How Gilbey's brilliant goal against Luton almost did not happen
The captain scored the goal of a lifetime but it came close to not happening at all
Goal-scorer Alex Gilbey nearly did not play against Luton Town after swelling in his knee continued just two days before the game.
The captain scored the goal of his career to put MK Dons on course for victory over the Hatters, the club’s first League One win of the season. The 31-year-old was also named the sponsors’ man of the match for his role in the 2-1 victory as the side moved out of the relegation zone.
But it nearly did not happen at all. Having suffered a knee injury in pre-season, Gilbey missed the early part of the season as he recovered, and suffered a flare up during the three-week international break too, forcing him to start last week’s defeat to Reading on the bench, playing only 35 minutes of the 5-1 drubbing.
By Thursday, it was still unclear whether Gilbey would be fit in time to face the Hatters in Saturday’s early kick-off, and a conversation between the captain and Paul Warne eventually convinced the head coach to hand him a start.
“On Thursday, we weren’t sure if he was going to play, he had some swelling on his knee,” Warne said. “I had an honest conversation with him on Friday, so for him to keep going all game sums him up.”
And it turned out to be a huge performance from the skipper, lifting his team-mates around him as they claimed the three points, capped with his incredible goal - his first of the season - after 25 minutes.
“I’ll wax lyrical about Gilbs, I think he’s a really good leader,” Warne continued. “I liked the way he was snapping into tackles, I love it when he plays angry. For him to score a goal like that was befitting.
“It was great to have the captain back. The last time I saw him score a screamer was obviously when we got promoted, so this stadium does something magical to him. I’ve not managed many better goals than that, so I’m really pleased for him.
“We asked the lads to cross, we got ourselves into some good positions but we hadn’t created a lot of chances so it probably needed a wonder-goal to give the lads some confidence and light the place up.
“Hopefully everyone remembers this game because of Gilbs’ goal. I don’t think they’ll remember it for Collo’s penalty!”