Dons drop to the bottom of the table after fifth consecutive defeat

MK Dons sank to the foot of the League One table on Saturday night after suffering their fifth league defeat in a row, going down 1-0 to Wycombe Wanderers.

Nick Freeman's goal five minutes before the break upset the best performance Dons had put in at home all season long, with Louie Barry the stand-out for the hosts.

While the visitors had chances to further increase their lead through Sam Vokes and Gareth McCleary, Dons were in the driving seat for the most part but could not find a way past keeper Max Stryjek, who made two vital stops from Matt Dennis and a deflected Daniel Harvie strike to earn his side the three points.

Wins for both Morecambe and Burton compounded Dons' misery too, sending Manning's side to the bottom of the table.

Despite picking up a win in the Papa John's Trophy on Tuesday night against Walsall, Liam Manning reverted to the side which played started a week prior against Plymouth Argyle, with Louie Barry and Nathan Holland in support of Will Grigg leading the line.

Desperately needing a positive performance and some points on the board in League One, Dons put in arguably their best showing of the season at home in the opening 45 minutes but went in at the break trailing.

Looking to have the better of the visitors from the opening whistle, the front line trio of Louie Barry, Nathan Holland and Will Grigg were looking lively, with the Aston Villa loanee a part of every attack Dons formed. Barry also came close on a handful of occasions, seeing two efforts deflected wide and appearing to be dragged down in the box a couple of times too, though referee Oliver Langford was unmoved.

While Dons looked in control, Wycombe failed to make anything stick in the final third, and it looked as though Dons would be the more likely to go in at the break in a better mood. But when the Chairboys finally pieced together a decent move to win a corner, Dons only half-cleared it as far as Nick Freeman 25 yards out, and he rifled it back through a crowd of players an into the bottom corner to give the visitors the lead five minutes before the break.

It could have been worse for Dons too when Anis Mehmeti found space on the Wycombe right but Sam Vokes could not control his fiercely hit cross and it bounced just wide.

The second half would be a story of frustration. Wycombe, more than happy to kill the clock and flow of the game, took their time where they could, while Dons would grow impatient as they watched another game slip away.

McCleary had a glorious chance to put the game to bed with 15 minutes to go when Dean Lewington misjudged the bounce of the ball to allow the front man in behind, but Warren O'Hora did enough to put him off, somehow scewing wide when scoring looked easier.

It was not to be for the hosts though. Substitute Matt Dennis came close to drawing level when he cut back from the byline to strike on goal but keeper Stryjek got an arm to it, while he did even better as the clock ticked over to 90 minutes, getting something on Daniel Harvie's deflected effort to put it over.

Referee: Oliver Langford

Attendance: 7,377 (1,241)

MK Dons: Cumming, O’Hora, Lewington, Jules, Harvie, Oyegoke, McEachran (Smith 82), Johnson, Holland (Dennis 68), Barry (Kayode 90), Grigg

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Tucker, Robson, Grant

Wycombe Wanderers: Stryjek, Jacobson, Forino, Vokes (Hanlan 84), Wing (Wheeler 90), Mehmeti (Mellow 84), McCleary, Mawson, Freeman, Obita, McCarthy

Subs not used: Blunkell, Kaikai, Horgan, Pattenden

Booked: Harvie, Jacobson