Doncaster Rovers 2-1 MK Dons: Dons taste defeat after poor show at Doncaster

MK Dons suffered a shock defeat to bottom club Doncaster Rovers on Saturday as they stumbled to a 2-1 loss at the Keepmoat Stadium.

A pooe opening 15 minutes saw Dons concede to Tommy Rowe’s effort after six minutes, but the hosts had already hit the post through Ben Close, before Rodrigo Vilca did the same just a few minutes later after the opener.

Peter Kioso sparked what threatened to be a comeback for the visitors though when he hit home Troy Parrott’s header, but Dons never really found their stride.

Buoyed by the home supporters in the latter stages, Doncaster retook the lead with 12 minutes to go when Tiago Cukur prodded home Jordy Hiwula’s lob, despite questions of offside, while Dons were then denied a penalty when Mo Eisa was hauled back by Ro-Shaun Williams late in the day as the home side claimed only their second win of the season.

After the 3-3 draw with Fleetwood Town in midweek, Dear Lewington was brought back into the side in place of Zak Jules, with Max Watters continuing to lead the line alongside Troy Parrott and hat-trick hero Scott Twine.

Coming fresh off a 6-0 thumping at Ipswich Town, Doncaster showed no signs of a hangover from it and could have been 3-0 up inside the opening 15 minutes but were more than happy to be leading by just the one as Dons made their worst start of the season.

Having hit the post through Ben Close inside 90 seconds, Dons' defence was caught static when a half-cleared corner was pitched back into the mix for Tommy Rowe to lift over Andrew Fisher to put the home side in front just six minutes in.

It could have been even worse for the misfiring Dons when Rodrigo Vilca then hit the other post from the edge of the box as the visitors threatened to hit the self-destruct button with poor passing, loose touches and terrible control.

But after their early rattling though, Dons finally got a footing in the game, and it came out of the blue from Peter Kioso. The wing-back struck a brilliant effort goalwards had Pontus Dahlberg diving to his right to deny him. And from the resultant corner, Dons were level. Matt O'Riley's deep set piece was headed back across goal by Troy Parrott for Kioso to smash into the roof of the net.

The goal gave them the confidence to try and play to their strengths and had the better of the ball in the run up to half-time, Dahlberg doing well to deny O'Riley and Twine but Dons were unable to lead before the break.

The second half saw Dons dictate the course of play for long periods, forcing the hosts to chase shadows for much of it, but Dahlberg remained untested for the majority of it. Watters made some clever runs in behind the Doncaster defence but was often left isolated and without support before being replaced by Mo Eisa.

Barely in the game in until the final 15 minutes, Doncaster built momentum as their supporters came into voice, but it would be the officials who would help them greatly in taking the victory.

First, substitute Tiago Cukur appeared a long-way offside when he poked in from close range after Jordy Hiwula's header back into the mixer to hand Doncaster the lead - much to the despair of Lewington and Harvie who protested in vain to the linesman.

With one decision against them, a second also left Dons scratching their heads when Eisa was pulled back by Ro-Shaun Williams and sent tumbling in the penalty area, but was only awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box.

Unable to get another chance to keep hold of their unbeaten run, Dons tasted defeat for only the second time in the league this season, and their hunt for a win at the Keepmoat Stadium continues.

Referee: Andrew Kitchen

Doncaster Rovers: Dahlberg, Knoyle, Anderson, Williams, Close, Rowe, Bostock (Smith 68), Hiwula, Dodoo (Cukur 77), Galbraith, Vilca (Barlow 46)

Subs not used: Jones, Seaman, Gardner, Horton

MK Dons: Fisher, Lewington, O'Hora, Darling, Harvie, Kioso, Robson, O'Riley, Twine, Parrott, Watters (Eisa 67)

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Watson, Jules, Kasumu, Eisa, McEachran, Boateng

Booked: Hiwula, Harvie