IT WAS a scrappy affair, but Dons comfortably saw off 10-man Bury 2-1 at stadium:mk on Tuesday night to secure back-to-back League 1 wins for the first time since early December.

A Dean Bowditch double in the first half proved enough for Dons to brush past lowly Bury who had Giles Coke sent off for picking up two yellow cards after David Amoo had given the visitors a shock early lead.

Boss Karl Robinson admitted it wasn’t a vintage performance from his side on the night, but said the most important thing was to come away from their two homes games in three days with six points, having put five goals past Oldham on Saturday.

“It was a weird game,” he said. “The pitch didn’t help, it dried up in comparison to Saturday when it stayed really quick.

“It was a very professional performance, but I’m fuming with their chance at the end and I’m disappointed with the chances we missed. We dilly-dallied on the edge of the box and we need to be more ruthless.

“But we’ve won the two home games on the spin and it’s very pleasing to get over the line with all six points. We’ve proved this place is still a fortress.”

And for the second time in as many games, Dons were awarded a rare penalty at stadium:mk.

Bowditch coolly slotted home both spot-kicks to increase his impressive scoring record to four goals in the last three games. But Robinson was left questioning the penalty decisions that did not go Dons’ way – namely a blatant pull on Daniel Powell in the second half that went unpunished.

“The penalty on Saturday was a weak one I thought,” he said. “But there was one that wasn’t given in that game, and one here on Powell that was as blatant as you’ll see.

“Maybe he (referee Darren Drysdale) had the decisions he had already made in the back of his mind.”

After Saturday’s rampant 5-0 victory over Oldham, Dons were quickly back to their best against Bury, with Alan Smith firing just over the crossbar early on.

Bowditch thought he’d opened the scoring after seven minutes when he did well to get on the end of James Tavernier’s cross, but Mark Hughes cleared off the line, despite Dons’ celebrations that the ball had crossed the line.

When Coke scythed Stephen Gleeson down from behind, there were many in the stands calling for a straight red card, but referee Drysdale opted to just book the on-loan Sheffield Wednesday man – although he would later pay the price.

And it was Bury who shocked the majority of the threadbare stadium:mk crowd – a season’s low 6,404 – as they took the lead against the run of play after 10 minutes. Racing through onto Stephen Schumacher’s pass, former Dons loanee Amoo neatly rounded David Martin to tap into the empty net.

It took Dons a while to shake off the shock of going behind, but it lasted just 10 minutes as Bowditch headed the home side back on level terms, and there was no debating whether or not the ball had crossed the line this time.

On level terms, Dons looked the more likely to score the next goal. Martin was more of a spectator for much of the game, while his counterpart Cameron Belford in the Bury goal was kept busy with a string of shots from Powell and Charlie MacDonald.

Gleeson took offence to a foul on Dean Lewington, which the referee saw worthy of his 10th booking of the season, leaving the midfielder with a two-match ban starting this Saturday for the trip to Bournemouth.

The scrappy affair wasn’t helped by the deteriorating state of the pitch which was showing signs of age and the recent frozen weather conditions as it hampered Dons’ passing style.

Darren Potter looked slightly out-of-sorts which prevented the quick attacking style of play that is usually seen at stadium:mk, but Dons were given a helping hand into the game just before the break.

Lucky to still be on the field after his earlier booking, Coke petulantly pulled back Mathias Doumbe as he looked to break into the midfield, giving referee Drysdale no choice but to give the Bury man his marching orders.

This left the Shakers with an uphill task, and the slope was made even steeper when Smith was taken down by Belford in first half stoppage time as Dons won their second penalty in as many games – Bowditch firing home a second penalty in two games and second goal of the night.

As expected, Bury simply put everyone behind the ball after the break, as Dons went in search of a killer third to wrap up the game.

And it should have come from 12 yards again when Powell was floored by Joe Skarz, but this time the referee waved play on, despite it looking a more clear-cut penalty than the one he had awarded in the first half.

Dons bombarded the Bury goal, with Bowditch keen to get his hat-trick and MacDonald eager to score his first goal of the year.

Both had brief sights of goal before they were pounced on by the busy Bury defence as their bunker mentality kept Dons at bay, meaning they created very little themselves at the other end.

But they could have wrecked the night for Dons deep into stoppage time at the end of the game as Hughes latched onto the end of long ball from Skarz, but his shot was rushed and weak, providing Martin with a rare touch of the ball – a wake-up call for the otherwise solid Dons defence.

The win further cements Dons’ play-off position, although they remain in fifth in the table, seven points adrift of Sheffield United in the second automatic promotion place, and they have now played a game more.

Man of the match Bowditch was delighted to come away from the two tough encounters with Oldham and Bury with six points, while increasing his lead as the club’s top goal scorer this season with 13 in all competitions.

He said: “I’ve got in some good spaces lately and luckily I have stuck them in the back of the net. But that’s what I’m there for. Even though I’m playing out wide, I’ve got to contribute.

“The penalties went in the same place. I’m glad the keeper went the wrong way again too, I don’t think he watched my penalty from Saturday! I was confident stepping up to it, and I thought if I had a good enough connection and luckily it went our way.

“Bury showed that they can make things very difficult. They did well to keep us out, and we couldn’t get that third goal to finish them off.

“And they could have nicked a draw right at the end and it would have been two points lost.

“That’s something we need to work on because we need to see teams off, especially when they’re down to 10 men. I’ve heard it said before, but sometimes it is more difficult playing against just the 10 men. But I’m glad we got the three points.”

The decision to send off Coke in the first half incensed the Bury bench as they believed that neither of his offences warranted even a booking. But Robinson was left scratching his head at their protests, saying he felt that Coke was lucky just to be on the field after his first challenge.

“I don’t know what they’re moaning at. He’s come in from behind and nearly broke Stephen Gleeson’s leg – he was lucky to get away with just a yellow card,” said the Dons boss.

“And then he pulls a player back which is another booking. It was soft, yes, but that’s the law of the game.

“It’s a weird game to sum up. It was scrappy. It was just one of those halves where if we scored one, we’d have gone on to score four or five. It just didn’t seem to go in for us.

“I know the fans will be frustrated because they see the opposition down to 10 men and we got five on Saturday. It doesn’t always work like that though. But the most important thing is the three points.”

With Paul Slane expected to finally arrive at Dons from Celtic next week, Robinson admits he is still actively seeking out further additions to his side as they look to mount a serious challenge on the last automatic promotion spot, with Charlton still wait out in front despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Rochdale while Dons were beating Bury.

“There’s an awful lot of work going on behind the scenes,” said Robinson. “We are trying to bring in other players to strengthen what we’re trying to do. We’re knocking on a lot of doors.”

Dons now face two long away trips in as many weeks – first a trip south to play-off chasing Bournemouth at Dean Court on Saturday, before travelling north to Victoria Park to face Hartlepool a week later.

The Cherries were big spenders in the January transfer window, having forked out an estimated £800,000 for Crawley striker Matt Tubbs, as well as signing former Dons loanee Donal McDermott and completing five other loan deals. They sit just outside the play-off places in eighth.

Dons’ last trip to Dean Court ended in a 3-2 defeat, and the two clubs shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at stadium:mk in October.

MILTON Keynes kept up the pressure on the Southern Counties North leaders by comfortably seeing off Tadley 19-6, but unfortunately failed to cut the gap after missing out on an all important bonus point.

Saturday’s win at Emerson Valley was City’s 11th from their 14 games, but table toppers Beaconsfield continue to lead the way after they thrashed Wootton Bassett, with Windsor and Grove separating City and the south Bucks side in a very tight top four.

Despite winning their match, City were left disappointed at not earning the bonus point for scoring four tries, with the gap to Beaconsfield now 10 points.

The cold and wet conditions meant lots of inevitable errors when City entertained struggling Tadley – a side they had beaten away from home when the two sides met for the first time back in November.

City also scored the opening try of the game in the very first minute, with just a foot on the touch line by Gavin Whitehead stopping an early score.

Instead it was the visitors who scored the first six points of the contest via two penalties – Tadley able to take advantage of torrential rain and wind at their backs during the opening half an hour.

However, after 25 minutes of defending from City, Rob Lasbrey made a good break on the half-way line and passed the ball to Phil Powell on the 22 who went through and over to score under the posts. Powell duly converted to put City one point up by half time.

The weather gradually improved in the second period but cold hands meant that errors continued as the hosts had plenty of chances to score again. Eventually they did when Richard Hill crashed over in the corner, and although the conversion was missed, City were now six points up and looking on course for victory.

Further opportunities to increase the lead came, but final passes went astray too often, allowing Tadley the occasional run into City territory.

The final score of the game came from a scrum on Tadley’s five metre line when the ball was shipped down the line for Dan Rolfe to score close to the corner. Powell’s conversion was good to take City’s tally to 19, but with only three scores they missed out on a bonus point.

Next up for City is a trip to Aylesbury on Saturday where they will be looking for their sixth straight win, while also hoping that results elsewhere go their way.

South West One East basement boys Olney were beaten 32-6 by Coney Hill in their last outing – two first half penalties all the hosts had to show for a spirited display against the side sitting fourth in the table.

Bletchley have got back on terms with their win-defeat record this season thanks to their 10-3 beating of lowly Swanage and Wareham.

It’s now nine wins and nine defeats for the Manor Fields side this season after a stubborn display from Swanage who sit third from bottom of the table.

Adam Dempsey ploughed over for the first try, but in very windy conditions Phil Harman’s conversion attempt missed the target and the score remained 5-0 going into the break.

Dagan Probert bagged Bletchley’s next try early in the second half – scoring after some good work from Harman and Dave Coleman – and it stayed one-way traffic for the majority as Bletchley’s forwards continuously knocked on the door.

However, they had to settle for just two tries, and in fact it was the visitors who scored the final points with a penalty conversion to earn a losing bonus point.

NEWPORT Pagnell Town’s return to action in the United Counties League Premier Division brought a 2-1 defeat to Spalding United on Saturday, extending their losing run either side of the winter freeze out to four games.

Dom Marsala’s second minute strike had given the Swans the perfect start to the game, but two second half goals saw the visitors defeated.

Newport had beaten the Lincolnshire side 5-1 at home earlier this season, but their latest reverse – their second in the league after being knocked out of the FA Vase and Berks & Bucks Trophy – leaves Darren Lynch’s men in a very unfamiliar position of eighth in the table.

Also defeated were Olney Town who fell 1-0 at home to Huntingdon Town in UCL Division One.

There were also defeats for both New Bradwell St Peter and Stony Stratford in the South Midlands League Division One as Peters crashed 6-1 at home to London Lions while Town lost 3-1 away to St Albans City Reserves.

However, there was a remarkable 9-1 away win for Cranfield United at Kentish Town.

Meanwhile it was high scoring draws all round in Division Two as Old Bradwell shared four goals with Hale Leys United, MK Wanderers drew 3-3 with Pitstone and Ivinghoe, and Bletchley Town split the difference with Tring Corinthians in another six-goal thriller.

NEW CITY HEATING SUNDAY LEAGUE

Willen remain eight points clear at the top of the Premier Division thanks to a 6-0 win against Padbury AFC.

Stony Startford stay in touch though after their equalling emphatic win – 7-1 against FC Lifesearch, with goals from Anthony Grubb (2), Lee White, David Cole, Riccardo Archer, Stephen Spratt and Danny Wing. Stony also still have five games in hand.

In the top division’s other games, CS Athletic moved up to third place with a 4-2 win against Open University, while Great Mile Ash and Trade 2U shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Olney Town continue to lead the way in an extremely tight Division One with a 5-0 win against Stantonbury Social B last time out.

But AFC Santander remain level on points with the leaders after a 7-2 win against Stacey Bushes, plus they still have a game in hand.

Stoke Hammond also remain hot on their heels thanks to their 4-1 win over Buckingham United, while FC MMIX are also still in touch thanks to their 6-1 win against MK United, and New City Saints beat Punjab United 3-2.

NORTH BUCKS & DISTRICT LEAGUE

The big game in the Premier Division went the way of Potterspury who beat table toppers Southcott Village 2-0 to cut the gap between the sides to just three points, plus Potterspury have a game in hand.

However, Thornborough Athletic are best placed and will leapfrog both sides to the top if they win their two games in hand, having seen off Deanshanger 4-3 in their last outing.

Also in the top flight, MK Titans were held to a 2-2 draw by Loughton Manor and Great Linford went down 5-0 away to Silverstone.

MILTON Keynes’ ladies were in England Hockey Vase action and comfortably beat the University of East Anglia 4-0 to book their place in the quarter finals.

Having already played one close game on Saturday, MK were looking for a much easier victory in this game, and they got just that to seal a last eight clash away to Wilmslow Ladies in Cheshire on March 11.

Right from the off MK took the game to UEA and immediately put them on the backfoot – playing some superb passing hockey they took control but saw several goal scoring opportunities go begging in the early stages.

However, their patience paid off when they took the lead through a well-taken goal from captain Sophie Reynolds. And with player of the match Laura Browne instrumental in carving out numerous attacking opportunities, the home side doubled their lead moments later with Reynolds firing home a second.

The defence of Sarah Lowry, Steph Bates and Dee Davis had to remain fully focused to deny the visitors a way back into the game as MK let their standards slip slightly going into the half time break as goalkeeper Laura Pellington-Woodrow was forced into making a couple of saves.

But they soon got back to their best in the second half, stretching the game to their advantage, and a perfectly placed cross into the D by Issy Morgan enabled Reynolds to deflect the ball home for her third of the afternoon. And there was still time for a fourth goal courtesy of Karmel Bracken.

The ladies’ 1sts had previously seen off Wycombe on Saturday thanks to a single Reynolds goal.

Milton Keynes’ men were left frustrated after failing to make their chances count in a 1-1 draw against Sevenoaks.

After a two-week winter freeze break, the men made the trip to Kent and soon found themselves under some pressure. But resolute defending allowed them to gain some control in the game and soon they started to move the ball about with purpose and consistency.

The game was flowing from end to end but both teams lacked the composure in and around the ’D’ to claim the first goal of the game. MK remained strong all over the pitch and went in at half time having done a lot of running to keep the score at 0-0.

The second half was a lot more open with chances falling at each end. It was turning into a game where the team that wanted it the most was going to come away with a win.

Five minutes into the second half the home side found themselves down to 10 men. This gave MK hope and they took control of the game, moving the ball with pace and accuracy as Sevenoaks found themselves under increased pressure.

Sevenoaks were back to full strength, but MK kept up the pressure and found themselves a goal ahead when Andy Van Der Pedo crashed a ball into the D where Brett Holland was on hand to deflect it high into the roof of the net.

MK didn’t sit off though and continued to press forwards to score a second killer goal. But opportunities went begging and typically Sevenoaks went straight up the other end and scored to level the game.

The men’s 2nds suffered 1-0 defeat to Maidenhead while the 3rds thrashed Oxford 7-1 with hat-tricks by Matt Darvell and Neil Hutchins, and one for Dom Tyler.

The men’s 4ths went down 3-0 to OMT Baabaas – despite best efforts of man of the match Tom Fung – and a Will Luther goal gave the 5ths an incredible 6-5 win against Staines. The ladies’ 2nds saw off Gerrards Cross 5-3 and 3rds beat Witney 3-0.

AROUND 400 runners took part in a training run for Milton Keynes Marathon at the weekend.

The joggers met near Willen Lake at 10am on Sunday before taking part in the 14-mile run, which followed part of the 26-mile route.

Race director, Andrew Hully, said: “We wanted to offer people a chance to run along part of the marathon route and to experience what it would be like to run in a crowd so that they had some idea of what to expect on race day.

“Numbers were kept relatively low, due to logistical reasons, but we were really surprised at the number of runners wanting to take part.

“Next year we plan to offer more training runs so that we can accommodate more people.”

The Milton Keynes Marathon main event will take place at stadium:mk on April 29 and over 4,000 runners have already signed up.

> Anyone interested in taking part in the marathon or volunteering to help on race day should visit www.miltonkeynesmarathon.co.uk

DANIEL POWELL was the hero as he netted twice and showed an incredible act of sportsmanship during Dons’ 5-0 thrashing of lowly Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

The 20-year-old front man has had to show patience this season, making do with only a handful of appearances over the last few months as he’s found himself out of favour with Dons boss Karl Robinson. But given the chance to impress on a rare start, Powell did just that – helping Dons end a run of seven games without a win.

The three points do little to change Dons’ place in the League 1 table – still in fifth and 10 points adrift of the top two – but the win was certainly a huge confidence boost going into a busy run of fixtures, beginning with the visit of Bury to stadium:mk on Tuesday night.

Despite getting the ball in the back of the net in the first half, Powell had to wait until the second to net himself a richly deserved brace – his goal inside the first 10 minutes not standing due to referee Brendan Malone pulling play back for a penalty after a foul by Jean Yves Mvoto on the striker. The spot-kick duties then belonged to Dean Bowditch who fired Dons ahead while incredibly some of the visiting Oldham players found reason to complain.

Powell was at the heart of everything good Dons created during a fairly drab opening 45 minutes. But after breaking free down the flank and through on Alex Cisak’s goal looking for a second, Powell instead stopped and put the ball out of play, allowing Oldham’s Paul Black to receive treatment for an obvious injury before being stretchered off.

He was rewarded for that sporting gesture in the second half – latching onto a ball over the top to round Cisak and fire home for 2-0 before increasing the lead further with an excellent turn and strike past the Oldham keeper.

Unfortunately he missed out on a deserved hat-trick, but there was still time for Dons to turn on the style and add two more goals through defender Mathias Doumbe – producing a strike as stunning as it was unexpected to beat Cisak from a right angle – before Stephen Gleeson lashed home his first ever goal at stadium:mk.

Robinson said the result was just rewards for his side’s efforts in recent weeks.

He said: “We said before the game that if our performances stayed true to what they have been over the last few weeks, the results would soon follow. I thought we showed tremendous quality and class in both boxes,

“We’ve come up against a strong Oldham team, in our preparation we felt they were going to be a massive threat, we thought the top four for them were going to be difficult, but we coped really well and we looked a class act today.

“From the beginning of the year we have been excellent – probably our worst performance was the Colchester one here which we won.

“The boys have been excellent, if you look at the run of games that we have had – Huddersfield, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton – I’d argue with anyone that we have been the better team in all of them.

“Today we looked really strong, when we were 2-0 up in the second half we had the impetus and were the better team. The players have a tremendous attitude and they can walk off with their shoulders back and their heads up.”

And Robinson paid tribute to Powell who has found Dons starts very hard to come by in recent weeks, but took his chance with both hands, while also helping out a fellow professional when Black laid stricken on the turf.

“We all thought the ball had gone out and he kicked it out in anger with himself,” said Robinson.

“I asked him what he was doing, if the ball was still in play then to wait for the referee to blow his whistle, but he said the boy went down and screamed. He said there were players he’d seen with injuries and he wanted to make sure the boy was treated almost immediately.

“I thought the actions of Powelly were incredible. They are just a really good group of lads and they want to be successful together, my job is made a bit easier by the players’ attitude and application on the pitch.”

Dons now welcome Bury to town on Tuesday night, looking for three points which would see them go level with fourth placed Huddersfield Town. In fact victory by two goals or more would see Dons leapfrog above the west Yorkshire outfit.