Dons have parked Saturday’s disappointment with Charlton visit looming

There will be no emotional hangover from Saturday’s last minute heartbreak against Cheltenham Town when MK Dons take on Charlton Athletic tomorrow night.

Head coach Mark Jackson admitted in the immediate aftermath of the game, which saw Alfie May net in the 97th minute at Stadium MK to secure a point for the Robins after a 2-2 draw, felt like a defeat.

But returning to work this morning (Monday) Jackson said the raw emotion of Saturday’s game had worn off and he was already looking towards bouncing back from it against the Addicks on Tuesday.

“I was determined not to let the last 20 seconds of the game dictate my mindset for the rest of the weekend,” he said. “If you let it manifest within you, it can prolong it. I was clear to the players not to let that happen.

“Coming in this morning, you can see they've not done that, they've taken my advice. I don't think there will be any hangover on that front.”

Defender Jack Tucker echoed Jackson’s sentiments, and feels having a game so quickly afterwards will help them with a response.

He said: “Emotions were high at the time, and we felt it as much as the fans on Saturday. We were just as frustrated as they were, it hurt a lot to concede so late, and it felt like a defeat at the time. But it wasn't - it was another point on the board.

“It was another good performance at the end of the day, we felt we did enough to win it but we can't do anything about it now. The manager said there can't be any hangover from that, so we're just looking at Charlton now.”

It will not just be Dons though who will be looking for a response: Dean Holden’s side arrive at Stadium MK off the back of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday.

Tucker continued: “Having been in that situation before, naturally you want to start a bit quicker because you have a point to prove. And we have to be wary of that, if Charlton want to put it on us early on and make things difficult.

“They won't want a repeat of Saturday again, but we want to make sure we give them another long evening, and hopefully get the three points.”