HISTORY is in danger of repeating itself at St George’s Lane.

It is almost a year to the day since Worcester City lost 1-0 at Guiseley in the FA Trophy. Within a week, Richard Dryden was appointed manager.

Defeat against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday means City have now failed to win a match in any of the major cup competitions for the second season running.

Within a week, there will be another critical decision made as shareholders choose between the current board and the Shareholders Action Group.

Regardless of what happens inside County Hall on Friday, the task facing City now is making sure their season is not, as it was 12 months ago, effectively over by January.

Sitting 11th in Blue Square South, five points adrift of the play-offs, they are better placed than when Dryden took over.

But, with league leaders Chelmsford next up at the Lane followed by a trip to sixth-placed St Albans, improving that position will not be easy.

City are presently an average side at best and Saturday’s defeat was their fifth in six games and it is a run of results being reflected on the terraces.

Barely half the crowd who witnessed the league thriller turned out for what was arguably the pick of the third qualifying round ties.

When you consider Wimbledon accounted for nearly 300 of that, well down on their usual travelling contingent, you get some idea of the woeful home following.

Manager Dryden desperately wanted to put that right at the weekend and deliver City’s first major cup success since January 2007.

Even though a repeat of October 4 was never likely, the hosts must have fancied their chances when presented with a team sheet devoid of league top-scorer Jon Main and Danny Kedwell, both missing with a virus.

Yet the Dons made light of that with Elliott Godfrey putting them ahead after just five minutes and Belal Aiteouakrim doubling the advantage five minutes before the break.

Captain Craig Wilding halved the deficit on 62 minutes with his first goal since netting against Wimbledon in the league but Aiteouakrim’s second six minutes later put the game beyond Worcester. Dryden recalled Dave Bampton and Ollie Barnes and handed a rare start to Matt Dodd. Michael McGrath had been given permission to play by parent club Kidderminster Harriers and he was City’s main performer for the majority of the contest.

He fired inches past Andy Little’s right-hand post following a surging 15th-minute run, and made an excellent challenge to set-up a move which ended with Bampton slicing wide.

McGrath also executed a fine opportunist left-foot volley from Gary Walker’s throw-in which narrowly evaded the top corner.

However, despite those efforts, it was Wimbledon who had more of a cutting edge and made their possession count.

Godfrey pounced to put the visitors ahead after Sam Hatton’s header from Anthony Finn’s cross had cannoned back off the bar.

Finn made the second as he powered into the penalty area, went past Graham Ward and squared for Aiteouakrim.

His shot was hacked off the line by Barnes but rebounded for a simple tap-in.

Hatton’s drive was tipped over by Danny McDonnell as Wimbledon started the second-half strongly before City replaced Dodd with Matt Dinsmore and went three up front.

It paid dividends as Walker dummied on the edge of the penalty area and the ball broke kindly for Wilding to drill a low effort beyond Little. Having managed to get themselves back in the contest, Dryden's side handed the initiative straight back to the visitors with a rare defensive error from Jon Richardson.

The former Exeter centre-half’s back-pass fell short, allowing Finn to nip in and feed Aiteouakrim to convert despite the best efforts of McDonnell.

That ultimately did for City. It could be another long winter.