Dons end the year with defeat away at Peterborough United

The honeymoon period came to an abrupt end for Mark Jackson as he watched his MK Dons side soundly beaten 2-0 by Peterborough United.

In a tight, first-half which afforded precious few chances, Peterborough took the only one which fell their way seven minutes before the break when Joe Ward rifled home from just inside the box, and it gave the home side the boost they needed to take control into the second period.

Ricky-Jade Jones, who scored in the reverse fixture at Stadium MK, then doubled the lead three minutes after the restart, before Jonson Clarke-Harris was hauled over in the box by Zak Jules, but Jamie Cumming saved the spot kick.

Dons meanwhile struggled to create anything meaningful in front of goal, a late Daniel Harvie chance about the only thing testing keeper Will Blackmore all night.

Results around the division mean Dons remain a point from safety albeit dropping to 22nd again, this time Burton getting out of the bottom four at the expense of Accrington.

Taking on a Peterborough side struggling for form, Mark Jackson made two changes to the side which beat Forest Green on Boxing Day, bringing in Dawson Devoy for Bradley Johnson, while Louie Barry partnered Will Grigg up front in place of Mo Eisa, who dropped to the bench against his former club.

Despite the difference in the league position at the start of the game, the form charts suggested it would be a far closer game and so it turned out in the first 45 minutes. Posh, still trialling a back three, looked nervous when the likes of Will Grigg, Louie Barry and Nathan Holland had the ball at their feet, but the visitors looked shot-shy, reluctant when they got into decent positions to chance their arm against young keeper Will Blackmore.

Peterborough too looked threatening when they were able to get forwards, but like Dons, failed to give Jamie Cumming much to worry about despite five first-half corners which amounted to nought.

Harrison Burrows went into the book for the home side when he nearly pulled Holland's shirt off his back as he shaped to counter, but not even a free-kick was awarded when Kell Watts did the same to Grigg moments before Peterborough took the lead on 38 minutes. With Grigg protesting the ball was played forwards to Kwame Poku who spotted the run of Joe Ward, overlapping on the right, and as he got into the area, fired low into the bottom corner past Cumming with the first real effort on goal all night.

While the message at half-time from Jackson would have been to do more to test keeper Blackmore, it would also have been to continue to restrict the hosts in terms of chances but just three minutes after the restart, Posh had doubled their lead.

Allowed to break well beyond the half-way line without intervention, Jack Taylor slid in Ricky-Jade Jones to neatly roll in their second.

Things shaped to go from bad to worse for Dons too when Jules was adjudged to have hauled down Jonson Clarke-Harris on 62 minutes, conceding a ninth penalty of the season. But Clarke-Harris' spot-kick was a poor one, and Cumming dived to his left to deny Peterborough a third.

While he made a host of attacking changes, bringing on the likes of Conor Grant and Mo Eisa, none of them had any sort of impact on Dons' offensive play, and but for a late Daniel Harvie strike causing Blackmore to flap, they did little to alter the course of procedings.

Referee: David Rock

Attendance: 8,391

Peterborough United: Blackmore, Watts, Edwards, Kent, Fuchs (Kyprianou 73), Taylor, Clarke-Harris, Poku (Thompson 88), Jones (Mason-Clark 87), Burrows, Ward

Subs not used: Bergstrom, Butler, Knight, Taylor

MK Dons: Cumming, O'Hora, Tucker (Robson 80), Jules, Harvie, Watson (Lawrence 60), McEachran (Johnson 58), Devoy, Holland (Grant 46), Barry, Grigg (Eisa 58)

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Smith

Booked: Burrows, Grigg, Jules, Poku, Jones