FA Cup: MK Dons 1-1 Oxford United - Oxford win 4-3 on penalties

MK Dons exited the FA Cup after Jonathan Leko and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans missed penalties in the shoot-out following a 1-1 draw with Oxford United.

Aaron Collins gave Dons a first-half lead but it was cancelled out early in the second when Will Lankshear thrashed home for the U’s.

With nothing to separate the sides after 120 minutes of football, it went to a shoot-out where Leko sent his penalty hopelessly wide of the mark, before Oxford keeper Matt Ingram saved Lemonheigh-Evans’ spot-kick to book their spot in the fourth round draw.

New signing Ben Wiles went straight into the starting line-up to face Oxford United in the FA Cup. As part of four changes, Wiles came into the centre of the park, as did Kane Thompson-Sommers. It was all change in the front line too, with Aaron Collins and Scott Hogan in for Aaron Collins and Callum Paterson.

Like Wiles, Jay Matete was signed ahead of kick-off but he was named amongst the substitutes.

Championship strugglers Oxford meanwhile were buoyed by the announcement of Matt Bloomfield as their new head coach, taking over from Gary Rowett who was sacked last month.

But their new manager bounce did not appear to come in time for the first-half as the visitors looked distinctly second-best against opposition from two divisions below.

With several players looking to make an impression on Paul Warne, Dons looked the more threatening of the two sides, coming close through Hogan and Collins in the early exchanges.

While Oxford did precious little to put Craig MacGillivray’s goal under threat, they did have a brief spell of pressure without testing the keeper, though they were dealt a blow when Jamie Donley landed awkwardly after a hit from Luke Offord, forcing him off.

Dons would capitalise on their pressure 11 minutes before the break when Collins showed his poachers instincts, sweeping home after Connor Lemonheigh-Evans brought down Dan Crowley’s corner inside the six-yard box.

The Welsh striker should have doubled his and Dons’ tally three minutes before half-time, but he squandered a one-on-one with keeper Matt Ingram, allowing the Oxford man to get enough on the strike to put it wide.

And that chance would come back to haunt Dons in the second-half as Oxford started to look more like the Championship prospect after the break. Putting Dons under more pressure than they did in the opening 45 minutes, their equaliser seven minutes after the restart came courtesy of Will Lankshear, lashing home after Dons failed to deal with a long-throw fully.

From there, both sides would have chances to book their spot in the fourth round. Collins twice came close, while Aaron Nemane stung the keeper’s gloves from close range.

At the other end, substitute Ole Romenji made Craig MacGillivray tip one over the top, while Stanley Mills’ protests for a penalty were waved away under pressure from Lemonheigh-Evans.

There was concern for Nemane though as he was forced out through injury, while Jay Matete was handed his debut with a little under 20 minutes to go.

With neither side able to split the difference though, extra-time and penalties loomed.

A miss from Jonathan Leko early in the shoot-out left Dons on the back-foot, and when Connor Lemonheigh-Evans saw his fifth penalty saved by Ingram, it sent Oxford into the fourth round draw.

Referee: Paul Howard

Attendance: 5,902 (2,080)

MK Dons: MacGillivray, Jones (Burke 97), Offord, Sanders, Nemane (Tripp 59), Lemonheigh-Evans, Thompson-Sommers (Kelly 72), Wiles (Matete 72), Crowley (Leko 79), Hogan (Paterson 72), Collins

Subs not used: Trueman, Singh-Hurditt, Boateng

Oxford United: Ingram, Long, Vaulks (Romenji 65), Helik, Brannagan (Krastev 65), Mills (Phillips 98), Dembele (De Keersmaecker 65), Currie, Lankshear (Harris 90), Davies, Donley (Peart-Harris 18)

Subs not used: Cumming, Spencer, Leigh

Booked: Paterson