The champagne is not yet on ice but the prospect of twice going to Wembley rose for Joe Kinnear's Wimbledon with a winning opening to their first month of 1999. For Manchester City it is quickly back to basics, which means battling it out near Blackpool tower next Saturday rather than under the famed twin towers later.
For Kinnear, victory amounted to business as usual, even if it did involve losing two of his players to red cards en route. Afterwards the manager gave one of his familiar world-weary recitations of injuries - "half-fit side, no centre-backs available" - and spoke almost as if Wimbledon rather than City had upset the odds. And, sure enough, he called the sending-off of Carl Cort, together with City's Andy Morrison, "laughable".
Graham Poll confirmed that he will watch a tape of the incident; he will see evidence to support Kinnear's claim that "the ref hasn't seen" the incident and that "there was no flag up". Nevertheless, in the melee that followed Morrison's legitimate tackle on Cort and the Wimbledon substitute's reaction, Poll had no option but to consult the assistant referee Wendy Toms. She told the referee that both players were guilty of violent conduct.
Kinnear hopes Poll will reverse his decision over the 71st minute flare-up, so freeing the 21-year-old Cort for three games including the League Cup semi-final visit to Tottenham. City's manager Joe Royle hopes Morrison will be released to bring his defensive commitment to City's promotion cause in the Second Division but is "not too confident".
The double dismissal, followed by Jason Euell's sending-off for two cautions in the space of three minutes, gave City new hope of saving the tie. But even if their spirit was as willing as ever the finishing remained weak.
Indeed, there was a curious inevitability about the lone goal, coming just as City were rueing their misfortune about an offside flag invalidating Paul Dickov's acrobatic volleyed finish from Gareth Taylor's long cross. Three minutes later Michael Hughes thoughtfully teed up Cort, who drove low past Nicky Weaver's right hand.
Wimbledon: Sullivan, Cunningham, Kimble, Thatcher, Earle (Roberts 46), Gayle, Ardley, Leaburn (Cort 46), M. Hughes, Kennedy (C. Hughes 85), Euell. Subs Not Used: Jupp, Bakke. Sent Off: Euell (85), Cort (74). Booked: Euell. Goal: Cort 62.
Manchester City: Weaver, Jim Whitley, Vaughan, Wiekens, Morrison, Horlock, Brown, Pollock (Russell 84), Taylor, Goater, Dickov. Subs Not Used: Wright, Bishop, Jeff Whitley, Shelia. Sent Off: Morrison (74). Booked: Horlock.
Referee: G Poll (Tring).
