th minute from which defender Sam Gaughran headed low down to score.

Many of Grays’ players have had no pre-season and, coupled with the heat, men started to wilt. Skipper Adriano Rigoglioso and Sam Gaughran limped off at half time but it was also noticeable that Hoyte, Beavan, Davis and Poole looked to be suffering.

Grays had to regroup and played in a 4-3-3. The impact was immediate as the ever-improving Glen Poole swung in a unplayable cross, Daniel Charge controlled it sweetly from six yards and thumped the ball into the back of the net.

The Dons were waiting for their moment and could sense that Grays were wilting In the 62nd minute, Cammy Mawer pulled Main back. The referee had no choice but to show the red card. Main converted the penalty to make the score 3-2.

It was clear that the Dons were going to win but that didn’t mean that Grays gave up, far from it and the fans appreciated how hard they worked.

The Dons wrapped it up in injury time as former Blues striker, Danny Kedwell turned the hapless Hoyte to secure the three points.

After the game, Grays boss Gary Phillips praised his teams effort.

He said: “We looked very bright and are encouraged by the effort of our players. We cannot complain about Cammy Mawer’s red card but that really did it for us.

“As we are a work in progress, we are greatly encouraged.”

Grays Athletic: P Edwards C Mawer G Hoyte S Gaughran ( Taylor 45 ) G Beavan (Craig Braham-Barrett 61 )R Graham S Cutler K Davis G Poole A Rigoglioso ( Slabber 45 ) D Charge Subs not used: B Lumley, T Harvey, Wimbledon: J Pullen, L Garrard P Lorraine B Johnson C Hussey, E Godfrey K Adeji R Wellard (S Gregory 67) L Moore, D Kedwell J Main (D Duncan 76) Subs not used: J Conroy, S Brown, S Hatton Attendance: 1762