Hard graft made Dons’ win over Shrewsbury look easier

Liam Manning gives his orders from the sidelines. He said MK Dons made the win over Shrewsbury look easy, but it was far from it.

Though it looked easy from the outside, MK Dons head coach Liam Manning insisted his side’s had to work hard to see off Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.

Goals from Mo Eisa and Scott Twine ensured Dons extended their unbeaten run to 13 games, moving within a point of top spot in the process.

Shrewsbury, despite their 15th spot in the table, came to Stadium MK in great form though, giving themselves some valuable breathing room to the drop zone, and off the back of three consecutive wins.

Despite Dons dominance of the game though, with Conor Coventry and Josh McEachran in particular looking untouchable at times in the centre of the park, Manning insisted it was a lot harder than it looked.

“It only looks like that if the players apply themselves right,” he said. “It was a tough game, which we knew it would be.

“We had a break last week which was good for us, but it threatened to knock our rhythm, so I was really pleased with how the players responded. Their discipline, focus and intent was terrific. I'm delighted with how we performed.

“They're a team that are well set-up defensively and they don't give up many chances.

“It might have looked easy but I know how hard that is. They're such a tough outfit to play against and they have a lot of values I like, and that's what made it such a tough game.”