Dons draw in Lindsey's opening game in charge against Bromley

MK Dons match reportMK Dons match report
MK Dons match report | JPI
League Two: Bromley 1-1 MK Dons

The Scott Lindsey regime got underway with a hard-fought point on the road as MK Dons shared a point apiece with Bromley at Hayes Lane.

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Joe Tomlinson fired the visitors in front after just eight minutes when he swept home Tommy Leigh’s cross, but Michael Cheek’s fifth goal of the season midway through the first-half levelled things up.

Neither side were really deserving of all three points in a very even encounter come the end, a point which sees Dons remain 19th ahead of their midweek trip to Harrogate.

The Lindsey era began with just one change to the side which drew with Doncaster Rovers a week earlier, and it was enforced with Ellis Harrison's three-match ban beginning following his red card at Stadium MK. It meant the new head coach had to deploy Tommy Leigh, who had been predominantly used as an attacking midfielder since his summer move from Accrington, to lead the line. Dean Lewington, who took charge of Doncaster game, was named amongst the substitutes, as was Tom Carroll who returned after a spell out injured.

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Life under the new head coach could barely have gotten off to a better start as Dons led after just eight minutes - their first away league goal of the season. Leigh pinched the ball from Idris Odutayo's toe as he chased back, and with Connor Lemonheigh-Evans in support, the former Accrington man squared for Joe Tomlinson to roll in the opener.

League Two new-boys Bromley though were not thrown off their stride and as Dons were looking to try and integrate Lindsey's new methods, the hosts were not about to make life easy for them. Winger Danny Imray twice got in behind to send dangerous crosses into the box, and was then caught offside when he was slid in by Cameron Congreve as he went one-on-one with Tom McGill.

Dons looked to play out in familiar fashion, which the Bromley front-line were keen to rattle, putting Luke Offord in particular under pressure as they sought an equaliser.

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But their leveller came in relatively straight-forward fashion on 23 minutes, with Corey Whitely's defence-splitting pass parting Offord and Jack Tucker, allowing dangerous frontman Michael Cheek to pick out the bottom corner.

The game was relatively scrappy for the most part, neither side were able to really create anything clear-cut. Ben Thompson sent an effort over McGill's bar, while Liam Kelly had an effort deflected, and Tomlinson's free-kick was narrowly missed by both Tucker and Dons skipper Alex Gilbey on the stroke of half-time.

The second-half followed a similar script to the first. Dons put together some nice passing moves, but where their shortcomings were highlighted a few weeks ago on the road by skipper Gilbey, they showed a lot more fight and physicality against Bromley.

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Defensively, they dealt with the Ravens' high balls into the box well, with keeper McGill doing well to deny Imray's effort early on in the half, while opposite number Smith kept out Leigh's effort from just inside the box.

While it was a scrappy affair though, neither side were able to break the deadlock and had to settle for a point apiece.

Referee: Lee Swabey

Bromley: Smith, Reynolds Charles (L Leigh 71), Sowunmi, Cheek, Grant (Topalloj 46), Whitely, Congreve (Dinanga 71), Imray, Odutayo, Thompson

Subs not used: Long, Jenkinson, Webster, Amantchi

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MK Dons: McGill, Tucker, Offord, Maguire, Tomlinson (White 87), Nemane (Ilunga 65) , Kelly (Carroll 77), Williams, Gilbey, Lemonheigh-Evans, T Leigh (Finch 87)

Subs not used: Harness, Lewington, Tripp

Booked: Odutayo, T Leigh

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