Oldham Athletic 2-1 MK Dons
Latics too strong for Dons at Boundary Park
Anger and disappointment were the feelings from the Dons camp as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Oldham on Tuesday in what was easily their worst performance of the season.
Goals from Alan Sheehan and Keigan Parker condemned Dons to back-to-back League One defeats, with their consolation an unlucky own goal from Latics 'keeper Dean Brill.
In what was a stark contrast to Saturday's admirable performance against table-toppers Leeds, Paul Ince's side simply never got going at Boundary Park. And were it not for Willy Gueret the scoreline could well have been less flattering for Dons.
The pack was shuffled from the Leeds game with Jabo Ibehre brought in up front with Aaron Wilbraham in a 4-4-2. Luke Howell and Peter Leven started in central midfield with Stephen Gleeson out on the right and Luke Chadwick on the left. But the changes left the team looking unbalanced and frustrated.
That was summed up when Ince was sent to the stands at half time after an altercation with referee Anthony Bates.
With Gleeson and Chadwick always looking to come inside Dons found space hard to find and with Ibehre struggling to make the ball stick they just couldn't create pressure.
The power of Pawel Abbott and the pace of Parker and Danny Whittaker did the damage, causing Dons more problems than anyone this season. And assistant manager Karl Robinson said it was hard to put his finger on what went wrong.
"I think sometimes in football you can't quite comprehend what happens in a game," he said.
"Players sometimes don't perform or drop their levels, but you can't put that into words or understand how disappointed we are."
Things could have been a lot different had Wilbraham converted an early chance from the edge of the penalty area but his side-foot shot was not powerful enough to beat Brill.
And Dons were made to pay as minutes later Sheehan beat Gueret with a low thunderbolt from all of 35 yards.
It lifted Oldham's confidence and they went on to play the better football in the game. They got their second with 20 minutes left and it was a goal of great quality.
Abbott showed excellent strength to hold off David McCracken and fed the ball to Taylor who then reversed the ball back for Parker who hit a sublime curling shot with the outside of his boot that Gueret could do nothing about.
Dons got a late consolation when substitute Richie Partridge sent in a teasing cross that cannoned off the post and then off the chest of Brill before trickling in.
But had Dons salvaged a draw it would have been extremely harsh on their hosts. Robinson conceded their game plan just didn't come off.
"Any player who puts a shirt on for Dons is the right player for that particular game," said Ince's right-hand man.
"But it didn't quite work out with Chadwick getting injured in the first half as it disrupted our plans. We have a group of players that we expect a lot from and tonight that wasn't good enough for us."
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Weather for Milton Keynes
Friday 25 May 2012
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