First MK Dons goal was a long-time coming for Maguire

There was no doubting Laurence Maguire’s first goal for MK Dons this week.

After he laid claim to Dons’ equaliser last week against Swindon Town - a goal which went down as MJ Williams’ first of the season - the defender made needed no enquiry on Saturday as he swept home the winner four minutes from time against Cheltenham Town to cap a 3-2 win.

“Last week's I felt was mine, but MJ has claimed it, but this one is definitely mine!” he said afterwards. “I'm off the mark for the season.

“In front of the fans in the Cowshed is something I've looked forward to doing, so it was the icing on the cake.

“I wanted to enjoy it with the fans, I want to connect with them. I want to get the club back to where it belongs, and I hope there will be plenty more of those scenes in the future.”

One fan in particular will remember the day well too.

Maguire continued: “There's a little boy in the Cowshed who has been holding up a banner for my shirt all season, I've always said I'd give it to him, and when I saw him today, I promised I'd do it.

“I was buzzing to get the winner, so it was the best moment for me to give it to him, and I hope he has gone home a happy lad.”

Despite his role as a defender, the 27-year-old believes he needs to be adding more goals to the team effort this season.

He continued: “It's something I've been disappointed with this season. I've not got on the end of enough in the opposition's box, and I know I can score goals. I pride myself on keeping clean sheets and defending, but I feel like I've got attributes to score too.

“To get my first, I'm buzzing and hopefully now I kick on and get a few more.

“We need to add more too. I'm off the mark, MJ is off the mark, Gilbs is always going to score goals, we know Scotty will bring goals too - he's an out-and-out striker. But we can't just rely on those two, we've all got add from all areas.”