Self-inflicted wound leaves Dons boss Ardley under a cloud of frustration

Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Morecambe, featuring a sixth goal of the season for Michael Smith, had Ardley praising his team’s level of performance.

However, a 3-1 defeat at Hartlepool had Ardley pulling his hair out in frustration over defensive lapses.

The Dons have now gone five League Two games without a win, and they face in-form Oxford United this weekend at the Cherry Red Records stadium.

Ardley said: “The long journey home from Hartlepool was not a good journey.

“Last season, we had long trips home thinking we’re so bad, that every other team in the league is better than us.

“Now, we’re thinking there is not a team in the league we cannot beat, but we’re not getting anything, it is so frustrating.”

He added: “Emotions ran high after the Hartlepool game and I was furious with how we let them score the second goal.

“After we equalised, we played well and I thought there was only one team going to win.

“But we lost the ball in midfield, and a long punt into our area should have been cleared by our defenders, and 99 times out of 100 they would.

“But for some reason, we allowed a 5ft 10in striker to get across the front of the defenders and his header has gone in. We shot ourselves in the foot, it is so frustrating.”

Ardley will be without Chris Arthur for more than two months after it was confirmed he suffered a broken ankle in the draw against Accrington Stanley, while Andy Frampton and Charlie Sheringham have both returned to training.

“It’s typical that we’ve lost Andy and Chris at an important stage of the season, they have proved to be powerful parts of the team.”

He added: “Any game is important, but we need to get something out of Oxford because we need to start feeling good about the game again.”

Missing: Chris Arthur, right, is out of action for more than two months with a broken ankle, much to Neal Ardley’s disappointment         Picture: David Purday