UPSET York City boss Russ Wilcox was left angry after feeling gamesmanship from AFC Wimbledon went unpunished during a 3-2 home defeat for his team.

Wilcox believed the Dons employed time-wasting tactics after taking a 3-1 lead midway through the second period and was left annoyed by a lack of action from Humberside referee Karl Boyeson and his match officials.

On-loan Millwall defender Jake Goodman gave the Dons a first-half lead that was cancelled out by Diego De Girolamo’s fourth goal of his loan spell from Sheffield United early in the second period.

Two goals is as many minutes from Sean Rigg and Matt Tubbs then put the visitors firmly in the ascendancy but, even though Stephane Zubar reduced the deficit on 75 minutes, Wilcox reckoned his side’s efforts to grab an equaliser were hindered by a series of delaying methods.

“I was very frustrated and angry with some of the things that went off,” the City boss seethed. “I’ve got to be careful what I say because I don’t want to get in trouble but I think everybody will know what I’m getting at because some of the performances out there – not from our players or the Wimbledon players – were embarrassing.

“They were able to manage the game after going in front and that annoyed me. I just hope the ten injuries they picked up in the second half recover in time for their next match.

“You need strong refereeing in that situation and I expected the fourth official’s board to show eight or nine minutes but we didn’t get that. Every time the ball was dead for a Wimbledon free kick or throw-in, there was 30 seconds to a minute wasted.”

Wilcox also voiced his opinion to My Boyeson and his team before the prescribed cooling off period, explaining: “I didn’t want to wait the 30 minutes you are supposed to do because I think that’s a waste of time.

“The four of them can have a confab during that time, so I voiced a few home truths straight after the game. You just hope people are honest and the assessor looks at what happened and deals with it.

“I’d like to see how long the ball was in play during the second half. I’d say it was probably 20 or 25 minutes.”

But the Minstermen chief did not lay the blame for his side’s loss at the officials’ door, reasoning that Wimbledon were gifted their first Sky Bet League Two away win since mid-August by poor home defending.

“You can’t afford to concede poor, poor goals like that and that lost us the game in a nutshell,” he said. “We had two key moments in our left-back corner for their second and third goals and we’ve got to deal with both and defend better.

“Sometimes, you have to kick the ball out of play and not take chances but we didn’t do that twice in the same position. We’ve been solid in most games since I arrived but the match was a freebie for Wimbledon.”

Wilcox added that an adventurous line-up that included three centre-forwards, with Jake Hyde and De Girolamo both spending spells on the right wing, had no bearing on the defeat, pointing out: “We had a go which was something I wanted to do.

“Some of our play going forward was outstanding. It was better than Wimbledon and we could have scored more but, if you get two goals at home, you should come away with a point or three.

“We took a gamble and were very offensive with a front four that we switched about a bit and, if they had carved us open because of the system we were playing, I would have been the first to put my hand up, but you would not see the goals we conceded on a Sunday morning.”

De Girolamo’s equaliser was a highlight for Wilcox, however, after he combined with Michael Coulson in a well-rehearsed, set-piece drill.

“It was a terrific goal from right off the training ground,” Wilcox explained. “There were a few moans and groans when people saw the short corner but it was a great bit of play and that’s why we had Diego out there.”

The City boss also heaped praise on Brad Halliday after the on-loan Middlesbrough teenager made his senior debut having been preferred to previous ever-present Marvin McCoy in the starting line-up at right back.

“Brad Halliday’s debut was a massive positive,” Wilcox stressed. “He was absolutely outstanding and was head and shoulders above anybody for the man-of-the-match award.

“It was a terrific debut. That was the last game of his loan spell but, hopefully, we can extend his loan now and he can make his mark on the team.

“That shouldn’t be an issue and should be pretty straight-forward. He can’t go anywhere else until January and I know he is enjoying it here.

“Even though he hadn’t featured before, it’s been great experience for him to sample the match-day atmosphere and both he and his family should be proud of how he performed.”

Illness ruled Luke Summerfield out of the match and a shoulder injury saw Michael Ingham fail to make the bench with Wilcox adding: “It was disappointing to lose Luke because we had worked on our shape for the last two days and he had been outstanding during the last game and a half.

“He had flu-like symptoms and there was no way he could have played but Monty is a good and experienced replacement so we are not using that as an excuse. Michael Ingham has a bit of a problem with his shoulder.

“He can do most things but, if he takes a shot that is quite hard, it opens up something and he’s a bit sore in there.”

The defeat represented City’s 13th home match without a win but the City manager does not feel that run is beginning to inhibit his players at Bootham Crescent.

“The longer it goes on, the more pressure it creates, but I don’t believe the players are feeling it,” Wilcox said. “After we have addressed Bury next weekend, we will get another opportunity against Accrington on Boxing Day and I’m sure, when we get that home win, our ground will become a tough place to come.”