Cambridge found first-half ‘incredibly difficult’ against Dons

“Half-time was a really difficult place for us,” admitted Cambridge United manager Mark Bonner on Saturday following his side’s 4-1 defeat to MK Dons.

Dons led 3-0 after a rampant 36 minutes, as Scott Twine netted twice, either side of a Max Watters strike, to put the game beyond reach of the U’s.

Watters made it a brace in the second half despite a more spirited performance from Cambridge, though Sam Smith’s late goal was nothing more than a consolation.

The Cambridge boss said the scoreline could have gotten out of hand had his side not bucked up their ideas for the second half, praising Dons’ ruthless finishing as they ran out deserved winners.

“We found the first half incredibly difficult and we had to deliver something that didn’t let the game run away from us, because it could have gone anywhere,” said Bonner. “For half-an-hour of the second half, we were outstanding. If we’d have got one during that time, who knows? Football is a crazy game. I was gutted for them when the fourth went in – we got punished for a misplaced pass.

“MK Dons finished their attacks superbly, but that first half was really tough for us. You need to get ahead, or keep it goal-less for longer. We were in a defensive phase for too long, because of their possession and movement. They got beyond us too quickly and we couldn’t contain that.

“We can learn quite a lot from them. Their performance was excellent, ours was flawed in the first half.”