Jackson sees positives after Dons defeat to Ipswich

Mark Jackson admitted he was lost for words after seeing his side fail to score one of five shots within a ten-second period as his side lost 1-0 to Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Mo Eisa, Jonathan Leko and Sullay Kaikai all had efforts deflected, blocked or saved from inside six-yards in the tenth minute which would have seen Dons take the lead at Stadium MK, but ultimately came away drawing a blank.

Sam Morsy scored the only goal of the game 16 minutes later when he capitalised on a loose pass in midfield, rifling home from just outside the box to resign Dons to their third defeat in a row - all against sides in the top four.

While Jamie Cumming led Dons’ defensive fight in the second-half as the Tractor Boys looked for a second to make sure of the points, Jackson was left scratching his head after his side’s best chances went begging.

“It was a great opportunity to get us on the scoresheet but unfortunately we didn't take it,” he said.

“We conceded what we felt was an avoidable goal. We allowed Ipswich to do what we try and do to teams - anticipate in front and hit on the counter, and Morsy did that from a stray pass.

“The positive thing for me was that we stayed in the game, which was really important after two heavy defeats in the last two games. The mental state of the players was very fragile after last week, but we told them they had to be mentally tough in those difficult moments. And we did that today, and we showed we could be a threat to teams at the top of the league as well. I thought on a different day, we could have had a goal.

“We were up against a really good team, with a Championship squad, and I felt we went toe-to-toe with them. Out of possession, we were good and we caused them some problems in the first-half. There is lots to build on, and certainly not the feeling we had against Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday.

“We had to weather a storm at the start of the second-half which we did well. We knew if we'd open up too early against a team like that, the game could be done.

“After the last two results, we didn't want to be in that predicament.”