Pre-season: Brackley Town 0-2 MK Dons

Goals at either end of a competitive outing at Brackley Town saw MK Dons pick up a 2-0 win on Tuesday night.

Teenager Simone Troso’s cross was inadvertently converted into his own net by a Saints foot just seven minutes before Aaron Collins, who scored a hat-trick on Saturday, netted in the final minute to secure Paul Warne’s side a second win in three days.

Like on Saturday against Hitchin Town, Paul Warne split his sides around the hour mark with the side which finished at Top Field kicking off at St James Park.

And much like at Hitchin too, Dons were ahead after just seven minutes. Youngster Simone Troso took advantage of Aaron Nemane’s space-making run to tear up the right flank, fizzing a ball into the mixer which was put home by a Brackley defender.

Gavin Cowan’s side were about to embark on a National League campaign after their promotion from the National League North last season, and provided a much firmer test for Warne’s men.

The game was a far more even affair, though it was definitely the League Two outfit who looked most in control in the opening half. Chances came and went for Aaron Nemane, Kane Thompson-Sommers and Joe Tomlinson, though the best one fell to Jonathan Leko, clipping the outside of the post with a cracking effort from 20 yards out.

While Connal Trueman was not overly tested by the Saints’ frontline, he was well beaten though by Morgan Roberts’ thunderbolt strike ten minutes before the interval, though he too saw it crack against the frame of the goal.

Half-chances continued to come the way of the visitors into the second-half, the best of them falling to Thompson-Sommers which he failed to hit the target with, before the change side prepped themselves on the hour-mark.

Brackley too made big changes to their side, but it prompted the game to lose what little flow it had.

There were brief sights of goal for Alex Gilbey and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans bravely blocked by the home defence, while Miracle Okafor, one of Brackley’s changes up front, almost forced the issue but was put off by Craig MacGillivray when through on goal.

As Dons tightened their grip on the game in the closing stages, Collins found himself some wriggle-room to fire home a left-footed effort into the bottom corner to wrap it up.

Attendance: 1,066

MK Dons: Trueman, Troso, Tripp, Sanders, Tomlinson, Kelly, Collar, Thompson-Sommers, Nemane, Leko, Hendry

MK Dons from 60 mins: MacGillivray, Jones, Thompson, Sherring, Waller, Offord, Gilbey, Lemonheigh-Evans, Mendez-Laing, Hepburn-Murphy, Collins