AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley will take Saturday's 1-0 League Two defeat at Mansfield on the chin.

A seventh-minute goal was enough to condemn the Dons to their first defeat in five games, leaving Ardley a disappointed man.

George Francomb and new signing Kwesi Appiah went close, but it was skipper Alan Bennett who almost equalised but he saw his header cleared off the line.

Ardley told Dons Player: "It is real disappointment, but the lads had a go and they battled hard.

“We knew it was going to be physical and they would go route one. They made it hard, but we lacked quality when we did get in the right areas."

He added: "We have to take it on the chin. It was a horrible game on a bobbly pitch against a team that were never going to play through midfield at all.

"They were big and strong and credit to them. I’m not going to say anything against them.

"They got an early goal and they held on for the rest of the game. I thought we could have got one back but we lacked quality in the final third.

"It was disappointing, but the boys had a right go. It was a reasonably even game, but they were bigger and stronger than us.”

Dons host Bristol Rovers this weekend.