On a Saturday better fitted for cricket than football, Wimbledon scored two "quick singles" to beat Sheffield Wednesday at Selhurst and secure fourth place in the Premiership.

Jason Euell was the hero of the hour with two well-taken shots early in both halves.

And the Dons will be looking to the same sort of smooth performance as they face Leicester away this Sunday before returning home to play faltering Everton a week tomorrow (Saturday).

Joe Kinnear had changed tactics so far as Euell was concerned. The 21-year-old used to be played as an out-and-out striker but has now been given a midfield role, running alongside skipper Robbie Earle.

"He's got good pace and he's always looking for goals," said the Wimbledon manager, who once again left the dugout to a standing ovation at the end of the 90 minutes. How many football managers get that sort of reception Saturday after Saturday, win or lose?

Certainly the boss did not have long to wait for something to cheer himself. With less than a minute gone, Carl Leaburn flicked the ball back from a throw in and Euell's right-footed strike from outside the box was unstoppable.

The Crazy Gang continued to dominate the first half and there were some assured saves from Sheffield's keeper Kevin Pressman. At the other end the Dons' Neil Sullivan was virtually redundant.

What threat there was from the visitors came from their workaholic Italian Benito Carbone, who marred a tricky performance with a lot of unnecessary writhing theatricals on the ground when tackled.

So it was good to see referee Neale Barry ignore the silliness and stroll his way through the game without resort to a yellow or red card.

At the start of the second half Euell was in scoring action again after just three minutes when Marcus Gayle flicked on a ball pumped out of defence. Euell took the pass in his stride before beating Pressman from 10 yards.

Euell had other chances and a number of players including Earle and Michael Hughes, who put in another skilled performance on the wing, should have added to the total.

The only time the result was in doubt came with five minutes when Sheffield's other Italian, Paulo di Canio, came off the subs bench to show why he carries a £4.5m price tag.

He wrong-footed the home defence and ran in to score from short range. But it was too little too late for Wednesday.

As the Dons celebrated their win, Sunday's TV opponents Leicester were losing 2-0 at Derby County, leaving them fourth from bottom.

Their home record reads: won one, drawn one and lost one; for - three goals, against -two. Getting the ball in the back of the net would appear to be a problem - it is now 152 minutes since they last scored.

With the Dons already having their best start to the season in recent memory anything less than a draw would be deeply disappointing.

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