Houghton made amends with sensational Mansfield goal

The 22-year-old scored with a sensational strike in the 1-1 draw at Field Mill - his first for MK Dons since moving from Doncaster in the summer.

And the midfielder said he needs to add goals to his game, but felt he had to make amends for his role in Mansfield's opener.

"To be honest, it was my mistake for their goal," said Houghton. "I slipped when trying to clear it, made a bad connection and he's put it in, so I was keen to make up for the mistake. I had one away at Swindon which was similar, where I picked it up and drove with the ball and hit one.

"It's something I need to add to my game, I can strike a ball well, so I need to get into those positions and hopefully score more from that distance. But I'm pleased with the goal."

Dons' five game winning streak came to an end at Field Mill, but their undefeated record was stretched to seven games in League 2 as they closed the gap to leaders Lincoln City to just two points. Houghton though felt Dons did enough to beat the Stags.

He said: "We'd have liked to have come away with the three points, we had some good chances and a lot of good play. But looking back, they're a good side and conditions were really bad, so I think a draw is a good result. The three points would have been lovely but we're in a good run.

"The first half was difficult with the wind and ball up in the air – a few times I'd misjudged where the ball was! The second half, the wind was in the other direction! It was a battle in midfield, the pitch wasn't great so it was another thing to take onboard.

"At times, we played some nice stuff, we played confidently out from the back, and it settles crowds down which helps massively. There was a lot of positives to take, and we can look forward to next week."