Away drought ended in emphatic fashion as Dons hit five at Harrogate

MK Dons ended their drought without an away win in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night with a 5-1 win over Harrogate Town.

Two goals in first-half stoppage time put the visitors in total control, as Joe White and Alex Gilbey added to Tommy Leigh's opener to put Scott Lindsey's side 3-0 up at the break.

They looked a poor shadow of themselves in the second-half though, and nearly let the home side in when Luke Offord spun the ball into his own net with 17 minutes to go. But two goals at the death from Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Sonny Evans completed the rout.

The win lifts Dons into 14th place in League Two ahead of three home games in a week, starting on Saturday against Tranmere Rovers.

Newcastle loanee Joe White came into the side to face Harrogate as Scott Lindsey's only change from Saturday's draw against Bromley, with MJ Williams dropping to the bench.

Fans were having to look back five months for Dons' last away win, ironically in north Yorkshire against Harrogate in the bonkers 5-3 win in April - a wait the new boss said was not good enough for a club of their standing. And based on the performance in the first-half, the players took it personally as they ran riot against the hosts.

Tommy Leigh looked in great form during the 1-1 draw with Bromley on Saturday, but felt he should have had a goal to his name, but needed only 23 minutes at the Exercise Stadium to open his account. After testing keeper James Belshaw with an early effort, he rifled home on the volley from close range after Joe White's ball into the box bobbled up kindly for him to smash Dons into the lead.

The hosts played some neat one-touch football at times to threaten Dons' defence on a handful of occasions, but Tom McGill was only once called into action, denying Jack Muldoon's effort with his body from close range.

The visitors looked in total control as they edged towards half-time, but two goals in stoppage time would effectively wrap the game up. Birthday boy White would get his first for the club too when Leigh was slid in by Alex Gilbey, seeing his shot come back off the post, leaving the Newcastle loanee with a tap-in.

Barely a minute later, it was 3-0 when Leigh headed Gilbey clear, and the skipper picked his spot for his third goal of the season.

But as good as Dons were in the first-half, they were equally as bad in the second. From the opening whistle Harrogate played as though they had nothing to lose, while Dons played on the back-foot and poorly for the majority of the second period.

Unable to keep possession or lay a glove on Harrogate, keeper McGill made four important stops to hold up his end, but there was precious little he could do when Luke Offord spun a clearance into his own net with 17 minutes to play.

But as off-colour as Dons were in the second-half, they struck twice late in the half, just as they did in the first, to make sure of the result.

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans picked his spot after substitute Sonny Finch saw his effort saved by Belshaw, before the Middlesbrough loanee got his reward with a cool finish to make it 5-1.

Referee: Aaron Bannister

Attendance: 1,694 (138)

Harrogate Town: Belshaw, Falkingham (Sutton 45), Moon, Cornelius (Duke-McKenna 61), Daly, Sims, O'Connor, Muldoon, Taylor, Dooley, Gibson (Burrell 20)

Subs not used: Oxley, Asare, Folarin, March

MK Dons: McGill, Tucker, Offord, Maguire, Tomlinson, Nemane, Kelly (Williams 85), Lemonheigh-Evans, White (Carroll 63), Gilbey, Leigh (Finch 63)

Subs not used: Harness, Lewington, Ilunga, Tripp