Pre-season: Stevenage 2-1 MK Dons

It would be defeat on the road for MK Dons in their final pre-season game of the summer as they were beaten 2-1 by League One side Stevenage on Saturday.

Making the short trip to the Lamex Stadium ahead of next week’s kick-off against Oldham Athletic, Dons were put through their paces by Alex Revell’s side, and were only edged out by a late Dan Kemp strike on the stroke of half-time.

Dons looked a more enticing entity in the second-half, but a mix-up between Charlie Waller and Callum Tripp gifted a goal to Jamie Reid with 12 minutes to go before Callum Hendry’s persistence paid off to nab a late one for Paul Warne’s side.

With both sides a week away from their first league fixture, it was a high-octane affair for much of the first-half as the players sought to book themselves a start for the new campaign.

It was the League One hosts who looked to control the early exchanges, with Jordan Roberts twice coming close, only seeing his strikes well blocked by the Dons defence, which featured a fit-again Jack Sanders.

Dan Kemp, who could never quite find his footing during two-and-a-half years at Stadium MK, looked lively in the centre of the park for the Boro, getting the upper hand over Kane Thompson-Sommers for the most part, but he too saw efforts off target as he looked to get one over on his former club.

At the other end, Alex Gilbey, who helped Stevenage to ghetto out of League Two on loan from Charlton, headed on goal only to be denied by keeper Taye Ashby-Hammond, who later dived at the feet of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans to deny him a shooting chance.

Though there was a decent tempo to the game, it did not stop boss Paul Warne racing up the touchline to scream at left-back Joe Tomlinson to play quicker.

Playing troublesome football around the edge of their own box appeared to be a thing of the past with Warne’s arrival, but there were a few warning signs during the opening half that it was still in the system. And it bit Dons at the very end of the half when Thompson-Sommers lost out on the edge of the box, and Kemp was afforded space to pick his spot from the edge of the box to put Stevenage in front.

Heeding the message sent out by Warne in the first-half, Dons looked a more promising prospect in the opening exchanges of the second. Will Collar replaced Thompson-Sommers at the break, keeping closer tabs on Kemp while the side looked more intent on getting forwards and playing in Stevenage’s half.

Chances remained at a premium for the visitors though, Aaron Collins with the only real effort of note though, firing harmlessly over the bar.

As the changes were made, the game began to fizzle out but not before a mix-up between Callum Tripp and Charlie Waller allowed Jamie Reid to capitalise and pick out his spot past MacGillivray to double the lead with 12 minutes to go.

Another defensive mix-up would lead to Dons getting one back late on too, when Callum Hendry closed down keeper Taye Ashby-Hammond, got a block on his clearance to tap into the empty net in front of the travelling Dons supporters.

Referee: Oliver Mackey

Attendance: 1,302 (296)

MK Dons: MacGillivray, Jones (Tripp 78), Offord (Waller 78), Sanders (Troso 78), Tomlinson (Lewis-Burgess 84), Thompson-Sommers (Collar 46), Lemonheigh-Evans, Gilbey (Kelly 68), Leko (Nemane 68), Mendez-Laing (Hepburn-Murphy 68), Collins (Hendry 73)

Subs: Medwynter, Trueman

Booked: Roberts, Jones