Neil Ardley praised his side’s resilience after they battled through to secure a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Southend United.

AFC Wimbledon had to dig in deep at times with keeper Joe McDonnell, in for the injured James Shea, saving down low early on to deny Barry Corr.

The Dons slowly grew into the game and had the best chance of the first half when Tom Beere’s powerful shot hit the crossbar.

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The second half saw Southend dominate and they nearly broke the deadlock when Corr’s curling strike bounced off the bar and onto the line, only for the referee to wave play on.

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Ardley said: “It was really tough. I thought they started well and we had to dig in to stay in it.

“Then we got into the game and had some decent moments. I thought second half they pinned us in.

“It was backs against the wall a little bit but I thought we were resilient.”

He added: “I know people wanted us to get more on the attack, but they are a strong side and we defended resiliently.”

The Dons remain 11th in League Two and seven points adrift of the play-offs with 12 matches remaining.

They have won once in the past six games, scoring only three goals in that time – but Ardley is all about the side’s development.

“I think we are better than we have ever been as far as progressing,” he said.

“Are the play-offs to far ahead? Possibly, but we will keep striving until it becomes mathematically impossible to get there.

“It’s tough to put a run together like we probably need to, but we will keep trying to win every game and do our best and if we finish in the top 10 or 12 then we can all look back and say it’s not been too bad.”

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