This was only Wimbledon's third win of the season at home - wherever that is these days - and after losing three of their previous four games they are suddenly equal 10th with West Ham.

It did not stop a chorus of disapproval from Wimbledon supporters afterwards. "Don't Murder the Dons" read the banners, and "The Dons Belong in Merton", the club's home borough.

Sam Hammam, the club's father figure, said he was in discussion with Merton councillors and was "cautiously optimistic" of finding a new stadium to replace their current digs at Selhurst Park. But he did not rule out a move to Dublin.

If Sky Television show many more matches like this, it could soon be homeless, too. Tonight there is Sheffield Wednesday versus Barnsley, so it is something of a lost weekend for dish owners.

A draw looked a good call for this fixture between two moderate sides who were short of confidence and who had both faltered recently after mini-revivals. Southampton have now lost three successive league matches, after winning three in a row, but they looked good enough for at least a point yesterday until Kevin Richardson's mistake let in Robbie Earle for the only goal in the 17th minute.

Staale Solbakken put the ball in and when Richardson completely missed his attempted clearance, Earle, not a regular member of the side any more, scored for the third time this season.

The Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear shrugged: "It was not a good game to look at, but no one's worried about that. Certainly I'm not. We've got a number of injuries here and most of them are long term. So we could be in for a sticky ride. This match was about getting three points, and we managed that."

A frustrated Southampton manager David Jones replaced Matt Le Tissier 10 minutes into the second half. "Things were not working for him. Matt's in a bit of a rut at the moment and I thought it was better to take him off."

Wimbledon: Sullivan, Cunningham, Blackwell, Thatcher, Earle, Solbakken, Gayle (Jones 86), Perry, Hughes, Ardley, Cort (Kimble 58). Subs Not Used: Heald, Jupp, Clarke. Goals: Earle 18.

Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Palmer, Monkou, Lundekvam, Le Tissier (Ostenstad 55), Oakley, Benali, Davies, Richardson (Slater 63), Hirst. Subs Not Used: Dryden, Moss, Hughes. Booked: Palmer. Att: 12,009.

Referee: M D Reed (Birmingham).