Dons beaten again by relegation strugglers Shrewsbury

Dons tasted defeat for the second time in as many League One games on Saturday as they went down 1-0 to Shrewsbury Town.

Shaun Whalley scored the only goal of the game 11 minutes into the second half after good work from Dan Udoh, to hit Dons with consecutive defeats to clubs in the relegation zone.

The result sees Dons remain sixth, with a trip to third place Wigan Athletic to come on Tuesday night.

Two weeks following their defeat to bottom club Doncaster Rovers, Liam Manning made two changes to his side for the trip to Montgomery Waters Meadow. Ethan Robson suffered a knock in training, offering up a first league of the season to David Kasumu, while Mo Eisa made his first league start since August, replacing Max Watters.

Shrewsbury's struggles in League One this season were plain to see from the off, with the home side struggling to get near the ball for long periods as Dons settled into their stride early on. The hosts were loose with possession when they did get it, passing poorly and but for the threat of Dan Udoh, offered precious little danger to Dons.

Though they saw considerably more of the ball in the opening 45 mintues, Dons were faced with a traditional two 'banks of four' yellow shirts to break down whenever they got close to Marko Marosi's net. Matt O'Riley saw a volley deflected just over the top and Scott Twine struggled to get on the ball but had two efforts put behind for corners, but the best chance fell to returning Mo Eisa. A defence-splitting ball from Troy Parrott, who was having to drop very deep to get influence in the game, picked out Dons' record signing but after a touch, fired straight at Marosi.

A more lively Shrewsbury emerged for the second half, with Udoh once again the key man and he was a vital part of the goal which would be the decider. Unable to bring the Shrewsbury man down, Udoh was able to hold off challenges to feed Shaun Whalley beyond Dons defence, and despite having Ryan Bowman in support, lashed it into the roof of Andrew Fisher's net.

From there, Dons were simply smothered out by the home side. With Shrewsbury sitting deep in their own territory, the visitors never got a clear-sight of goal in the second period - O'Riley, Kioso and Twine all having half-chances, but leaving Marosi relatively unscathed, while offering Shrewsbury offered up nothing to double their advantage.

It means Dons tasted defeat for a second league game in a row, against another team in the drop zone with a trip to Wigan Athletic to come on Tuesday night.

Referee: Carl Brook

Attendance: 5,711 (394)

Shrewsbury Town: Marosi, Leahy, Ebanks-Landell, Pennington, Whalley, Cosgrove (Bowman 46), Udoh (Pyke 70), Ogbeta, Davis, Bennett, Nurse (Bloxham 89)

Subs not used: Burgoyne, Caton, Daniels, Leshabela

MK Dons: Fisher, Lewington, O'Hora (Watson 87), Darling, Harvie, Kioso, O'Riley, Kasumu, Twine (Boateng 69), Parrott, Eisa

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Brown, Watters, McEachran, Baldwin

Booked: Whalley, Leahy, Darling