Dons not at their best but Manning pleased with win

MK Dons’ fifth consecutive win draw them level on points with second placed Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night but head coach Liam Manning felt his side were far from their best against Cheltenham Town.

Despite looking in control throughout, Dons afforded some second half pressure to the Robins, who were only tasting defeat for a third time since the start of 2022.

Two goals in two first half minutes put the ball firmly in Dons’ court when Troy Parrott and Mo Eisa hit the back of the net just before the half-hour mark as they cruised in at the break.

Michael Duff’s side threatened more in the second half and saw more of the ball but did little to really trouble keeper Jamie Cumming, so when Parrott added his second five minutes from time, it put the game to rest but not before Will Boyle’s 89th minute consolation for the visitors.

“It's a good result and aspects of a good performance too,” said Manning afterwards. “It was a tough game, we knew it would be. The way they setup in the first half made it hard to maintain intensity and the speed, but we showed some high-level moments for the goals.

“We'll take the three points and move on.

“We weren't going to get a lot of chances tonight, it was about being patient. We did it well at times in the first half. The game changed in the second half, they changed shape and were chasing the game.

“We had to keep the ball better but they didn't really create anything and didn't cause us too many problems.”

After some swashbuckling displays of late, the win over Cheltenham lacked the same level of consistency and it showed on the players’ faces as they left the pitch on Tuesday, not delighted to have made it five in a row, but almost disappointed with their performance.

Manning said: “We're chasing perfection, and the lads should be delighted with winning the game but they're also frustrated with some elements of the game. They have done so well of late, it's not always going to be nine out of ten every week. We'll take the three points and move on.

“If you want to achieve your maximum, you can't allow those loose touches. I get frustrated with them too. You walk into the dressing room and it's not a delighted one. Of course they're happy to have won but when they don't hit their maximum, it can be frustrating, which is great. We have to be tough on ourselves, but not to the point where it is detrimental or has a negative impact.”