Barrow pile more misery on MK Dons with comfortable victory

Barrow rounded out a miserable week for MK Dons with a comfortable 3-0 win at Stadium MK.

After dismal losses to Fleetwood Town and Notts County in the preceding seven days, Aaron Pressley’s brace either side of half-time gave Barrow a comfortable advantage, before Tyler Smith tapped in a third in stoppage time to pile more misery on the ailing Ben Gladwin.

Gladwin made two changes to the side to face Barrow after the midweek defeat to Notts County, handing Tommi O’Reilly his first start for the club since joining on loan from Aston Villa in January, and bringing in Scott Hogan to lead the line. It meant Aaron Nemane and Danilo Orsi dropped to the bench.

After two hugely disappointing performances against Fleetwood and Notts County, Dons needed a positive start to the game and they so nearly got it. Jack Sanders could not believe he had not opened the scoring after just three minutes when his header from Dan Crowley’s cross was denied by a stunning Wyll Stanway save, flying to his left to tip it over the bar.

The home side looked buoyed by that chance, and more were far more eager to chance their arm than they have been in recent games, with Hogan scuffing an effort though to the keeper.

Out of nowhere though, Barrow took the lead. After a modicum of joy down the right, Ben Jackson was freed up after Laurence Maguire was caught upfield, his cross was nodded in from close range by Aaron Pressley.

Despite the setback though, Dons persisted and had a handful of chances to get back on level terms. Hogan was denied by Stanway before Gilbey broke clear one-on-one but left too much on it for the Barrow stopper to get there ahead of him at the crucial moment.

They even had the ball in the net when a combination of Gilbey, Hogan and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans bundled it in, only to be denied by the flag.

Despite starting the second-half relatively brightly too, Dons would get hit on the counter to sum up their campaign, as Pressley was left free to roam 30 yards, picking out the bottom corner to double Barrow’s advantage on 57 minutes.

Lifeless and powerless to find a way back into it, Dons made hard work of the rest of the game, unable to test Stanway anywhere near as often as they did in the first-half. Bringing on the likes of Aaron Nemane, Danilo Orsi and Jonathan Leko did little to alter their fortunes, so when Tyler Smith tapped in another counter-attack in stoppage, there was a mass exodus.

Referee: Jamie O’Connor/Paul Lister-Flynn

Attendance: 6,585 (168)

MK Dons: Trueman, Sanders, Maguire, Offord, Tomlinson (Orsi 68), O’Reilly (Leko 78), Lemonheigh-Evans, Thompson-Sommers (Nemane 68), Gilbey, Crowley, Hogan

Subs not used: MacGillviray, Tripp, Waller, Kelly

Barrow: Stanway, Campbell (Kouyate 90), Cameron, Canavan, Newby, Gotts, Foley (Barnes 68), Mahoney (Smith 68), Fletcher (Whitfield 68), Jackson, Pressley (Acuqah 68)

Subs not used: Farman

Booked: Offord, Leko, O’Reilly