Met Police 2 AFC Wimbledon 0Lewis Taylor seems certain to miss the big Blue Square South kick-off after a night to forget for the Dons at Imber Court.

Taylor, 21, has damaged ligaments in his right knee after landing awkwardly in tonight's lackluster defeat against Ryman South side Met Police.

The midfielder - a summer signing from Horsham - left the ground on crutches and faces a massive uphill struggle to be fit in time for the August 9 opener at Newport County.

Wimbledon were undone by a poorly defended goal in each half and boss Terry Brown said it was a hellish evening all round for his side.

First teamers Andy Little, Ben Judge, Tom Davis, Tony Finn and Jon Main all started in a disappointing display by the experimental Kingsmeadow outfit.

Brown said: "As if the performance wasn't bad enough, Lewis will be out for quite a while too.

"This is a big, big blow and such a pain. He is one we needed fit at all costs and he has done the ligaments in his knee. It's typical - this for me is the downside of pre-season.

"I don't know how long he is out for but the signs aren't good. It could be 3 weeks, 6 weeks or even longer. We certainly didn't need this."

Taylor now joins other recent recruit Chris Sullivan and goalkeeper James Pullen on the treatment table - with both not expected to be fit for the opening day trip to south Wales.

Wimbledon fell behind after 28 minutes when Steve Sergent's drilled corner was met by the powerful head of Gary Drewett. The midfielder's unopposed run was not checked and keeper Little was left with no chance.

Billy Dunn missed the away team's best chance when he latched on to Finn's fine pass in a rare moment of quality. The finish didn't match the ball as the young forward somehow failed to find the target.

Just like at Croydon last Saturday, Brown rung the changes at the interval with just Finn, Taylor's 13th minute replacement Ollie Treacher and Davis surviving the manager's half-time cull.

But the game was put beyond the youthful Dons with ten minutes to go as Chris Melkle made the most of Quincy Rowe's dreadful back-pass to hand the Met a moral-boosting victory.

Brown added: "To be honest I didn't get anything out of today - it must have been hard to watch from a supporters' point of view. We hope tomorrow night at Northwood will give us all a bit of a boost."