Impressive performance against tough Posh side - Jones
The right-back spoke after MK Dons’ 2-1 defeat to Peterborough United
Despite coming out on the wrong end of the 2-1 scoreline, MK Dons defender Gethin Jones felt his side made a very good account of themselves against Peterborough United on Tuesday night.
Leading at Stadium MK through Aaron Collins’ fifth goal of the pre-season campaign until the 82nd minute, two late Posh goals ensured Darren Ferguson’s side returned to Cambridgeshire with the win, but the performance from the hosts was a strong one.
Playing in their only home friendly of the summer, more than 2,000 got a glimpse of what Paul Warne’s side could look like when the season kicks off on Saturday August 2 against Oldham Athletic, with Jones believing the squad are close to being ready for the curtain raiser.
“It has been one of the hardest pre-seasons I’ve ever had,” said the ex-Bolton man. “It has been difficult, getting up early and running but I feel fit, I feel good and I think a lot of the lads feel the same.
“We knew Peterborough were a really good side, we knew we’d have to play our way and we’ve worked really hard over pre-season on how we’re going to press. I think we showed that a lot in the first 45 minutes - we won the ball back, created a lot of chances and I think we did really well as a team.
“Peterborough got through once or twice which we expected, it happens, but nine times out of ten, if we press like that, we’ll get plenty of chances.
“We’ve all worked tirelessly in pre-season to implement style of play, how we want to attack and I think we did it really well tonight.”
While he has played at MK1 before as a Bolton player, Jones, along with Collins, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Will Collar were all given their first run-outs as a home player before making their full debuts when the season kicks off.
Jone added: “All the new players were excited to play here. We come here every day to get ready for training, so to finally get on the pitch it was good. I’ve played here before, but it’s always nice to make a home debut of sorts.”