First professional goal is one Dean will never forget

Max Dean’s first professional goal in the 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers was a vital one for MK Dons and the career of the teenager, but he admitted he couldn’t immediately remember it.

As the clock ticked into the 90th minute, Dean, a substitute replacing Jonathan Leko just six minutes earlier, raced up to join Mo Eisa’s counter-attack. And when he was picked out by the striker, who opened the scoring on three minutes from the penalty spot, the rest was history as he took a touch before firing past keeper Ellery Balcombe to secure the points for his new team.

Dean, who made the move from Leeds United to join his former academy boss Mark Jackson at Stadium MK, was announced as one for the future, with little to no expectation to be laid at his door this early in his career, especially without having made a first team appearance.

But his goal, doubling Dons’ lead at the Memorial Stadium to secure their second away win on the spin for the first time since last March, and the celebrations afterwards were all a bit of a blur for the 18-year-old when he spoke to the media afterwards.

“The goal - no feeling can sum up your first goal,” he said. “It's a moment I'll never forget, even if at the moment I can't really remember it! It's something I'll watch again tomorrow, and I'm sure it'll feel special.

“As soon as I saw Mo break, I knew I had to get up alongside him. Then he found me, like I knew he would, I just knew I'd finish it. It was the perfect feeling.”

In a gutsy, determined performance in Bristol, Dons had to show a more physical side to their game against a tough Rovers side. Tempers were already frayed after off-the-field issues prior to kick-off, with Dons seeing their ticket allocation shrunk on Friday night, it was a fiery match between the sides, with some choice challenges flying in from both sides.

And with the tense atmosphere, Dean said it made the victory feel sweeter.

He said: “The lads dug in, and it's fully deserved. It's something to build on. I haven't looked at the table but I hope it's done us nice. I hope the momentum can help us. Bristol Rovers is a tough place to come but we were good on both sides of the ball - we showed fight, dug in and we did it perfectly.

“We scored early, and of course you'd rather score early than not, but you can have that 'holding on' feeling, but I don't think it was like that really. We took the game to them, treated it like it was 0-0, and we got that goal at the end which made it comfortable for us.

“It was a great performance, two goals, a clean sheet - you can't ask for much more.”