"Felt like a testimonial": Warne fumes at Dons' tempo in Barrow draw

A frustrated Paul Warne said MK Dons wasted a half of football in their promotion chase with a poor showing in the first-half against against Barrow on Friday.

Despite dominating possession and had the better of the chances at Stadium MK, the Dons head coach felt his side were too slow, lethargic and standoffish against a Bluebirds side who had picked up just eight points from 48 prior to kick-off.

Despite looking more of a threat in the second-half, Dons drew a blank for a second game in a row, forced to settle for a 0-0 draw on home soil, with their frustrations multiplied by results elsewhere falling kindly for them, offering up a huge missed opportunity to gain ground in the promotion race.

“I’m disappointed,” said Warne afterwards. “I didn’t think we were quick enough in the first-half.

“Our play felt a bit like a testimonial, like we thought a goal would come sooner or later. Although we had a few good chances, Collins’ one-on-one, Wiles hit the post, I think we had enough chances to be handsome. We just didn’t have enough pace in our play.

“We did in the second-half though, but as the clock winds down, the pressure kept increasing. Then everyone just got frustrated. If we’re to be successful, we’ve got to rise above that. The final pass, the shot, the cross, we just didn’t take it.

“We got in so many times in the second-half, but the ball was too high, or a defender takes it off us. Pato was inches away, Collins was, Joe Tomlinson was. If we’d have got one, we might have got loads. Unfortunately we didn’t do enough to win it.

“It feels like we’ve dropped two points. There aren’t any easy fixtures, especially against teams fighting for their lives.

“Before the game, I told the lads we’ve got 12 halves of football to determine what next season looks like. And out of the 12, I feel like we wasted one.

“Barrow have done brilliantly for their new gaffer, beating Bromley last week and then making it really difficult for us today.”