Dons a point from the top as they brush aside Shrewsbury Town

MK Dons moved within a point of top spot in League One with a comfortable 2-0 win over Shrewsbury Town at Stadium MK.

Goals in either half from Mo Eisa and Scott Twine asserted their dominance over one of the form sides in the division, extending Dons’ unbeaten run to 13 games.

Wigan’s earlier draw with Bolton Wanderers and Rotherham’s inactivity ahead of their Papa John’s Trophy final against Sutton United mean Dons move within a point of the summit, albeit having played more than the pir above them.

After a weekend without a game, Dons returned to action against Shrewsbury making one change to the side which started against Cambridge United, as Josh McEachran came into the side in place of David Kasumu.

Shrewsbury boasted one of the meanest defences in all of League One ahead of kick-off, with three wins and three clean sheets in a row. That looked under threat as early as eight minutes in though when Daniel Harvie saw his low strike tipped onto the post by keeper Marko Marosi, before former Dons defender Tom Flanagan had to clear the rebound off the line when Kaine Kesler-Hayden reached it first.

Dons would only have to wait another nine minutes though before they did take the lead as Mo Eisa fired in his 12th goal of the season - a move sparked from a missed opportunity at the other end by Ryan Bowman. Immediately launching a counter-attack, Scott Twine's ball to the striker was perfeclty weighted for Eisa in behind the Shewsbury defence and he fired low into the bottom corner.

Much like at Cambridge two weeks earlier, Dons looked more than comfortable to go into cruise control thereafter, forcing the visitors to chase for long periods of the first half.

When afforded the opportunity though, Shrewsbury did give Dons a bit of a fright, not least when in-form striker Daniel Udoh fired goalwards from 12-yards, needing keeper Jamie Cumming to make a brilliant stop to tip the ball wide of the post.

Having relatively cruised into the break, Dons came out swinging in the second period and should have doubled their lead within two minutes of the restart when once again Twine and Eisa combined only for Marosi to deny him at close range.

Three times Dons would be denied what appeared to be clear-cut penalties in the second half, but it would instead be Shrewsbury who would be the most frustrated with referee Martin Coy when the home side doubled their advantage nine minutes into the second half.

While Tyrese Fornah was left on the deck, Dons played on through McEachran and Harvie and the ball eventually made it Twine on the penalty spot, and he picked out the bottom corner for his 15th goal of the campaign.

They thought they had a third goal too when Harry Darling nodded in Harvie's cross only for it to be chalked off for offside.

Never troubled thereafter, Dons were able to make the visitors chase the ball for long arduous periods, and a few of the Shrewsbury players showed their frustrations with petulent challenges earning their way into the referee's book.

While Cumming kept his powder dry for most of the second half, Saikou Janneh missed a sitter with the final kick of the game, putting over the unguarded net from only a couple of yards out, summing up Shrewsbury's afternoon.

Referee: Martin Coy

Attendance: 8,984

MK Dons: Cumming, Lewington, O'hora, Darling, Harvie, Kesler-Hayden (Cornbeanu 65), McEachran (Kasumu 71), Coventry, Twine, Parrott, Eisa (Wickham 81)

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Smith, Kemp, Boateng

Shrewsbury Town: Marosi, Leahy, Ebanks-Landell (Janneh 46), Pennington, Fornah, Vela, Udoh (Daniels 81), Bowman, Bennett, Nurse, FLanagan

Subs not used: Burgoyne, Pierre, Whalley, Bloxham, Caton

Booked: Bowman, Flanagan, Bennett, Leahy