Dons into the second round on penalties at Eastleigh

MK Dons trickled into the second round of the FA Cup, needing all five penalties to eventually see off National League side Eastleigh.

Typical of Dons' recent performances, making things stick in the final third was the issue at the Silverlake Stadium, with the final ball and finishing ultimately Dons biggest weakness. Carlton Morris saw a header come off the post, while Ste Walker forced three good save from the excellent Joe McDonnell in the Eastleigh net.

With nothing separating the sides after 120 minutes, it required penalties, and predictably it went to the final round, with Tom Bearwish's hitting the bar, allowing Scott Fraser to convert and send Dons into the hat for the second round.

Keen to avoid an upset, Russell Martin named a strong side for the trip to Eastleigh. Lee Nicholls returned in goal, while Baily Cargill, Louis Thompson and Ste Walker also came back into the side.

It was a case of patience being a virtue for the visitors. Eastleigh started brightly as they looked to capitalise early on and perhaps catch Dons cold but there was not much which troubled the returning Nicholls.

As Dons settled, they established themselves and began to dominate possession but it was a similar story when it came to the attacking third as they struggled to carve chances. Louis Thompson brushed the side netting with a strike after four minutes, while there were a string of corners and a couple of free kicks which went begging for Dons.

Eastleigh did look dangerous on the front foot though, with Miley and Payne both getting shots away without testing Nicholls.

The game continued in a similar vein in the second period, with Dons the team on the front foot but struggled to unlock the Eastleigh defences. Carlton Morris powered a header onto the post, while Harvie had all the sting taken out of a strike from the edge of the box.

Martin made his three changes in quick succession to bring on Ben Gladwin, Matthew Sorinola and Scott Fraser, but none brought about an immediate change in fortunes for the visitors.

When chances did come along, they were for Dons but the finishing was poor, with both Gladwin and Morris firing well over the bar.

With extra time looming, both sides had late chances to win it, with Ste Walker doing too much himself and allowing Jack Payne to get a vital block in before Alex Winter squandered a header from inside the six yard box which was easily dealt with by Nicholls.

Walker had three great chances in the first half of extra time to open the scoring, and was twice denied by keeper McDonnell and sent the third over the bar as Dons hemmed Eastleigh into their own territory.

The Middlesbrough striker would again be the tormentor in the second period, drawing another fantastic stop from McDonnell as he took it through on goal, but it would ultimately require penalties to settle the tie.

Lee Nicholls saved Tyrone Barnett's first penalty, but after Gladwin missed Dons' second, it went typically right down to the wire. Tom Bearwish though saw Eastleigh's final spot kick thud the crossbar, leaving Fraser to send Dons into the second round.

MK Dons: Nicholls, Lewington, O'Hora (Sorinola 67), Cargill, Poole, Harvie (Gladwin 61), Kasumu, Thompson (Fraser 67), Sorensen (Bird 96), Morris, Walker

Subs not used: Fisher, Houghton, Freeman