Aneke and Agard sink Port Vale and fire MK Dons into top six

Dons goalkeeper Lee Nicholls ensured his side didn’t fall behind early as he spread himself to deny Vale’s Mitchell Clark within the opening 90 seconds of the game, Clark firing low and hard from the left after a menacing run.

Agard had the first real pair of chances on goal with 12 minutes played.

First, he back-heeled a low cross from George Williams that rolled wide before he unleashed a tame shot, which didn’t trouble the hosts’ Scott Brown between the posts.

But Paul Tisdale’s men didn’t have to wait long for the opening goal as 10 minutes later, Aneke was unmarked to convert Baily Cargill’s delivery from the left wing after the 23-year-old battled his way to the byline.

Agard then doubled the Dons’ advantage just past the half-hour mark with an excellent strike as he turned his marker and found the bottom-left corner.

Immediately after the restart, Aneke could not extend his goal tally to four for the season after he blasted his free-kick straight into a wall of Vale players.

Still, the Dons piled on the pressure as Ryan Watson raced forward and chipped a high ball to Agard but the 28-year-old former Bristol City striker was unable to get a clean touch.

Cardiff City loanee Rhys Healey replaced Aneke on 70 minutes and almost made an immediate impact when his looping header forced a finger-tip save from Brown.

Williams nearly added extra gloss to the Dons’ triumph with a stunning volley four minutes from the end but his drive rattled the crossbar.

A morale-boosting win means that Tisdale’s troops rise up to sixth in the League Two table.