Dons ruthless in the second half to thump Rochdale

A sensational second-half performance from MK Dons saw them thump Rochdale 4-1 at Spotland on Tuesday night.

The brilliant Matt O'Riley gave Dons the lead after just five minutes but Dons were pegged back six minutes before the interval when Matthew Lund pulled one back for Dale.

After seeing a Cameron Jerome goal ruled out for offside on the stroke of half time, Zak Jules, Scott Fraser and then Jerome himself netted three goals in six second half minutes to shell-shock the home side as Dons asserted their dominance.

It could have been more, with Joe Mason coming close and Fraser seeing a late strike tipped onto the post.

The win sees Dons climb to a season-high 13th spot.

As expected, Will Grigg was handed his second first start for Dons as part of two changes from Saturday. Grigg replaced Joe Mason up front while injured Louis Thompson missed out, with Andrew Surman taking his place.

After conceding early at the weekend, it took just five minutes for Dons to find the net themselves to take the lead at Spotland. Matt O'Riley started and finished the move which saw Ethan Laird's cross pick out Grigg, who touched it back for the midfielder to bend past Gavin Banuzu's right hand.

Goals have been in abundance at Spotland in recent weeks, but the home side squandered some good chances as they came back into the game seeking an equaliser. Stephen Humphrys felt he should have had a penalty when he went tumbling under pressure from Harry Darling but it was waved away, while Matthew Lund didn't get enough on a fizzing ball into the mixer, allowing Andrew Fisher two bites of the cherry to keep it out.

While Cameron Jerome and Scott Fraser both put efforts wide as the snow fell and set on the pitch, Dale eventually got their reward when, six minutes from the break, Dons gifted possession to Ollie Rathbone, and Lund this time was left with a simple finish.

With Dons desperate for half time, Fisher almost gifted Dale the lead when he twice failed to clear his lines, picking out Alex Newby on the edge of the area, but he made amends by denying the striker from close range.

Dons though should have done in ahead. As the ball pinballed in the area in stoppage time, it fell for Zak Jules to lash goalwards, clipping Jerome en route into the roof of the net. Despite no flag from the assistant, referee Carl Boyeson adjudged it offside and chalked it off.

Fuelled by the disappointment of that though, Dons came out for the second half and netted three times in six minutes to break Rochdale's resolve.

Jules made up for his earlier disappointment by heading home 10 minutes after the restart, finishing off after Jerome's header hit the bar.

Three minutes later, Scott Fraser scored a wonderful individual effort when he lashed home from the edge of the box before Jerome added his name to the scoresheet, sliding in Grigg's cross.

The home side were shell-shocked in the second half as Dons looked capable of scoring at will, with Grigg, substitute Joe Mason and Fraser all coming close to adding a fifth for Dons – the latter seeing his strike tipped onto the frame of the goal by Bazunu.

Referee: Carl Boyeson

Rochdale: Bazunu, Osho, O'Connell (Keohane 37), Morley (Baah 64), Humphrys (Vale 77), Newby (Grant 77), Rathbone, Done (McLaughlin 77), Shaughnessy, Lund

Subs not used: Lynch, McNulty

MK Dons: Fisher, Lewington, O'Hora, Darling, Jules (Sorinola 70), Laird (Harbie 85), Surman (Sorensen 85), O'Riley, Fraser, Jerome (Mason 70), Grigg (Brown 77)

Subs not used: Nicholls, Johnson

Booked: O'Connell, Lund