Both were involved in strong claims for refereeing indulgence, Sturridge with justification when his ankle was tapped by Roberts in the area and Wanchope without justification, when his push on a defender preceded a leaping header into the vacated Wimbledon goal.Derby County (3-5-2): Hoult; Delap, Prior (Eranio, 70), Stimac; Laursen, Schnoor, Carsley, Bohinen (Baiano, 65), Powell; Sturridge, Wanchope. Substitutes not used: Poom (gk), Elliott, Burton.Wimbledon (4-4-2) Sullivan; Cunningham, Perry, Blackwell (Jupp, 90), Kimble; Ardley, Roberts, Earle, Hughes; Euell (Gayle, 54), Ekoku (Kennedy, 84). The manager's first priority was to reinvest in the "no-nonsense" Spencer Prior, who had a no-nonsense debut. His side are happy to absorb pressure but struggle to exert their own when the opposition are also in cautious mode.
"I am sure we will both be happy with survival points," was Kinnear's assessment of the flying starts of his own side and that of Charlton. The trip to Pride Park provided a graphic illustration of his problem in a stale game.In the first half, Derby lacked thrust and with Andy Roberts, the defensive corner of a midfield diamond, guarding the late thrusts of Lars Bohinen, the home side's options were limited. Wimbledon's own outlets, though, were also limited and their smattering of chances resulted from the predictable forces of set-pieces and diagonal punts into the danger areas.Michael Hughes, the only Wimbledon variation on the left flank, was shouldered with too much responsibility for shielding the ball and Derby found it all too easy to launch the counter-attack, particularly in the second period when the Italian pairing of Stefano Eranio and Francesco Baiano were introduced as substitutes.Kinnear is not averse to playing the sympathy card when analysing his problems in solving any deficiencies.The Derby manager, Jim Smith, does not have the same excuse with pounds 5.35m in the bank from the sale of Christian Dailly to Blackburn. Derby County 0 Wimbledon 0 WIMBLEDON'S own durable Fab Four might not have attracted the same plaudits as their more celebrated Highbury counterparts, but some records are beginning to bear comparisons. Only Manchester United conceded fewer goals away from home last season, 17 to Wimbledon's 21.
They, too, have been together for around 10 years, after first combining in the youth set-up as 15-year-olds. The two full-backs, Kenny Cunningham and Alan Kimble, both with more than five years of service, are fast and defensively competent, but do not possess the cutting edge of Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn.That is Joe Kinnear's wider problem. Messrs Adams and Company leaked a further two goals on their travels.The centre-back pairing of Chris Perry and Dean Blackwell are nimble and combative, but lack the physical presence of the Arsenal colossuses. Sending-off: Southampton: Jones 65.Man of the match: Mendonca.Attendance: 16,488.1937 REVISITEDSeptember, 1937 - the last time Charlton led the eliteP W D L F A PtsCharlton 7 3 4 0 9 5 10Arsenal 7 4 1 2 18 7 9Stoke 7 4 1 2 19 9 9Bolton 7 4 1 2 10 5 9Leeds 7 3 3 1 10 8 9Wolves 7 4 1 2 13 11 9Chelsea 7 4 0 3 16 12 8Man City 7 4 0 3 17 14 8Birmingham 7 2 4 1 13 9 8Preston 7 2 3 2 11 7 7West Brom 7 3 1 3 12 12 7Middlesbrough 7 3 1 3 12 14 7Brentford 7 3 1 3 9 12 7Liverpool 7 3 1 3 12 16 7Sunderland 7 3 1 3 10 16 7Everton 7 3 0 4 11 11 6Leicester 7 2 2 3 9 11 6Huddersfield 7 3 0 4 10 12 6Blackpool 7 2 1 4 10 15 5Derby 7 1 3 3 9 21 5Grimsby 7 0 3 4 4 10 3Portsmouth 7 0 2 5 9 17 2. Southampton had already used all three substitutes, so David Howells went in goal and then picked Mendonca's penalty out of the net.Just 15 minutes later, Mendonca again walked his way past Southampton's non-existent defence and a minute from time, he rounded off his and Charlton's best afternoon in four decades with a well-placed shot inside the post. Curbishley then told his men to enjoy the moment, good advice as their next two games are away to Arsenal and Manchester United.Goals: Robinson (3) 1-0; Redfearn (46) 2-0; Mendonca pen 65 (3-0); Mendonca (81) 4-0; Mendonca (90) 5-0.Charlton (4-4-2): Ilic; Mills, Powell, Redfearn, Rufus; Youds, Newton (Mortimer, 75), Kinsella (S Jones, 83), Hunt; Mendonca, Robinson. Substitutes not used: Petterson, Brown, K Jones.Southampton (4-4-2): Jones; Dodd, Lundekvam, Dryden, Hiley; Ripley, Oakley (Howells, 57), Palmer, Bridge (Le Tissier, 46); Ostenstad (Beattie, 66), Hughes.
Substitutes not used: Moss, Monkou.Referee: R Harris (Oxford).Bookings: Charlton: Newton 13, Robinson 48 Southampton: Dodd 38, Hughes 82. After 65 minutes he dribbled through into the area and was upended by Paul Jones, who was sent off and the farce continued. That should have prompted Southampton to attack but with Matt Le Tissier on the bench, the midfield was easily run by Neil Redfearn, Curbishley's shrewd pounds 1m summer acquisition from Barnsley.Le Tissier did come on at the start of the second half but 30 seconds later they were two down. A Mendonca shot was parried by the goalkeeper Paul Jones and Redfearn followed it up. In a weird role reversal, all afternoon it had been a case of guess the Premiership new boys, but it was Southampton, 20 consecutive years in the top flight, who looked wet behind the ears.The second goal brought Mendonca to life. He said: "I picked up a back injury in pre-season, so I missed most of it. That meant I didn't play in last week's draw at Newcastle, and now I'm knackered.