Along with Riley Harbottle and Isaac Ogundere, the 28-year-old was assigned to the central position in a back three defence.
With Ryan Johnson just recovering from an injury and Joe Lewis expected to miss a month of action, Ball started in the same position against League One team Crawley in the EFL Trophy, which the Dons won 4-3.
Former Rochdale athlete Ball made five clearances and two blocks in the ninety minutes while serving as the team’s captain for the first time since joining at the beginning of the 2023–24 campaign.
“Bally was very intelligent,” Jackson remarked.
“I must admit that given the way he’s fit in—he defeated Crawley during the week as well—we felt confident enough to accompany him on Saturday because he performed well in the middle of the week as well.
He was the leader and captain out there, and I received all I wanted from him. In front of himself, he organised. He also did that when he had to defend.
After the Dons’ 1-0 loss at Salford, James Tilley was instrumental in getting them back to winning ways in League Two by setting up three goals as they thrashed Mike Williamson’s team.
In addition to delivering the corner for Cameron Harper to turn the ball into his own net, Tilley set up Matty Stevens twice.
This season, the 26-year-old, who was an attacker the previous campaign, is now a left wing-back.
Charlton great Jackson remarked, “Tills is quality on his left foot.”
“He was spot on with his deliveries on Saturday. He was exceptional. When you have a delivery like that, it’s crucial that there are people that want to assault it.
Everything fell into place. Since the team has performed so well, I don’t want to point fingers too much. It was a really strong team performance.
In the 72nd minute, with Wimbledon leading 4-0, Jackson managed to remove Omar Bugiel and Stevens, substituting Josh Kelly and Joe Pigott to finish the match.
“That’s the reason we shaped the team the way we did,” he stated.
“We simply thought that maybe the drop off from the ones out there was too great in past seasons when you had to make adjustments and you were looking around at your bench.
“We currently have two excellent players at each position. As a coach, it offers you the assurance that there won’t be a decline in performance when you implement the modifications, but rather an improvement from the bench.
“My four strikers are good. Each of them has important tasks to play.
