Matty Stevens scored his 16th goal of the season as AFC Wimbledon moved into second place in the League Two table with a 1-0 win over promotion rivals Salford.

Marcus Browne forced Salford’s Jamie Jones into the first save of the match with a blistering attempt from the edge of the box.

Josh Neufville was the next Dons player to have a pop from outside the area.

His curling effort was well saved by Jones, but the Salford goalkeeper made a mess of the resulting corner.

Jones recklessly punched the ball into the path of Ryan Johnson, only for the Dons defender to direct his header over the crossbar.

The hosts had a penalty appeal waved away by referee Alan Young after half-time when Omar Bugiel appeared to be dragged to the floor while trying to get on the end of a Jake Reeves cross.

However, it was 1-0 in the 65th minute when Stevens nicked the ball off a Salford defender.

League Two’s top scorer dribbled unopposed into the opposition’s half before drilling the ball into the bottom left corner.

Owen Goodman made a great save to deny Cole Stockton and James Tilley hit the woodwork during an action-packed five minutes after the goal.

The Dons held on to move into second place and close the gap between themselves and league leaders Walsall to five points.