Fullah was 'the diamond in the rough' during Dons' bleak start

Not much impressed Paul Warne during the opening 20 minutes of MK Dons’ 4-1 win over Crawley Town on Tuesday night but Ibby Fullah was the exception.

The teenager, on loan from Charlton Athletic, made his first start for Dons after his transfer deadline day move from The Valley, having made his debut a few days earlier in the 0-0 draw against AFC Wimbledon coming off the bench.

The opening exchanges against Crawley in the Jersey Mike’s Subs Trophy were lacklustre from the home side’s perspective, with precious little to write home about, but Fullah’s performance was the one stand-out.

Eager to get on the ball and make an impression, Fullah tested the gloves of keeper Jackson Izquierdo while dragging his team-mates forward.

A part of everything in the final third as Dons began to establish themselves on the game, they went in 2-0 up at the break before tightening the screw on Crawley in the second-half, Fullah remained a handful, finding pockets of space while looking to engineer more chances to further extend the lead.

While his night did not end with a goal for the teenager, boss Warne said his performance warranted one at the very least, with Fullah being the only player to make a positive impression in the early part of the game.

“In the first 20 minutes, he was our diamond in the rough wasn’t he,” said Warne afterwards. “I don’t think many had the character to get on the ball, to ride a tackle and to shoot whereas he did. That’s the ignorance of youth, they don’t feel the pressure! It’s only us old fellas who feel it!

“I thought he was really good and he got better as the game went on. I thought he would fatigue but the longer the game went on, he hung in there.

“He was a constant threat and I think he deserved a goal. He should be really pleased with his performance this evening.”