League Two: MK Dons 2-2 Chesterfield

Will Grigg came back to haunt his former club with a 94th minute header to secure a 2-2 draw for Chesterfield as MK Dons squandered a two-goal lead at Stadium MK.

Leading comfortably through goals from Callum Paterson and a Rushian Hepburn-Murphy stunner, Dons were in control at the break but let the Spireites off the hook after the break.

Sam Curtis got a debut goal for Chesterfield midway through the second-half before Grigg came off the bench to head in at the death to snatch a point for the visitors.

The result sees Dons miss out on the opportunity to climb into the top three, instead sit fifth with the rest of the division given a watching brief.

Injuries to Marvin Ekpiteta and Alex Gilbey meant the pair were absent for the visit of Chesterfield. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans was handed a start in the centre of midfield, while Aaron Nemane was recalled to the line-up as Aaron Collins dropped to the bench.

The Spireites meanwhile announced three loan signings on the morning of the game - Sam Curtis, Sil Swinkels and Sammy Braybrooke - all three of them included in Paul Cook’s starting line-up.

Heading into the fourth game in quick succession over the Christmas and New Year period, both sides were seeking a second win to assert themselves on the division, with the majority of the other games postponed for the weather.

Neither really looked like opening the scoring in the early stages of the game, with a few low Rushian Hepburn-Murphy crosses getting cut out as close as either would really come.

But Dons’ persistence paid off on 29 minutes when Hepburn-Murphy slid Aaron Nemane down the line, and his low cross was prodded home by Callum Paterson for his eighth goal of the season.

James Berry would be the biggest thorn in Dons’ side in the first-half, but he cracked Chesterfield’s best effort well over the bar.

From similar range a minute before half-time though, Hepburn-Murphy doubled Dons’ lead in spectacular style, seeing his strike dip under the bar and past Zach Hemming’s helpless dive.

With the game seemingly in their control though, Dons would let Chesterfield off the hook in the second-half.

Barely moving the needle for long spells of the second period, Dons allowed the visitors to take control of the midfield scrap as the game became a bitty and scrappy affair, playing into Chesterfield’s wheelhouse.

They got one back midway through the half when Sam Curtis was left with a simple header to beat McGillivray, but a couple of minutes later Dons should have wrapped it up when Jon Mellish went one-on-one with Hemming but the keeper tipped the shot over the bar.

Dropping deeper and deeper in the closing stages, the familiar face of Grigg would get the final say.

After three spells at Stadium MK, the 34-year-old nodded in a corner in the final minute of four added on to complete Chesterfield’s comeback and deny his former club victory.

Referee: Andrew Miller

Attendance: 7,019 (1,029)

MK Dons: MacGillivray, Offord, Sanders, Jones, Mellish (Collins 76), Nemane, Kelly, Crowley (Thompson-Sommers 70), Lemonheigh-Evans, Hepburn-Murphy (Hogan 70), Paterson

Subs not used: Trueman, Collins, Leko, Tripp, Burns

Chesterfield: Hemming, Lewis (Duffy 46), Mandeville, Stirk, Bonis (Grigg 66), Swinkels, Darcy (Ladapo 66), Berry, Curtis (Daley-Campbell 76), Braybrooke, Donacien (Naylor 31)

Subs not used: Boot, Fleck

Booked: Lewis, Darcy, Sanders, Nemane, Mellish, Kelly, Grigg