Dons cannot get bogged down after Morecambe defeat

After losing their first game in six on Tuesday night, defender Russell Martin says Dons must not be too hard on themselves.
Russell MartinRussell Martin
Russell Martin

Paul Tisdale described conditions as 'farcical' at the Globe Arena as Dons were beaten 4-2 by Morecambe, ending Dons' five match winning streak which saw them climb back into the automatic promotion spots.

But the loss on Tuesday, along with Mansfield's 0-0 draw with Crawley, saw the Stags climb back above Dons on goal-difference with nine games remaining.

With the high winds of Storm Gareth playing a huge part at the Globe Arena on Tuesday night, Martin said the game was a freak occurrence, but Dons should not read too much into what happened on the night.

He said: "We've lost three points – we cannot lose anything else. We had a lot of momentum coming into this game, and we need to continue it. We've been really effective, got a lot of points at home recently, so we'll just write this one off. We can learn from every game but you cannot pick the bones out of this really. It's one of those that could have gone either way.

"I've played hundreds of games, but I've never played in conditions like that. It was horrific, the wind. In the second half, you could see their keeper kicking it and it was going out for throw-ins in line with the penalty area. But we needed to deal with that."

Richie Bennett gave Morecambe the lead on 19 minutes before Ouss Cisse got a touch on Zak Mills' cross shortly before half time, flicking it over keeper Stuart Moore to double the Shrimpers' lead. Bennett then scored a beauty from 20 yards to give the home side a three-goal advantage to seemingly bury the game.

Two goals in six minutes from Kieran Agard threatened to give Dons a lifeline with 14 minutes still to go though, but Aaron Collins rounded Moore late on to complete the rout for Morecambe.

Martin continued: "I think the overriding feeling is disappointment. It was a freak game with the conditions, but we cannot use that as an excuse. We need to be better with the details and how we approach the final third in conditions like that. They played the conditions better than us.

"We stopped doing the right things. Bravery isn't just about smashing tackles, it's about being brave on the ball and being comfortable. We did that and then stopped.

"The disappointing thing is the goals we conceded – the second one is a bit of a freak one, coming off Ouss like that, but we gave them a goal after half time and it killed the game a bit. We did really well to get back into it with two goals but the last one was a rubbish to concede to make it 4-2. Everyone saw the character and fight, it was not for a lack of effort or trying. We've shown a lot of resilience in the last few weeks.

"At 3-2, I thought we'd get something from the game, be it a point or all three. But the fourth goal knocked the stuffing out of us.

"The subs came on and made a difference but we just did not adapt well enough."