Late defeat to Colchester 'sums up' MK Dons of late

The late penalty and red card summed up MK Dons of late, skipper Alex Gilbey admitted after the 1-0 defeat to Colchester United.

Jack Payne, who grew up with Gilbey and played at MK1 last season on loan from Charlton, won and slotted home an 86th minute penalty for the U’s to snatch victory at Stadium MK, before Callum Hendry was sent off in stoppage time to add to Dons’ misery.

The ailing side haven now lost 11 of 16 games, picking up just nine points to slump to 17th in League Two. But while the performance was improved compared to recent weeks, Gilbey said it was a cruel way to lose a game.

“I think that sums up how we've been for the last few months,” he said. “We were close today, it was a lot better. We were a little negative when we had them on the ropes, we were turning backwards, but from where it has been, it is more improved.

“We've got to get in the final third, be cleaner and get a shot away. I think Liam Kelly was really good today, I think we saw the Liam Kelly we all expect.

“We had a really good spell, we were being aggressive, but then that happens, and it takes the wind out of everyone's sails.

“We were better today. We've still got areas to be better in, so it's really frustrating.”

Substitute Kane Thompson-Sommers was deemed to have handled Payne’s late shot to give away the penalty, but Gilbey was quick to defend the midfielder, absolving him of blame in the result and felt the decision to award a spot kick was a harsh one.

He said: “Kane was devastated. He was trying to put all the blame on himself, but we were all telling him there was nothing he could do in that situation.

“Half of their players thought it was for a foul, the other half thought it was handball. Everyone was confused, even their players were asking what it was about. It's a really frustrating one, a sucker punch but it sums us up at the moment.”