Dons need to learn how to break down teams sitting deep after Harrogate loss

MK Dons must learn how to break down teams intent on sitting deep against them after Harrogate Town’s 1-0 win over them on Saturday.

While the Sulphurites were wildly fortunate to leave with the points, courtesy of a bizarre own goal from Warren O’Hora, Dons found it hard to break down the visitors, with many of their 20+ efforts on goal from range, though they also had keeper Mark Oxley to thank for denying Mo Eisa twice and Daniel Harvie too.

Sat at times with all 11 men in their own half, Harrogate made life tough for Dons to break through to create close-range opportunities in front of goal, and unlocking teams with that approach is something they must get used to, according to midfielder MJ Williams.

“It's tough, teams will come here and do that,” he said. “We've got to learn not to get frustrated, but to keep the ball moving and I thought we did that really well at times.

“When you're trying to find the strikers though, it was really tight in the middle of the pitch.

“Teams will come here, and if they go 1-0 up will frustrate us. Chances will come, but today was not our day.”

On the match, Williams added: “Until they scored, we had so many good chances and if any of them go in, it's a totally different game.

“They got a let up from the goal, and then after that, they held on. It was tough to break them down, they sat in a low block. But you have to learn from these types of games. If you give a team a boost, it's really hard to get back into the game.

“We pushed throughout, but it just did not come off for us really.”