Gilbey's stoppage time winner secures points for dismal Dons

Alex Gilbey's stoppage time volley spared MK Dons' blushes on Tuesday night as they beat Harrogate Town 2-1 in unconvincing fashion at Stadium MK.

Leading through Joe White's excellent first-half strike, Scott Lindsey's side were dismal and Harrogate, who had the majority of the chances all night, thought they had a share of the spoils in stoppage time when Zico Asare equalised.

But Gilbey smashed home his tenth of the season in stunning style a minute later to secure Dons' first win since New Year's Day, lifting them to tenth in League Two.

After his dramatic league debut on Saturday, Charlie Waller was handed his first league start for MK Dons as Scott Lindsey made one change to the side which drew 0-0 with AFC Wimbledon, replacing injured Luke Offord, who dropped out of the squad. Liam Kelly returned on the bench after missing the derby at the weekend.

The head coach called Saturday's game the best performance since he took over back in September, but the first-half certainly did not live up to the standards set out three days earlier. Dons were slow, cheap in possession and lacked the same grit and bite they had, and it allowed visitors Harrogate to have the better of the chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Josh March and Toby Sims both had decent sights of goal which they should have done better with, one saved by Craig MacGillivray and the other sent over the top.

Dons were dealt a big blow midway through the half when new signing Nathan Thompson, who was so impressive at the weekend, was fallen on by Anthony O'Connor, leaving lasting damage on the 34-year-old and he would have to limp out.

But from relatively nowhere, Dan Crowley picked out Joe White's run through midfield, and the on-loan Newcastle man skipped past two before unleashing a fierce strike past James Belshaw to open the scoring.

Unable to capitalise on their momentum though, Dons struggled to get out of their own half for much of the final 10 minutes of the first-half, and helped create many of their own problems before the interval gave them respite.

Things got even worse in the second-half from a performance perspective. Second to almost everthing, Harrogate looked by far the more likely to score, and if it was not for their finishing being as bad as Dons' defending, it could have been a cricket score.

Ellis Taylor missed four excellent chances, failing to hit the target with all of them - the closest he came was hitting the post, while Bryant Bilongo too swiped a sitter wide of goal.

Dons meanwhile barely threatened, with only a Charlie Waller header being tipped over by Belshaw of note in an awful second-half showing.

Heading into stoppage time, Harrogate, and indeed Dons, looked like they would get what they deserved when substitute Zico Asare thrashed an excellent volley past MacGillivray to draw level.

But barely a minute later, captain Alex Gilbey unleashed a similarly unstoppable volley into the top corner to bag his tenth of the season and secure the points for Dons.

Referee: Lee Swabey

Attendance: 5,101 (103)

MK Dons: MacGillivray, Waller, Lawrence, Thompson (Thompson-Sommers 24), Nemane (Lemonheigh-Evans 63), Tomlinson, Williams, White (O'Reilly 71), Gilbey, Crowley, Hogan (Hendry 63)

Subs not used: McGill, Harrison, Kelly

Harrogate Town: Belshaw, Moon, Cornelius (Cursons 80), Sims, O'Connor, Sanderson (Muldoon 63), Sutton (Hill 73), Bilongo (Asare 80), Taylor, March, Morris

Subs not used: Oxley, Dooley, Daly

Booked: Thompson, Taylor, Waller, Sutton, Gilbey, Lemonheigh-Evans