Irked AFC Wimbledon suggest Newcastle United 'know' as 'frustrated' claim made

Newcastle United knew they were in a 'proper game' in the eyes of Johnnie Jackson

Johnnie Jackson has suggested that Newcastle United knew they had been in a 'real game' after the Magpies needed a 'dodgy penalty' to knock his AFC Wimbledon side out of the Carabao Cup.

Much-changed Newcastle set up a last 16 tie against Chelsea following a 1-0 win versus the League Two outfit at St James' Park on Tuesday night. Fabian Schar, the stand-in skipper, stepped up from the spot and scored the only goal of the game just before half-time.

An angry Jackson felt it should never have been a penalty, however. The Wimbledon boss said his side should instead have been given a free-kick for simulation, after Schar went down first inside the area, before Joe Pigott then brought down Miguel Almiron. Jackson also highlighted how referee Darren Bond had played on only to give the penalty after the linesman belatedly waved his flag.

Although Wimbledon failed to have a shot on target, and mustered just 22% possession, Jackson said his players were 'gutted that we haven't pulled it off', particularly when 'a lot of teams come here and get beat out of sight'.

"Brilliant effort from my players," he told reporters. "The way we went about the game plan, the task, Newcastle know they have been in a real game. A proper game.

"That's credit to my boys because the gulf in divisions, the gulf in individual quality, is obvious but I think we closed that gap as a team and frustrated them, which we knew we had to try and do.

"It says a lot about my team and where we're at that I'm disappointed that we haven't got something or forced it to pens because the effort deserved that. I know they dominated the play, but we stayed in the game and made a fight of it and in the end we lost by a dodgy penalty."