Crawley manager John Yems wants his players to “go out and make history for yourself” after the 2-1 FA Cup second-round win at AFC Wimbledon

Joe Pigott put the hosts ahead in the first FA Cup tie since the return to Plough Lane but Ashley Nadesan and Max Watters scored in each half as the League Two side caused an upset.

Now it is all eyes on Monday’s third-round draw for a side who were desperately in need of a lift in their season.

“We worked hard, did what we had to do. I think sometimes I bore the Crawley fans to death because if you start with a point, you finish with a point,” said Yems.

“They’re a good side Wimbledon, so it’s a credit to the boys that fought hard and I think in the end we got what we deserved.

“We try and play, but we work hard and once you work hard as a team you get your rewards.

“They deserved it the lads, we’ve had a couple of dodgy results, but credit to the boys they’ve got the fitness and everything to come through and put a shift in like that.

“It’s a pity the fans weren’t here, but it gives everyone a boost that hopefully when we go back we have a football team that’s alive and kicking.

“It’s just mainly for the boys, go out and make history for yourself.”

The deadlock was broken in the 20th minute when Pigott headed home Ethan Chislett’s pinpoint right-wing cross but the visitors levelled through a neat Nadesan finish.

Watters fired home from just a couple of yards out in the second half as AFC Wimbledon – who only sealed their second-round place on Thursday night – ran out of steam.

“They did well to stay in the game and get back into it, but the second half it was rarely even, we just didn’t create anything clear cut or really test their goalkeeper,” said Dons manager Glyn Hodges.

“Individual errors have crept in again, and you can’t legislate for that. They’ve crept in the last few games, but the boys gave everything and they’re disappointed.

“It was a decent cup tie, we started off OK, but they pegged us back and second half we didn’t show the same dominance I felt we did in the first and that made it difficult for us.

“They’re a good side, they know what they were doing, they have some experienced players there and it was just too much for us in the end.

“We freshened things up as much as we could, so we did what we thought we could, but I picked a team that I thought was able to win the game.”