JOHN Lundstram was deeply disappointed Oxford United’s careful preparations for AFC Wimbledon were all for nothing as they lost 2-1 at Kingsmeadow.

The visitors even got their noses in front, thanks to Rob Hall’s seventh-minute strike.

But the Dons quickly levelled when Dean Parrett’s shot ricocheted in via the crossbar and Simon Eastwood’s back.

Sean Kelly was allowed a free header for what proved to be the winner as the London side completed the double over United.

The visitors were well aware of Wimbledon’s threats, which made the loss all the more frustrating for Lundstram.

The U’s skipper said: “No excuses, we knew what we were going to come up against.

“We’ve studied them all week, but we’ve come out and haven’t delivered.

“It comes down to their first goal, once they got it we didn’t react well.

“You always back yourself if you’ve done your homework right, (but) then you want to go and do the job properly.

“In the second half I thought we did OK, we had a go and we had a chance at the end with Kane (Hemmings).

“If that goes in we might go on and get another one, but it wasn’t to be.”

The defeat was only United’s second in their last 14 outings stretching back to mid-November.

It was also one of Wimbledon’s best displays of the campaign, something from which Lundstram took some consolation.

He said: “I think they’ve played as well as they have all season and we were still in the game right until the end.

“Credit is probably the wrong word to use, because we weren’t at the races in the first half, but I thought we could’ve nicked a point at the end.”

At 22, Lundstram is three years older than his central midfield colleague Ryan Ledson, who was not alone in having a tough afternoon on a difficult pitch against a side who played with intensity.

But the U’s captain believes such experiences will stand his former Everton teammate in good stead.

He said: “It was hard to play, the pitch was bobbly and boggy, but Wimbledon have come out and delivered.

“Ryan’s a young lad and coming to places like this isn’t the easiest.

“But it’s a massive lesson learned and it shows you what real league football’s like.

“I think Ryan will take a lot from that.”